Agartala, Apr 15, 2024, IANS

Agartala, April 15 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the Modi government has signed more than 10 accords in the northeast and facilitated over 10,000 insurgents to join the mainstream of life in different states of the region.

Addressing an election rally at Kumarghat in northern Tripura, the Home Minister said that during the Congress government at the Center, the total budget for tribal development across the country was only Rs 24,000 crore and the Modi government increased it to Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Droupadi Murmu, the first tribal woman, as President of India.

Before 2014, there were only 90 Eklavya Model Residential schools in the country and the Modi government in the last ten years has set up 740 such schools across India for the education of the tribal students, he said, adding that 21 per cent houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are meant for the tribals.

During the Congress government at the Center, Tripura got projects worth Rs 40,000 crore while during ten years of Modi government, the state received a large number of projects valued at Rs 98,000 crore, he pointed out.

The Home Minister said that tourism, connectivity, health, employment and infrastructure sectors are the priority of the Modi government both in the entire country and Tripura as well,

He said that around 40,000 Renag tribals (from Mizoram) were settled in Tripura resolving their decades-old ethnic problems.

He said that in December 2017, the first election rally was organised at Kumarghat and efforts had started from that public meeting to oust the Left government and with the end of the Communist rule, a new era of development started in Tripura in 2018.

He said that Modi renamed the Agartala airport after then king Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Debbarman, who according to Amit Shah played a vital role in the development of the state.

“We have signed a tripartite agreement with Tipra Motha Party (TMP) (on March 2) and it would facilitate the resolution of all the socio-economic problems of Janajati (tribal) people in Tripura.”

Highlighting various development projects, he said that earlier Tripura had only one National Highway and now works are going on to construct nine National Highway projects, also extended the railway line upto southern Tripura’s border-torn Sabroom, setting up of Special Economic Zone in Sabroom at a cost of Rs 1550 crore to boost both industries and employment.

Slamming the Left parties, he said that wherever the Communists governed, they promoted a culture of violence, insurgency, kept alive poverty and economic crisis among the poor people and farmers.

“Congress and Communists helped the infiltration and the Modi government stopped it with bold hands.”

Urging the people to vote in favour of the BJP candidate for Tripura East Lok Sabha seat Kriti Devi Debbarman, Amit Shah told the gathering that each of the votes to Debbarman would go in favour of Modi and it would make it possible for Modi to become Prime Minister for a third time.

The election rally was organised at Kumarghat as part of the BJP’s campaign for the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat, reserved for the tribals, where the election would be held in the second phase on April 26.

The Union Home Minister arrived in Agartala from Maharashtra on Sunday to further step up the ongoing campaign for the Lok Sabha elections and he held a series of meetings with Chief Minister Manik Saha, senior leaders of BJP and TMP.

Tripura Chief Minister, former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, TMP supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, state BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee, and Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik among others also spoke in the election rally.