Arunachal CM congratulates Sarbananda Sonowal

Itanagar, May 20: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul on Friday congratulated Sarbananda Sonowal for the victory of the BJP-led alliance in Assam.

Terming the win as people's verdict for development and peace as espoused by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pul said he was not surprised by the clear mandate in favour of the BJP and its allies.

"I was in Assam during the campaign period and felt the pulse of the people. We could very clearly sense that the people wanted a change from what the Congress government was offering," Pul said in a statement today.

He also extended his congratulations to Hemanta Biswa Sarma and other leaders of the alliance including those from Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and other tribal groups.

"This is a significant message by the people of Assam that they, like a lot of other states across the nation, are fed up with the uninspiring and disoriented governance that the Congress has been offering to the people since many years," he said.

Pul said the victory of the BJP and its alliance in Assam would have far reaching implications for the northeast region, and specially Arunachal Pradesh. He expressed confidence that this would create an environment where they could work together for regional growth in the northeast.

"The people in the northeast cannot grow in isolation from each other, we have to work in synergy and with each other. For that it is critical that like-minded governments and people carry forward the dialogue on development," he said.

He expressed confidence in finding an amicable solution to the vexed boundary issue between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by ensuring that stakeholders at all levels are involved in the process, which would be done in consultation with local citizens and the two state governments.

Meanwhile, the state BJP also congratulated the people of Assam for giving a resounding mandate to the saffron party in the state. Terming it a historic win, state BJP vice president Techi Necha said that the results would now impact the political equation of the entire North-East as a whole.

PTI