Peace and humanity won in Bodo accord: PM Modi in Assam

Guwahati, Feb 07: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressing a huge mass in Kokrajhar area, Assam, where he participated in the celebrations of the signing of Bodo Peace agreement, said that it was because of people's support that the Bodo peace accord was signed, heralding a new dawn of peace in Assam.

The PM was welcomed by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati.

Addressing a massive public rally to celebrate the signing of the accord on January 27 that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state, PM said now the time was to work together for peace and development of the North- East. "We will not allow violence to return," he asserted.

The prime minister also appealed to extremists in the Northeast, militants in Jammu and Kashmir and the Maoists to "take inspiration from Bodo insurgents and return to the mainstream".

He also sought to assuage the concerns of people of the region over the implementation of the new citizenship law.

"Canard is being spread that lakhs of settlers will come from other countries after the enactment of CAA. Nothing of that sort will happen," he said.

He said that the Bodo accords signed in 1993 and 2003 could not bring permanent peace in the Bodo-dominated areas of Assam.

On Wednesday, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed preparations in Kokrajhar ahead of PM's visit to participate in the celebrations of the signing of the Bodo agreement.

The Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti said that the state police is completely prepared ahead of the PM's visit.

PM Modi's visit comes days after the Assam government signed a tripartite agreement with representatives of all factions of the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the national capital on January 27.

According to a government agreement, as the even is celebrations of the signing of Bodo agreement, therefore, nearly four lakh people are expected to attend the event from the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) districts and all over Assam.

PM also added that earlier nobody addressed the issues faced by the people of the North-East and allowed disturbances to continue.

"This approach alienated people of the region from the Centre and they lost faith in Indian democracy and Constitution. The North-East was once considered a recipient state but now it is a growth engine," he said.

The prime minister said that the combined central allocation to the eight states of the region went up to a staggering Rs 3 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission after his government was formed, from Rs 90,000 crore under the 13th Finance Commission.

He said that the North-East was under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, for a long time but now Tripura and many parts of other states are free from it.