Digital Desk: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said
that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government would remove Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) only after installing peace in northeast India.
"For the sake of appeasement, Rahul Gandhi provided
Congress with a plan to repeal AFSPA in the northeast if they won power (in
2019). I responded when asked that we would first bring about peace in the
northeast before removing AFSPA, which would not take place merely out of
appeasement "Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan in Guwahati, which is spread over
95,000 square feet and is the party's largest office in the northeastern
region, was recently inaugurated. Amit Shah, speaking to a crowd of onlookers,
said that the building would be equipped with all of the latest amenities.
The AFSPA, an act that gives the armed forces the authority to
uphold public order in "disturbed areas," was recently extended by
the Ministry of Home Affairs in some regions of the northeast for an additional
six months.
The AFSPA was expanded in a ruling on October 1 to include parts
of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. However, on February 28, 2022, in Assam and
on December 1, 2021 in Manipur, the legislation was extended for a another six
months.
The home minister is in the area for the first time since the
act's extension.
Speaking to the crowd, Shah argued that the BJP's party office
is a shrine and not just a brick and stone building.
"A BJP employee sees their workplace as a collection of
feelings rather than a physical structure. The BJP's goals for the development
of Assam and all of northeast India are formed here, where the work is outlined
"Shah noted the region's overall progress while emphasising it.
Amit Shah said he was pleased with how Assam and the northeast
were progressing and said that the party's continuous leadership in the area
has provided "all-round prosperity."
"During my Vidyarthi Parishad days, we had never imagined
if we would make a government on our own in Assam, but today, the consecutive
rule of BJP in the state has been ensuring all-round development," he
said, underscoring that this time, Shah said he has come to Assam as a BJP
worker rather than as Home Minister.
"I'm thrilled that, in the brief period from 2014 to 2022,
Assam and the entire North East have begun to move toward development. For a
worker like me, it is a matter of good fortune that the growth of the North
East and the BJP (here in the North East) go hand in hand "Added he.
He continued to criticise Congress for sowing division in the
formerly peaceful nation of Assam.
"People have long been concerned that the North East will face serious issues if Assam doesn't achieve inclusive growth. The UPA government led by Congress, Shah claimed, had turned the "great land of Assam into a land of disintegration, of terrorism, of strikes, and agitations." He continued, "The underlying reason was Congress, which always was determined to make the pious and peaceful land of Assam, a divisive one ".
He claimed that the BJP leaders (Shah and national president JP Nadda) visit each of the seven sister states every two weeks, even if they just stay for one night, demonstrating the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to include the Northeast in development efforts.
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