Prime Ministers rarely if ever visit the North Eastern states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been an exception. He visited Nagaland in October during the Hornbill Festival in December 2014 which is nearly ten years after Prime Minister Vajpayee visited the state in 2003. Dr Manmohan Singh did visit Nagaland but only to campaign for the Congress Party in 2008. Modi visited Manipur in November 2014, Tripura in December 2014, Arunachal Pradesh in February and May 2015 amidst uproar from China. He has visited Sikkim too. The only state the Prime Minister is yet to visit is Mizoram. This time Mr Modi is visiting Meghalaya for the first time after assuming office to attend the 65thPlenary of the North Eastern Council but also to address people across the country on the completion of two years of his government. Modi was accorded a public reception at the historic Polo Ground where many a political leader has come and promised largesse to Meghalaya, mainly on the eve of elections. That the Congress-led state government hosted the public reception is a magnanimous gesture but it was also an opportunity for the people of Meghalaya to listen first hand to what the PM has to say about his government’s achievements and engage better.
Modi’s hectic schedule included interaction with different individuals and groups at the Raj Bhavan. Those who met him appreciated his keenness to listen and his ability to absorb and remember what was being told to him. After the marathon speech at Polo Ground, the PM did not appear tired or listless but engaged actively. Mr Narendra Modi himself and by extension, his Government have been victims of bad press sometimes deservedly so (because of statements and actions of the fringe elements), but at other times because large sections of the media are ideologically inclined to the Left or the Congress which they see as a centrist party. If one were to judge the two year old Modi Government one would have seen that he and the BJP have learnt from mistakes and have perhaps reined in the over-enthusiastic members of the RSS (since not all in the RSS adopt extreme rightists positions). Modi’s travels to the region have informed him of the rich cultural diversity of the region and hopefully broadened his outlook towards the eight states even as his government seeks to devote special attention to their development.
Key points have also been flagged at the NEC plenary about allocating enough funds to this regional planning body so that it can speed up major infrastructural projects such as inter-state roads, railways, airports and telecommunication. There is much hope in the region that the present NDA Government will give a fillip to the development of this neglected periphery.