AGARTALA/IMPHAL/SHILLONG: Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya on Thursday separately celebrated their 49th Statehood Day through numerous colourful functions.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and several Union ministers and Chief Ministers of the neighbouring northeastern states greeted the people of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura on the occasion.
The erstwhile princely states of Tripura and Manipur were merged into the Indian Union in October 1949 and became full-fledged states on January 21, 1972. Meghalaya was part of Assam before becoming a full-fledged state on the same day.
All the three northeastern states became full-fledged states under the North Eastern Region (Re-Organisation) Act, 1971.
Addressing the main event, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said that his government’s main goal is to make the state self-reliant and ensure efficient and transparent governance.
It was for the third time that Deb addressed the main function on Statehood Day after becoming the Chief Minister on March 9, 2018 following the victory in the state elections of the BJP in alliance with the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), trouncing the CPI-M-led Left Front.
“The BJP-IPFT government’s main mission is to deliver efficient and transparent governance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken special initiatives for the all-round development of the northeastern states,” Deb added.
He said that Tripura is the first state among eight northeastern states to introduce an online process to operate the Public Distribution System (PDS).
“After the BJP-led government came to power, the per capita income of the people of the state has increased by 23 per. The government has also arranged housing for thousands of people belonging to different economic categories. Over Rs 10,720 crore is being spent for the development and expansion of the national highways in Tripura,” the Chief Minister said.
He also said that with the digitisation of many government services, people have been benefited in numerous ways and transparency has been established in governance.
In Manipur, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh took the salute at a combined parade of different security forces’ contingents, including the state police.
Addressing a gathering at the Manipur Rifles parade ground in Imphal, the Chief Minister highlighted the performance of his government since 2017.
In Meghalaya, various cultural and sporting events were organised on the occasion of Statehood Day and the upcoming Republic Day celebrations in different districts.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said in a tweet: “Raised the curtain for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Meghalaya’s statehood in 2022 and also felicitated awardees of the Meghalaya Day Excellence Award 2021.”