Guwahati, April 2: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the signing of agreements with tribal militant groups has brought about peace and a wave of development in the tribal areas of the state.
Campaigning for BJP candidate for Diphu Lok Sabha constituency, Amar Sing Tisso, who filed his nominations on Tuesday, Sarma said, “Assam’s tribal areas have long suffered from the vice of insurgency. However, owing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s single-minded focus on developing our tribal areas, we have signed agreements with all militant groups and there’s a wave of development in the tribal areas of Assam.”
He further said that all indigenous people in both Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao are now living in peace as tribal insurgency has come to an end in areas which were once the hotbed of militancy.
Addressing an election rally in Diphu, Sarma assured that welfare schemes such as Orunodoi would be accessible within this year to all those who have ration cards but are yet to avail the benefits of the scheme.
Reiterating that the agenda for this year’s Lok Sabha elections will be development, the chief minister said that this election is basically for development and for re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “So, we are fighting this election only for development and from a national perspective. But during Assembly elections, local issues will come up,” he said.
Notably, the chief minister, who had launched his poll campaign from Majuli on Monday with a cycle rally. Sarma plans to cover over 30 Assembly segments in eastern and northern Assam during the next fortnight, ahead of the first phase polls in five Lok Sabha constituencies – Kaziranga, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh and Jorhat – on April 19.
Replying to queries by mediapersons in Diphu, Sarma said the people of Assam were “feeling” more secure than they were five years back.
“Last time, people were insecure…As a matter of fact, during the past three years, a lot of transformation has taken place, from delimitation of constituencies, signing of peace accords with various tribal militant groups to awarding land rights for indigenous people. People of Assam therefore feel much safer today,” Sarma said.