Union home minister Amit Shah today said that the union home ministry, took significant steps to negotiate with armed groups in Assam and bring thousands of cadres of different militant outfits to the mainstream within a short span of time.
“In Assam alone, more than 9,000 cadres from armed groups have surrendered and chosen to join the mainstream; the most important example is the Bodoland Accord. We had promised before the Assam Assembly elections seven years back that this area (Bodoland Territorial Region) will be free from bullets, terrorism and bomb blasts, and we shall take forward education, industry, employment and agriculture,” Shah said, while addressing a programme in Tamulpur in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) on Monday.
The Union home minister expressed satisfaction, claiming that the pre-poll promises have been fulfilled.
“Within a short span of time, the Centre and the Assam government have fulfilled 90 percent of the terms of the Bodo peace accord (a tripartite agreement signed between the home ministry, Assam government and all factions of the proscribed outfit, NDFB in 2020) and have fulfilled the promise we made to people of BTR,” he claimed.
“I want to once again assure that the people of Bodoland will be empowered socially, culturally, economically and politically. The language, culture and economic development here is not only your concern but also the concern of the central and state government,” Shah said.
The Union home minister further announced that the amount of Rs 1500 crore that was to be granted as a special package for BTR under the peace accord within three years has been hiked to Rs 1980 crore for fast-tracking development in the Bodo belt.
“I want to assure the people of Bodoland that the government is committed to the all round development of the Bodo region. We are also committed to the preservation and promotion of the cultural identity, language, music and dance of the Bodo region and political empowerment of the region,” Shah said.
Earlier, the home minister visited the Mankachar border outpost (BOP) on the Indo-Bangladesh border and reviewed security arrangements and the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System.
