The month just gone by marked the end of a year that was by all yardstick a very eventful year in the development journey of Assam. It was very fitting that late towards the month of December the Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi visited Assam and dedicated to the State symbols of development, renewal of a fertiliser plant that was and will be a lifeline for farmers not only in the State but also around the country, and a new airport terminal that again is a signal of the way Assam is making progress.
This visit of the Prime Minister was followed by the visit of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah who, too, dedicated couple of very important landmarks to the people of Assam, a new Guwahati Police Commissionerate and the spectacular Jyoti- Bishnu Prekagriha, a 5000-seater state-of-the-art auditorium which is the biggest in the North East. This again is symbolic of the position of Assam in the North East, and its corresponding responsibility towards its neighbours and sister States.
These visits should not be looked at in isolation. These are depictions of the importance the State and therefore the region is enjoying in the eyes of the Centre. The so-called neglect of the region syndrome that had marked major agitations and movements in the State is now being addressed with renewed vigour and alacrity by New Delhi under the stewardship of a very dedicated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose love for the State is known to one and sundry.
I am sure readers of this column will easily recall the visits of the Prime Minister to Assam during the year that has just gone by. As I write this, and by the time you read it, you will have the news that the Prime Minister will again be coming to the State to inaugurate other landmark projects and to enjoy the historic Bagrumba performance by over 10 thousand performers in a fitting tribute to Boro culture. Our Government had decided a couple of years earlier that three of the major dance forms of the State, Bihu, Jhumoir and Bagrumba will be promoted nationally and internationally by us through mega performances in the august presence of the Prime Minister. I need not even repeat that the Prime Minister has spared time for each one of them and not disappointed us. He has not only graced the occasion but has also taken a deep interest in knowing more about these forms.
All that I want to reiterate here is that for the first time in our country’s independent history, we have a government at the Centre that cares, and loves us and have deep respects for our sentiments, be it in our economic development as the way we want it, and/or of our culture. I am sure people of the State will take notice of this singular aspect that has defined a new-found relation between Assam and New Delhi borne out of mutual trust and respect, than that of a Government lording over the State, and its affairs.
This love and respect has given us the encouragement to launch and continue a relentless drive against infiltrators and encroachers, no matter who they are. Our Government has been on the job with a mission that Assam must be secured for its people and not for foreigners who want to enjoy the fruits of our land, labour and civilisation. Our report card which we publish every year will represent these facts to the people. However, I am not the only to sit on laurels, and neither shall be the case with our Government. Each year, we review the areas we promised and what we failed to deliver. This year, it is no different. All my Cabinet colleagues are in unison that we cannot let our grip off the handle a wee bit. Our development vision has always incorporated the fact the interest of the Assamese people must be at the heart of all our policies, and any deviation driven by narrow minded approach at political gains will be a recipe for disaster as has been the case with previous Governments in Dispur.
Official data published and respected the world over has placed Assam and its development journey as a benchmark for other States. For many, it may look a miracle. For me, who always believed in the untapped potential of the State and its people, this has come as no surprise. I believe, like our honourable Prime Minister, that the development journey of the State and the region has just begun. Yes, our journey will be led by our huge human resource base and not resources whose lifetime is always finite. Keeping sustainability at its heart, and the greater interest of our brothers and sisters, we will achieve what history has beckoned us to do.
I wish the people of Assam and the readers of Asom Barta a happy and prosperous New Year.
