Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s visit to the state capital, Itanagar, was political and aimed at gaining mileage ahead of the assembly election rather than addressing issues in the Northeast.
During his visit on March 9, the PM is scheduled to inaugurate several development projects, including the Sela Tunnel. He is also expected to lay the foundation stones for approximately 20 other development projects before heading to Assam.
“The visit of PM Modi to Arunachal Pradesh is political, with the idea to gain political mileage by false promises,” APCC general secretary Kon Jirjo Jotham told reporters at a press conference here.
Jotham said the entire projects that the PM would be inaugurating were initiated during the Congress government’s tenure. The Congress leader alleged that the BJP government has not introduced any new projects for the people of the state.
“Now, the projects which could have been inaugurated much before will be inaugurated by the PM tomorrow. This clearly indicates the visit of the PM is nothing but a political campaign in the run-up to the assembly elections,” he said.
The APCC also questioned the state government about the developmental projects brought during the BJP rule.
While appealing to the PM to keep aside his political agenda during the visit, Jotham said that the PM should rather focus on addressing the religious discrimination faced by the Christian community in the state.
He said that the life and freedom of the minorities is no more secure in the entire northeast states of the country.
“While the Christian community in the state is facing problems in building a Church in Tawang, the BJP-led Assam government has placed the Assam healing (Prevention of Evil) Practise Bill, 2023. The bill not only is dividing the people based on religion, faith, and practise but is also a threat to the unity and diversity of the entire region. The same divide policy is being practised by the BJP government in Arunachal by not letting the Christian community practise their religion in Tawang,” he added.
The APCC also condemned the secret survey conducted in the state of Assam on the Christian population and numbers of Churches.
“Such secret surveys are a hidden policy of the BJP government which in the long run will not only create communal disharmony in Assam but the entire northeastern states,” the APCC general secretary said.
Also read: PM Modi to inaugurate Sela Tunnel, other key development projects on March 09
