Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, February 9, 2019, said that a spate of development programmes in Tripura would transform the state into the gateway of southeast Asia. He said projects were underway to connect Ashuganj and Chittagong ports of Bangladesh with the state through waterways.
Mr. Modi was speaking at a rally in Agartala in last leg of his whirlwind visit to three northeast States where he inaugurated and commissioned several projects. Thousands of people turned up at Vivekananda Stadium where Mr. Modi lashed out at his political opponents for their “opportunistic unity” to create a “weak government” at the centre.
Development activities have risen in Tripura and other northeastern states are culmination of his perception of HIRA (H for highway, I for Internet way, R for roadways and A for Airways), he said. “Tripura in true sense has now connected with mainstream of the country due to our efforts in past 4.5 years,” he stated, adding that installation of new government in the State intensified development.
He alleged that previous governments of the State and at the Centre had never cared for progress of the State and its people, and always deprived them. He said corruptions in all shapes spoiled development in the region.
Mr. Modi did not speak about the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill at the rally in Agartala. Apart from the State’s Governor Prof. Kaptan Singh Solanki and Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, two Tribal Ministers shared a dais with the Prime Minister.
Earlier, the Prime Minister unveiled a statue of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur at the Agartala airport. The airport was recently renamed after the King of Tripura who is credited with many development initiatives in the erstwhile princely State that joined Indian union on October 15, 1949.
Bir Bikram’s grandson and present head of royal family Pradyut Kishore Manikya welcomed the renaming of the airport and installation of the statute of his grandfather. He confirmed that his mother ‘Rajmata’ Bibhu Kumari Devi received a formal invitation from Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, but could not attend.
Meanwhile, the BJP alleged that vested groups carried a campaign for past few days with a call to boycott Prime Minister’s visit in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The party claimed the call yielded no impact with “tribals attending the rally in large number.”
Mr. Modi also inaugurated the new complex of the Tripura Institute of Technology through a remote gadget at the rally venue in Vivekananda Stadium. He also dedicated the Garji-Belonia rail to the nation.
