Development of Assam is evident only for Modi, says Himanta

way2barak, 10 March : Unlike King Karna, who was cursed by the earth goddess and a poor Brahmin, a prosperous Assam suffers the banes from the past regimes’ apathy and abandonment, writes  Himanta Biswa Sharma in Indian Express. In his version, Assam had an enviable per capita income of 4 per cent above the national average in 1950-51. The state has had a tumultuous journey since then. After suffering repeated reorganisation – without economic planning – creating more states till 1971, subsequent blows such as bouts of illegal immigration, agitations, and extremism harmed Assam’s growth. By 1998, Assam’s per capita income went down to 41 per cent below than the national average.

The Chief Minister of Assam expresses his views in the article that, Seven decades of darkness created a complex web of political, economic, and social challenges. We needed a million rays to disperse this darkness and this mission has been led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His love for the people of Assam and its development is evident in the host of central initiatives that the state has benefitted from in the recent past.

Himanta writes, Be it an AIIMS in Assam, the Dhola-Sadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra, India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge at Bogibeel, expansion of Guwahati airport, national highways, power infrastructure, expansion of refineries, gas and oil pipelines, new medical colleges and hospitals, Maa Kamakhya Corridor or massive programmes for women and youth empowerment in Assam, or even recent approval to set up Rs 27000 crore worth semiconductor unit, none of them would have been possible without PM Modi’s support. Indeed, wearing Assam’s traditional gamocha around his neck, he has been the biggest brand ambassador of Assam within and outside India.

The Chief Minister says, When Jawaharlal Nehru, as a Prime Minister abandoned Assam amidst the 1962 Indo-China war while claiming his heart went out to the people of Assam, Prime Minister Modi repeatedly called the region Ashtalakshmi and Bharat’s growth engine.