GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP government in Assam will ensure that every infiltrator who entered the state during the Congress rule is expelled from the state over the next 5 years. Addressing a huge public rally in Nathanpur in Cachar district, Home Minister Shah said that the BJP government, in its first tenure, stopped the large-scale infiltration into Assam and, in the next five years, under the leadership of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, cleared land encroached by infiltrators. In the next five years, the BJP government will expel all intruders who entered during the Congress regime, he said. He urged the people of Assam to form a BJP government once again for a third term to continue the party’s work in securing the state’s borders.
The Union Home Minister and Minister today launched Vibrant Villages Programme–II (VVP–II), at a cost of Rs 6,839 crore, in Nathanpur village of Assam. In his address, Union Home Minister Shah stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the initiative to provide similar facilities in all villages of the Barak Valley and the border districts of Assam, like other villages across India, through the Vibrant Villages- II programme being launched today. He said that there was a time when border villages were referred to as the “last village” of the country because they lagged behind in development, employment, electricity connectivity, and education.
Home Minister Shah said that under Vibrant Villages-I, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that every village on the border is not the last but the first village of India. He said that, from today, this village in Assam will also become the country’s first village. He said that this village will not only lead in development but also in employment, education, roads, and telecommunications. Home Minister Shah said that under the Vibrant Villages Programme–II, nearly Rs 6,900 crore is being spent, covering 1,954 villages across 334 blocks in 17 states, including 9 districts, 26 blocks, and 140 villages in Assam. He said that all basic facilities, similar to those available in any other village in India, will be provided to these 140 villages in Assam.
The programme also includes villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Shah said that a programme worth approximately Rs 7,000 crore to develop about 2,000 villages across 334 blocks adjoining the international border is being launched from today. He said that the programme includes several schemes related to security, welfare scheme saturation, and connectivity.
Union Home Minister said that in the coming years, Assam will be amongst the developed states of the country, and the Vibrant Villages Programme–II is a crucial component of this vision. He said that the government is committed to ensuring that every border village is developed at par with other villages in the country, that there is no migration from border areas, that infiltrators are prevented from entering through the borders, and that a secure Assam contributes to a secure India. Shah said that the launch of Vibrant Villages Programme–II from the Barak Valley marks the beginning of extending development to border villages across 17 states.
