BJP adopted ‘act east’ policy over past govts' ‘don’t look east': PM in Manipur - Hindustan Times
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BJP adopted ‘act east’ policy over past govts' ‘don’t look east': PM Modi in Manipur

Written by Sharangee Dutta | Edited by Amit Chaturvedi, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Jan 04, 2022 02:09 PM IST

Addressing a massive crowd after launching several projects in Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that stability must be maintained in the northeastern state and it needs to be taken to new heights of development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday thanked the citizens of Manipur for their “vote” that has contributed in the development of the northeastern state. Addressing a massive crowd in Imphal after inaugurating and laying foundation stone of a total of 22 developmental projects worth 4,800 crore, he lauded the people of the state for forming a “stable government”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering in Imphal after inaugurating and laying foundation stone of multiple projects. (Screengrab/Narendra Modi Twitter)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering in Imphal after inaugurating and laying foundation stone of multiple projects. (Screengrab/Narendra Modi Twitter)

“You have formed such a stable government in Manipur, which is running with full majority, with full force,” he said.

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Continuing with his applauses, the Prime Minister said that it is because of the votes of the people that as many as 1,30,000 households of Manipur are now receiving free electricity and over 30,000 houses have toilets.

Modi said that until a few years ago, only 6% of people of the northeastern state received piped water in their houses but today that network has reached to 60% of the houses due to ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ programme.

Taking a dig at the opposition, Modi said that the previous governments in Manipur only had one policy that they acted on, which was ‘don’t look east'. “But we adopted the act east policy for this area,” he told the gathering.

The Prime Minister further added despite 75 years of independence, a peak in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was called Mount Harriet and it was the saffron party that decided to change it to Mount Manipur.

“Even before I had become the Prime Minister, I had come to Manipur many times. I knew the pain in your heart. That's why after 2014, I have brought Delhi, Government of India, to your doorstep,” Modi said.

Modi took the opportunity to emphasise on double-engine governments and said that the current decade of the 21st century is “very important” for Manipur and not a single moment in time can be skipped to do work for development.

“We also have to maintain stability in Manipur and also take [the state] to new heights of development,” he said.

Modi inaugurated as many as 13 projects worth 1,850 crore and laid foundation stone of nine others worth nearly 2,950 crore. Among the projects that were inaugurated include a steel bridge over Barak River constructed at a cost of over 75 crore, 2,387 mobile towers built at a cost of around 1,110 crore, several projects related to clean and regular supply of drinking water worth 396 crore, and a 200-bed Covid-19 hospital in Kiyamgei, among others.

Meanwhile, Modi laid the foundation stone of five national highways, two projects associated with the handlooms and handicrafts sector, and a Centre for Invention, Innovation, Incubation and Training (CIIIT), among others.

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