Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that the Con-gress, instead of supporting the country’s army, was backing terrorists groomed by Pakistan.
Addressing a programme at Mangaldoi in Assam’s Darrang district, he accused the grand old party of “protecting” infiltrators and anti-national forces.
The prime minister also asserted that the BJP would “not allow infiltrators to grab land and conspire to change the demography”. “The Congress, instead of supporting the Indian Army, backs terrorists groomed by Pakistan. Dur-ing ‘Operation Sindoor’, the Congress, instead of supporting our armed forces, which destroyed the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, was engaged in protecting infiltrators and anti-national forces,” the PM alleged, while addressing the public meeting. ‘Operation Sindoor’ was successful due to Ma Kamakhya’s blessings, Modi said, adding that he was honoured to be present on this sacred land.
The PM claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had on Saturday night shown him a video in which a former Congress president was seen saying that the “BJP was honouring singers and dancers”. The Congress leader’s comment came after the BJP had bestowed the Bharat Ratna on Bhupen Hazarika in 2019, Modi said. ‘The wounds inflicted by Jawaharlal Nehru, during the Chinese aggression in 1962, on the people of Assam are yet to heal, but this insult to Bhupen Hazarika is like adding salt to the wound,” the prime minister claimed. ‘I am pained by this insult to Bhupen da, but people are my masters and they will answer whether the BJP was right or not in conferring the Bharat Ratna on the legendary singer,” Modi said.
People should also ask the Congress why its leaders “insulted a legend like Bhupen Hazarika”, the PM said.
The BJP’s double-engine government is committed to realising the dreams of Assam’s great sons like Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, he said. The term double engine is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state.
Modi also praised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for “evicting infiltrators from en-croached land and ensuring that farmers can now cultivate on these plots”.
The land parcels once illegally occupied are now witnessing an agricultural revolution in the hands of farmers and indigenous people, he claimed.
“The BJP will not allow infiltrators to grab land, insult women and girls, and conspire to change de-mography, which is a threat to national security,” he said.
“’Mukabla ho jai’ (let there be a fight) in protecting Assam from infiltrators who are protected by certain sections of the society, and I challenge them as the BJP will not allow this (infiltration),” Modi said.
The prime minister also said, “There are conspiracies to alter the demography in the border regions through infiltration, and this poses a serious threat to national security; therefore, a nationwide Demography Mission is now being launched.”
He said that the Congress had ruled Assam for decades, but built “only three bridges” over the Brahmaputra river, while the BJP-led dispensation constructed six such structures in the last 10 years.
PM launches projects worth Rs 18,530 crore in Assam
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched projects worth Rs 18,530 crore in Assam, in-cluding the world’s first bio-ethanol plant using bamboo as raw material, along with major health and infrastructure projects at programmes in Darrang and Golaghat districts.
In Darrang district’s Mangaldoi town, the PM laid foundation stones for three major projects with an investment of Rs 6,300 crore. These include the Darrang Medical College and Hospital, along with a GNM school and nursing college at a cost of Rs 570 crore, the Guwahati Ring Road (Rs 4,530 crore) and the Kuruwa-Narengi bridge over Brahmaputra (Rs 1,200 crore), officials said.
The PM, after inaugurating the projects, said that his government is working with the vision of making Assam a growth engine of India’s development.
“Both the Union and state governments are developing Assam as one of the most connected states and as a leading healthcare hub. These projects will further strengthen our resolve,” he said.
The Darrang Medical College will be the 24th such facility in the state and will admit 100 students each year into the MBBS programme.
The 121.43 km Guwahati Ring Road, divided into three sections, will decongest the capital city and ease the movement of vehicles, including trucks from West Bengal, Bihar, and other states.
The 55 km-long first section will stretch from Baihata Chariali to Sonapur via Kuruwa and Chandra-pur. It will include a four-lane road along with several six-lane bridges, including the 2.9 km Kuruwa-Narengi bridge over the Brahmaputra, as well as five other bridges, three flyovers, and three road over-bridges.
The second section will see the upgrade of the existing four-lane road into a six-lane stretch from Jayanagar underpass on NH-27 to Jorabat and will feature two flyovers.
The third section will upgrade the four and six-lane road of National Highway 27 from Baihata to Sonapur.
In Golaghat district, the PM inaugurated a Rs 5,000-crore bamboo-based ethanol plant and laid the foundation stone for the Rs 7,230-crore Petro Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Unit at the Numaligarh Refinery.
The “world’s first, second-generation” bioethanol plant is a ‘zero-waste’ facility, which will utilise all parts of the bamboo plant, and is expected to give a Rs 200-crore boost to the rural economy in the state, officials said.
The project will produce around 49,000 tons of ethanol annually and also generate other valuable products such as furfural, acetic acid, carbon dioxide, and bio-coal.
Ethanol is a major alternative source of energy, and the newly inaugurated bioethanol refinery will significantly benefit farmers and tribals, the PM said.
This will expedite Assam’s endeavour of becoming self-reliant and one of the most developed states of the country, he added.
The cracker unit with a capacity of 360 KTPA will boost domestic petrochemical production, reduce dependence on imports, and benefit the economy, the PM said.
The project will use world-class technology and is scheduled to start production in 2028.
Modi said energy and semiconductors were the two key drivers for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, and As-sam has an important role to play in these sectors.
PM Modi inaugurates India’s first bamboo-based ethanol plant in Assam
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the BJP-led central government is taking steps to reduce imports of crude oil and gas, focusing more on exploration of fossil fuels and green energy. Addressing a rally in Assam’s Numaligarh after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for pro-jects worth over Rs 12,000 crore, Modi said that with India emerging as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the country is dependent on foreign nations for crude oil and gas.
“To change this, the focus has to be on meeting our energy requirements. The government is working on oil exploration and green energy generation,” the PM said. Ethanol is a major alternative source of energy, and the newly inaugurated bioethanol refinery at Numaligarh will significantly benefit farmers and tribals, he said. The polypropylene plant, the foundation for which was also laid by Modi, will greatly benefit the local economy, he said.
Modi said energy and semiconductors were the two key drivers for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, under-scoring that Assam has an important role to play in these sectors.
Taking a dig at the Congress, the prime minister alleged that it was responsible for insurgency and unrest in Assam. “The Congress also ignored the heritage and icons of Assam. But, the BJP brought development and gave recognition to the state’s heritage,” he asserted.
Modi claimed that Assam was facing a demographic challenge due to Congress’ backing of infiltra-tors for votes.
“The Assam government is evicting encroachers, and providing deprived people land rights,” he said.
“We are taking steps for the welfare of tribals, who were neglected during the Congress rule,” the PM said.
The BJP government’s commitment is to make Assam a hub of trade and tourism, he added.