Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday while speaking at a rally at Diphu, 250 kms east of Guwahati, said efforts are on to remove AFSPA completely from the northeast region.
Later, addressing a rally at Dibrugarh in Assam after inaugurating seven cancer care centres and laying the foundation stone for seven others across the state, Modi said that he does not want anyone to fall ill but if they do, “we have built hospitals for them to get the best treatment without any financial burden.”
Addressing a ‘Peace, Unity and Development’ rally, he said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act could be withdrawn from various parts of the region as the law and order situation has improved in the last eight years.
“As the (law and order) situation improved with 75 per cent decrease in violence in the region, there have been changes in the imposition of laws. The AFSPA was first revoked in Tripura and then in Meghalaya,” he said.
“Due to the proper control of the situation in the last eight years, the AFSPA has been removed from most parts of the state. We are trying to withdraw it from the remaining parts too. “The Act is applicable in some areas of Nagaland and Manipur, and we are working speedily to revoke it completely,” he said.
Modi also said the effect of the BJP’s “double engine” government is evident in the return of permanent peace and speedy development in Assam. The government has entered into peace agreements in Assam’s Karbi Anglong and in Tripura, while efforts are on to ensure permanent peace and speedy development in the entire region, he said.
He said several outfits in the region had returned to the mainstream to march forward in the path of peace and development.
Permanent peace returned to the region, and speedy development in the northeastern states was ensured due to a collective effort of the Centre and the state governments, Modi said. He stated that this process is “on and will continue in the future.”
“Earlier, the northeast was known for bomb blasts and violence and the worst sufferers were our mothers, sisters and children. Now as I see the smile on their faces when the youths have given up their arms, I feel God is showering blessings on me,” the Prime Minister said.
The prime minister also laid the foundation stone for colleges of veterinary science and agriculture and a model government college in Karbi Anglong and also launched 2,985 ‘Amrit Sarovar’ projects across Assam.
The Rs 1000-crore projects for Karbi Anglong will give new opportunities to youths, particularly those who have returned to the mainstream to participate in the nation-building process, the PM said.
“These foundations are not just that of any building or institution but are the foundations for the bright future of the youths of Karbi Anglong,” he said.
Speaking on ‘Amrit Sarovars’ in the state, as a part of the Azadi ke Amrit Utsav to commemorate 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, Modi said he had started this in Jammu and Kashmir last week, and in Assam, “these facilities will not only be a source of water but also of income generation”.
Later, addressing a rally after dedicating seven cancer care centres and laying the foundation of an equal number in Dibrugarh, Modi said that his government was committed to further strengthen the health infrastructure and facilities to provide the best and the cheapest treatment to the ill, particularly those suffering from cancer.
He said that he does not want anyone to fall ill but if they do, “we have built hospitals for them to get the best treatment without any financial burden”.
The Prime Minister said that the centre has also focused on cancer treatment in the Rs 1500 crore Special package earmarked for the North East in this year’s Union budget as this serious disease weakens the economic condition of the cancer patients family with many forced to take loans.
Medicines will be made available to cancer patients at half the price under the ‘Jan Aushadi’ scheme and make 900 medicines available at a lower rate.
Thursday, April 2, 2026