Congress had ‘Loot East’ policy, BJP works on ‘Act East’: PM Modi in Tripura
PM Modi said several prime ministers didn’t even know where Tripura was in the national map, and added that he has paid visit to the northeast for more than 50 times in the last one decade
The developmental work done by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the northeast in the last ten years is only “a trailer” and more work will be done in the region if the party comes to power for the third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Tripura’s capital Agartala on Wednesday.

“The BJP tried to work for development in the northeast region and Tripura in these ten years. Whatever work we have done is just a trailer. We need to take Tripura ahead”, Modi said addressing the rally at the Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala, which was his last public rally ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls that will begin from April 19.
He said, “The HIRA (Highway, Internetway, Railway and Airways) model on which our government worked for development of Tripura is now discussed in the country. Now, we are going to work on HIRA + model. The Congress had ignored the Northeast and their policy was Loot East. Ten years ago, I ended this Loot East policy and now we are working on Act East policy. This is the guarantee of Modi.”
He said that the Northeast is not meant for politics, but it meant love and priority for his government and added that he was visiting the region, where the Sun rises first in the country, at a time when the Ramlala, after living in tents for a long time, was adorned with ‘surya tilak ‘ at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Stating that the country cannot be developed without development of the NE region, Modi said that he has paid visit to the northeast for more than 50 times in the last one decade. “Several PMs didn’t even know where Tripura was in the national map. The BJP means development politics in Tripura while Congress is corruption politics and the CPI-M was involved in destructive politics,” he said.
Speaking about different developmental work in Tripura, Modi said that construction of several national highways including four lane highway is under progress, high speed internet connectivity is available through internet gateway, Indo-Bangla Maitri Setu was commissioned a few years ago, new airport terminal building with international facilities was built, more than dozens of train services were introduced.
Modi promised to uplift the northeast, including Tripura, saying that the BJP is committed to build additional three crore new houses throughout the country in the next five years, continue free ration for all beneficiaries along with bearing treatment cost upto Rs. 5 lakh for elderly persons above 70 years under the Ayushman Yojana.
Lashing out at the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Congress - two INDIA alliance partners-, Modi said that both the parties that were against each other have come together to save their “loot ki dukan” (shop of corruption) as the BJP is in power.
Citing the example of Kerala, where the CPI-M and the Congress are contesting against each other, Modi said, “The Congress and the Communists are opportunists as they are in alliance in Tripura while in Kerala, they are fighting against each other. In Kerala, the Congress calls the Communists as terrorists while the CPI-M calls the Congress as corrupt.
“The Congress and the Communists should not get a single vote. They cannot form a government at the Centre. If you give any vote to them, your vote will be wasted . But if you vote for the BJP, it can form a government at the Centre and the NDA will form a viksit Bharat,” he said urging the party activists to spread the message to every household in the state.
Tripura chief minister Manik Saha urged voters to gift two lotuses to make PM Modi’s hands strong.
Tripura has two Lok Sabha seats, West Tripura constituency and East Tripura constituency, where the BJP has fielded former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Kriti Devi Debbarman, princess of erstwhile Manikya dynasty and elder sister of BJP ally TIPRA Motha’s founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma.
