New Delhi, Nov 14 (FN Agency) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the ‘double engine’ governments in both Tripura and Centre are committed to engage in development of the state with speed. “Biplab Deb ji’s government in the state and the government at the Centre are committed to take the progress of the state forward. The double engine government in Tripura and Delhi is engaged in the state’s development with full force and sincerity,” said Modi, after transferring the first installment of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) to more than 1.47 lakh beneficiaries of Tripura via video-conferencing. The PM said, “The thinking that kept Tripura poor, kept people of Tripura away from amenities, has no place in Tripura today.” He said the first installment under the PMAY-G has given a new impetus to the dreams of Tripura and added that this is an indication of coming great days and hope for state.
“Our endeavour in the past seven years has been to ensure that government schemes reach the needy. There was a ‘cut culture’ in the previous regime, where the schemes used to remain around some people only. There was ‘commission’ and ‘corruption’. But now, the amount is directly transferred in bank accounts of beneficiaries,” said Modi, in an apparent reference to the previous Congress-led government at the Centre. Talking about the long prevailing neglect of the North Eastern (NE) region, the PM said, “Earlier, the overall development of the country was seen piecemeal and was viewed through a political lens. Therefore, our NE felt neglected. But today, the development of the country is seen with the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’. Development is now considered synonymous with unity-integrity of the country.” Earlier, policies were made in “closed rooms” of Delhi, he said without naming the previous Congress government. He said the NE’s huge potential will be unleashed by creating modern infrastructure and improving connectivity and expressed confidence that work being done in the region will take the country to new heights of growth.
Modi further said that in the history of Independence, the tribal fighters of NE and other parts of the country have sacrificed their lives for the country. “To honour this tradition, the country is working relentlessly to carry forward this legacy. In this series, the country has taken another big decision during the Amrit Mahotsav. The country will now celebrate the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda every year on November 15 as ‘Tribal Gaurav Diwas’,” he added. Earlier, the PM also interacted with the beneficiaries of PMAY-G. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, state Cabinet Ministers, Union Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh and Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.