Nagaland Congress MP slams Centre over neglect of Northeast, calls for action beyond ‘optics’

Raising strong concerns in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Nagaland MP S. Supongmeren Jamir on Tuesday accused the Union Government of neglecting the North East despite its strategic importance and stated commitment to the "Act East Policy."

In a written submission, Jamir said the region continues to face chronic underdevelopment in key sectors—roads, railways, air connectivity, electricity, health, IT, and education—despite sharing sensitive international borders with Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China. He underlined that the rural-urban divide is even starker, and claimed that even Defence and paramilitary forces suffer from poor infrastructure and logistical constraints.

He cited the Longwa International Trade Centre on the Indo-Myanmar border in Nagaland, where roads from the Myanmarese side are better maintained than those on the Indian side, calling it an embarrassing contrast.

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Slamming what he termed a contradictory approach by the Centre, Jamir questioned how the Government could tout the “Act East Policy” while failing to implement the long-pending peace accords signed with Naga National Groups. He asked what concrete outcomes the people of Nagaland had seen from the much-publicised agreements.

He also criticised the continued imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in large parts of the region, stating that it contradicts the government’s claims of peace and development.

Calling for decentralised and inclusive policymaking, Jamir urged the Centre to move beyond symbolic gestures and adopt a region-specific, solution-oriented development approach for the Northeast.