BJP made the last village of Northeast the first village of India: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 19 inaugurated the first greenfield airport of Arunachal Pradesh near the state capital Itanagar.

Speaking at an event, PM Modi said that post-independence the Northeasteast witnessed a completely different era wherein it was ignored by the rest of India.

"The policymakers sitting in Delhi only hoped to win an election, however, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed his government at the Centre, the proposal was placed to change the Arunachal and develop it".

"It was the first government which allocated separate different ministries for Northeast India, but the next government failed to continue with the momentum," the PM added.

Slamming the previous government, PM Modi said that earlier it was believed that the northeast is very far away and the people residing near the China border were termed as the "last village" of India.

However, when BJP came into power in 2014, changed the dynamics and changed the last village of the northeast to be the first village in India resulting in the prime objective of developing the northeast at the first.

PM Modi slammed the political commentators of the country and asked them to stop comparing everything with politics.

BJP has come with a work culture where the party implement the scheme and also inaugurates it.

"In 2019 when I laid the foundation stone of the airport, political pundits, as well as the opposition, said that this is an election gimmick and nothing will happen."

"They (opposition) associate everything with the election and has become a fashion statement," he added.

The Donyi Polo airport at Hollongi will boost connectivity, trade, and tourism in the hilly northeastern state.

The foundation stone of the said airport was laid in 2019 by PM Modi.

Prior to the inauguration, the state Chief Minister Pema Khandu inspected preparations for the PM's visit.

“No stone will be left unturned to make the occasion truly memorable,” Khandu said. The state government and the Airports Authority of India made seating arrangements for 10,000 people to witness the historic event of airport inauguration by PM Narendra Modi on November 19, he said.

The CM further said that the people of Arunachal will be benefitted as the state will be connected to major cities of the country.

The Hollongi terminal has a peak processing capacity of 200 passengers per hour and was built for around Rs 955 crore. It is 4100 sq m in size.