Marking 100 days since Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power for the third-term, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday addressed a press conference where he spoke of the Centre’s peace efforts in Manipur, caste census and ‘one nation, one election’.
Shah was accompanied by Union Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw as they released a booklet on the achievements of the Modi-led NDA government during the first 100 days of their third term.
Shah did not rule out the possibility of a caste census, and said that the decision will be made public when the census is announced.
On Govt’s plan against Manipur violence:
“Recently, violence went on for three days, other than that, in the last 3 months, no major incident took place… We are hopeful to bring the situation under control. We are in talks with both the local tribes. Because this is racial violence, there cannot be any solution until there is a dialogue between them. We are speaking to the Kuki groups and the Meitei groups. We have created a roadmap to solve the issue…,” Shah told the reporters.
This comes just days after protests were held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding immediate action against the recent “aerial bombing of civilians” in the strife-torn state. Eleven people have been killed in different incidents in Manipur since September 11, prompting students to hold massive protests in the valley areas, particularly in Thoubal and Imphal, according to a report in The Indian Express.
Shah also stated: “…We have started the fencing of the root cause of the problem, the India-Myanmar border… 30 km of the fencing has been completed. The central government has approved a budget to fence the whole 1500 km border.”
Next, “we have successfully deployed CRPF at strategic locations. To stop the infiltration, we have nullified the agreement between India and Myanmar which allowed the movement of people, and now entry into India is allowed only by visa,” Shah highlighted.
On ‘One Nation, One Election’:
Addressing the press meet, Shah also said that “One Nation, One Election” will be implemented in the current term of the NDA government. Since he brought in the BJP to power with a majority in 2014, PM Modi has been advocating for “One Nation, One Election.”
The BJP, which won 240 seats, relies on its allies including TDP, Janata Dal-United and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) for its majority. According to The Indian Express report, questions have been raised about their support to the one nation, one election plan but BJP leaders said that all these allies are on board and “arithmetic” would not get in the way of this “reform process.”
On India’s progress:
Hailing India’s foreign policy, Shah said, “for the first time after independence, the world saw a government that India had a spine in its foreign policy.”
“Sixty crores of Indians got houses, toilets, gas, drinking water, electricity, 5 kg free ration and health services up to 5 lakhs under the leadership of Narendra Modi… Our goal is that when we go into the elections the next time, there would be no one who does not own a house,” Shah asserted.
“When ‘Make in India’ initiative was announced, several people used to make fun of it. However, today, I can say this with immense pride that India has become a favourite production hub in the world. Several countries want to understand and implement our ‘Digital India’ scheme,” Shah told the reporters. “We brought discipline and progressed in all the 13 parameters of the economy. The world is acknowledging that India has a bright future in the space sector,” he added.
