North East has become powerhouse of India's growth under PM Modi: Sonowal

New Delhi: Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Wednesday that the North East has become a "powerhouse of India's growth" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Addressing a press conference, the former Assam chief minister said Modi has delivered more than his guarantees for the region during his over nine years at the helm during which "peace and security" have been restored in the region which faced decades of "neglect" under the Congress' rule.

Sonowal said over Rs 5 lakh crore grant has been given to the eight states in the region in over nine years in a major boost to its infrastructure, including roadway, railways, waterways and air connectivity. The number of airports has risen to 17 from nine, he added.

Targeting the Congress, which used to be most powerful political force in North East, he said terrorism, protests, weak governments, bad policies and scams afflicted the region under its rule as people faced an uncertain future.

The Congress, he alleged, was mostly interested in looting its resource while people had to protest for basic development needs and the region's representatives had to wait for months in the national capital to get appointments with ministers and officials, often in vain.

Under Modi, the government has reached out to people of the region with the prime minister himself visiting a record 64 times.

Central ministers have visited the region 362 times in the last two years and over 800 times in over nine years, as the prime minister instructed them and officials to work sincerely and with commitment to boost development there, he said.

Modi has shown a leadership driven by dedication, commitment and patriotism to restore peace and pride to the region which got to showcase its culture and civilisation to the world during the G20 exercise as it hosted several events, he said.

The steps taken by the government have borne fruits and the North East has now awakened, the BJP leader said.

"It has become a powerhouse of India's growth and has become an important destination," he said.

Over 8,000 militants have surrendered while the Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been withdrawn from many parts of the region due to improvement in safety and security, Sonowal said.