Guwahati, February 14 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing it of neglecting the Northeast and promoting insurgency in Assam during its rule.
Addressing a public meeting here that also included BJP workers, Modi alleged that the Congress always endangered the nation's security, with fear and insecurity prevailing during its tenure in Assam.
"The Congress indulged in polarisation and vote bank politics, and made decisions that promoted these," he said.
"The partition of the country took place due to the Muslim League, but now there is 'MMC' – Maoist, Muslim League, Congress – and people should be aware," Modi said.
The PM accused the Congress of protecting infiltrators, but the BJP is "committed to ending illegal immigration, and so the next five years are very important for the state."
He also claimed that the Congress, having been out of power in Assam for 10 years, is "more dangerous than when it was in power, and this is evident from the venomous statements made by its leaders."
For seven decades, the Congress built only three bridges over the Brahmaputra river, but the BJP government constructed five bridges in 10 years, he asserted.
The PM said all-round development is taking place in Assam due to the efforts of the BJP government.
"The BJP is committed to protecting Assam's identity and its traditions," he said.
Assam is famed for tea, but now the state will be globally renowned for its semiconductor chips, Modi said, referring to the Tata group plant at Jagiroad.
More than 125 people from the North East have been bestowed with Padma awards since 2014, he added.
The PM paid tributes to the bravehearts who were martyred in Pulwama in 2019, and asserted that the world has seen how the government responded to the terror attack.
The country's response was also witnessed during Operation Sindoor following the terror attack in Pahalgam last year, he said.
"The Congress did nothing to protect the nation's security but gave only statements and indulged in scams while buying weapons," Modi alleged.
The PM said the emergency landing facility (ELF) that he had inaugurated at Moran bypass in Dibrugarh this morning is "not just a landing facility but a way to ensure the nation's security."
"A new history was created when today I landed on the Moran highway where aircraft can land," he said.
The PM made a historic landing at the first emergency landing facility (ELF) of the northeast aboard the C-130J aircraft in Assam's Dibrugarh district.
Modi said, ''The BJP is committed to ensuring the speedy development of Assam and also protect its identity and traditions. It is, therefore, very important that the double-engine BJP government returns to power in Assam."
The party considers the NE as the 'Ashtalakshmi' and is focused on its development to make it 'Atma Nirbhar and Viksit'," he said.
The focus of this year's budget is on improving connectivity, which will lead to an increase in employment opportunities, the PM said.
"The last time I had come to Guwahati, I engaged with students in the 'Pariksha pe Charcha' on a cruise over the Brahmaputra river and today, I walked on the newly inaugurated Kumar Bhaskar Varman bridge, connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati, over the mighty river to give a message to people in the rest of the country to come here so that it will encourage river tourism," the PM said.
Modi said he had the firm belief that the BJP will secure victory by a huge margin in the 2026 Assam assembly polls, but it is "not just about winning elections alone, we must win the hearts and minds of the people''.
The credit for BJP's success goes only to party workers as ''we believe in organisational strength: My biggest qualification and source of pride is that Narendra Modi is a BJP party worker," he added.
"Party workers are the oxygen of the BJP, and I urge them to reach out to the people of the state not only before the elections but even after the next government is formed," Modi said.
He assured the people that he will ''return their love for BJP with interest through development".
He also paid his tributes to former Union Minister Kabindra Purkayastha, who died last month, saying that he had devoted his life to the party and the state.