Agartala, Tripura [India]: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has urged the Chief Ministers, Governors, and people of the northeast to make the region drug and addiction-free “within the shortest possible time.” Speaking at the 72nd Plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Agartala, Shah highlighted the broader goal of achieving a drug-free India.
“During the past few years, this region has emerged as a major corridor and consumption center for highly addictive and contraband drugs. A lot of work has been done in the last six years, but our speed is not enough. I request the chief ministers, governors, and people of the northeast to spare no effort to make the region drug-free. We must all try together to get rid of this sin; the entire Northeast has to be drug and addiction-free within the shortest possible time. The larger target is to make the entire India drug-free,” Shah said.
He also emphasized the need for every citizen in the Northeast to enjoy their constitutional rights, stating that the region’s history of terrorism and violence had overshadowed these liberties.
“We have been associated with terrorism and non-violence for years, so the goal of the police of all the states was to get rid of violence, that work is almost complete now. Now the time has come that every citizen of the Northeast should also get the rights given in the Constitution, the right to protect his property, the right to protect his honor, and the right to protect his family, which are in these three new criminal laws. Now our focus should be on giving citizens their rights instead of confronting the extremists, and the Home Ministry of all the states will have to focus on this. For this, the approach, training, and focus of the police of every state of the Northeast needs to be changed. But the pre-condition for this is that the three new criminal laws should be fully implemented in the states of the Northeast,” Shah added.
The Home Minister highlighted the government’s multi-pronged approach to improving security in the region.
“In the last 10 years, we have made progress by implementing state-specific strategies. As a result, violent incidents have decreased by 31 percent, and civilian deaths have reduced by 86 percent. Around 10,574 militants have surrendered, and several agreements have been signed,” Shah noted.
The session, chaired by Shah, also saw the participation of Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) JM Scindia, Union Minister of State for DoNER Sukanta Majumdar, governors, chief ministers, and senior officials.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha inaugurated the session at Pragna Bhavan in Agartala, sharing the news in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“The 72nd Plenary of NEC chaired by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah begins at Pragna Bhavan, Agartala. In the presence of Union Minister for DoNER JM Scindia & Union MoS for DoNER Sukanta, Governors, HCMs, and high officials, joined the important NEC Meet that aims to discuss various matters including growth and prosperity of the NE region,” CM Saha wrote.
This marks the second time Agartala has hosted the plenary session since 2008, underscoring the city’s growing role in regional development discussions.