NDA government committed to Assam Accord: PM Modi
Moran: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday asserted that the NDA government is committed to the Assam Accord and mulling granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities in the state.
The Assam Accord provides for deportation of all illegal immigrants who entered Assam after March 1971, irrespective of their religion.
The Centre is trying its best to implement the Assam Accord that was suspended by the Congress, Modi said.
"We have made efforts to protect the people of Assam, its culture and interests. The NDA is seriously considering granting ST status to six communities -- Tai Ahom, Muttock, Moran, Chutiya, Koch Rajbongshis and the tea tribes," he said.
Lashing out at opposition Congress, he said Assam, where only 40 per cent homes had power and gas connections till several decades after independence, now has electricity and cooking fuel in almost every home.
"The way you have supported me, blessed me, it has boosted my confidence to do better work for the underprivileged, poor and the tribal population. Barring the Congress and the terrorists, everybody is happy with the BJP government," Modi said.
Listing his government's achievements, he said over five lakh people in Assam have been given homes by the NDA govt, 27 lakh families have received health insurance of Rs 5 lakh each and farmers have been given aid to take care of their regular expenses.
Addressing the tea belt communities, Modi, who used to sell tea at a railway station in his early years, said "only a 'chaiwala' (tea seller) can understand the pain of fellow 'chailwalas'".
"The NDA government has taken initiatives to open bank accounts for tea garden workers. Lakhs of families in the tea belt have received Rs 5,000 as aid in two instalments, the government has also decided to provide free rice and two kilograms of sugar to four lakh families in the tea belt," he said.
"This 'chaiwala' is committed to improve the condition of the tea gardens and its people in both Assam and West Bengal," he added.
Modi also asserted that the northeast has the power to become a new India's energy hub and the government is working hard to develop the region to realise this dream.
The prime minister, who paid tribute to legendary musician Bhupen Hazarika prior to his speech, said, "The government is committed to protect the rights, culture and interests of the indigenous people of this region".
Polling for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam will be held in three phases on April 11, 18, 23. The results will be declared on May 23.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
