By TwoCircles.net Staffer,
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi and sought his assistance in solving several problems of the state – including the issue of fundamental activities – at the present hour.
Taking up the problem of militancy and threat from fundamentalist organizations, Gogoi made a plea to Modi to take up the matter with neighboring countries at appropriate levels for sharing of intelligence and coordinated action, a state government release said.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi greets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday.
“There should be similar mechanism at interstate level for West Bengal and North Eastern States so that issues of jurisdiction do not come in the way of dealing with insurgency and militancy,” Gogoi said, adding, “Of late, Assam appears to have been targeted by fundamentalist organizations such as Al Qaeda. Some operatives having links with Jamaiatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were recently arrested in Assam.”
Gogoi, while apprising the Prime Minister about the slew of steps initiated by the state government for updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) 1951, asked for adequate funds for completion of the NRC exercise within a stipulated time.
He also took up the incidents of violence that occurred along the Assam-Nagaland boundary on August 12 that resulted in the death of 11 persons and displacement of nearly 10,000 people. Appraising Modi that about 8000 persons have already returned while 1750 persons are still residing at the relief camps, the Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to impress upon the Government of Nagaland to enable a congenial and conducive environment along the Assam-Nagaland border.
The Chief Minister sought the Prime Minister’s kind intervention in the matter of payment of crude oil royalty on pre-discounted price in the light of the verdict by the Gujarat High Court, on a petition filed by the Government of Gujarat, and the interim order passed by the Supreme Court that crude oil royalty to Gujarat be paid on pre-discounted crude price beginning from February 1, 2014. “On the issue of under payment of royalty and VAT on crude oil, the cause of Assam is very similar to that put forward by the State of Gujarat,” Gogoi added.
The Chief Minister sought the Prime Minister’s help in the sanctioning of Assam Flood Erosion and River Management Modernization Project with an estimated cost of Rs.1500 crore for tackling floods and erosion more effectively, besides ensuring optimal and productive use of the vast water resources.
Gogoi sought Modi’s intervention for early sanctioning of World Bank fund worth Rs.3874.86 crore for development of the Inland Water Transport sector in Assam, a matter pending with the Ministry of Shipping, the release added.