Demands in LS: Repeal draconian AFSPA in North East

 A demand was made in the Lok Sabha today for repeal of the "draconian" Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the North-East, with a few members saying it was the biggest deterrent in integrating the youth of the region with India.

Participating in a discussion on the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of North East Development, members in the House made a case for bringing in change of strategy and political will for progress of North_Eastern region.

"For 50 years we have clamped AFSPA on the region. Armed forces have killed 50,000 plus civilians in North-East. AFSPA has been the biggest deterrent of integrating NE youth with India... Remove AFSPA without any conditionality," said BJD member Tathagata Satpathy.

Thokchom Meinya (Cong) said demanded immediate repeal of AFSPA from Manipur, saying the Act has been "draconian and black law".

He said many agencies have said AFSPA should be repealed and the Centre should immediately repeal it.

Satpathy said the government at the Centre will have to change its strategy to integrate the North Eastern people with the Indian culture. "It is a change in political will that is needed. It is not the BSF, armed forces who are at fault, it is politicians who are at fault," he said.

Flaying the attitude of successive Central governments towards North East, Satpathy said till 2008, Governors of the states in the region were retired armed forces personnel.
He demanded Padma award for Irom Sharmila, who is fighting for repeal of the AFSPA in Manipur.

"Iron Sharmila deserves to be given Padma award for her perseverence. I admire her personally. The kind of awardees we saw this year, she deserves to be given Padma award," Satpathy said.

He said the attitude of successive governments towards North East has been "convoluted or perverted". "If Britishers had not come to India, then perhaps North East would have been put off to China".

K Rammohan Naidu (TDP) said that North Eastern states are a victim of bad governance, lack of political will and extremism and appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts towards bringing in progress in the region.During the discussion, Prahlad Patel (BJP) remarked that National Anthem is not sung in schools in North East.

To this, Satpathy said there has been a recent instance of swearing-in of a "lady Chief Minister" where there were two flags -- state flag and Indian flag -- waving in the background. He was apparently referring to Jammu and Kashmir which has a separate flag of the state.

"Odisha, Bihar or any other state within India does not have a separate flag," Satpathy said.

Taking a dig at BJP in a veiled manner, Satpathy said, "We have come to that stage that any comment or opinion you cite, you will be off your head".
Thokchom Meinya (Cong) said the funds allocated to the North Eastern region is less.

He also asked the Centre to take steps to settle the vexed Naga issue within the Constitution.

Bijoya Chakravarty (BJP) said the Centre is coming out with a new industrial policy for North East and is also encouraging organic farming in Sikkim and in the entire region.

Chakravarty accused the UPA regime of not doing enough for the development of North Eastern region.

Satpathy (BJD) said the government has allocated only Rs 33,097 crore under 56 account heads in 2016-17 Budget, just Rs 4,000 crore higher than Rs 29,087 crore in 2015-16.

K Rammohan Naidu (TDP) said the per capital income in North East is low at Rs 6,600 crore, from the national average of Rs 10,000 crore. Also there are 35 per cent BPL families, less than 26 per cent nationally.

Naidu appreciated BJP-led government's efforts for trying to develop the North Eastern states by signing the Naga peace accord and encouraging organic farming.
Emphasising the importance of monitoring of the funds given to North Eastern states, Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena) said projects in the region should be completed in time-bound manner.

"Unless we do it in time-bound manner, development cannot be ensured," Sawant said.

He raised concern over porous border in the region leading to infiltration, movement of counterfeit notes and illegal arms.

"It poses a great threat to our internal security. Therefore, there is need for completing the fencing of the border and increasing border security...China, Bangladesh border ceiling should be given the top priority," he added.

Saugata Roy (TMC) said "development of North East is very strategic in maintenance of internal security of the country."

Major problem that these states face is lack of development and lack of connectivity, he said, adding funds that the central government has provided for the region are not adequate.

Ramen Deka (BJP) said there is a need for increasing budgetary provision so that the under-developed states of the region can be brought up.

Another BJP member Kamakhya Prasad Tasa said funds meant for the region are not utilised properly.

There is huge unemployment in the region which could lead to rise in Maoist activity, he said, adding, Assam alone has 25 lakh unemployment.

Stating that the potential of North-East remains untapped, Jitendra Chaudhury (CPI-M) said that North Eastern Council (NEC) should be scrapped or it should be chaired by the Prime Minister.

There should be a long term plan for the region, he added.
Raising the issue of illegal migrants, Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) said his party was also against such people but on many instances, those who have been living in the area for many years have been declared as Bangladeshis. Such situation should not be there, he added.

"It should not be that the issue (of illegal migrants) is raised only during election time," he said.

Naga People's Front leader Neiphiu Rio said there has been no tangible development despite the region being rich in resources. The allocation for the North-East has been virtually declining and it is a matter of concern, he noted.

Vincent Pala (Cong) said the central government has been talking about promoting North-East on one hand but was withdrawing incentives to the region.
He called for simplifying various norms and also put in place a comprehensive telecom plan for the region.

Referring to the Naga agreement signed by the government, Pala said it was not the first time that such a pact has been inked. Many other accords have been signed before and the latest one is only a framework while the details are yet to come out.
V Varaprasad Rao (YSR Cong) said fund allocation should be drastically improved for the North-East besides ushering in more development in the region.

Noting that reservation for people in the region could be looked at as part of development efforts, he said the government should take the people there into confidence.

Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav (RJD) and Kaushalendra Kumar (JD-U) said there should be development in the North-East as well as in Bihar and other backward states.