'SIR to ensure infiltrators are out...': Modi in Assam
What's the story
Addressing a rally in Guwahati, Assam, on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has started the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to keep "infiltrators" out of the electoral process. In his speech, he alleged that some "deshdrohis" (traitors) are trying to protect these infiltrators, adding, "The Centre is taking strict steps to stop infiltration."
Political critique
Modi criticizes Congress for neglecting Northeast
Modi slammed the Indian National Congress for "ignoring Assam and the Northeast for decades," saying that he was correcting the party's mistakes. He said, "The Congress governments had committed the sin of keeping Assam and the Northeast away from development." The PM also claimed that violence grew in Assam during the UPA's rule. He said these violence-stricken areas in the Northeast are now developing as "aspirational districts" under his government.
Infrastructure development
Modi inaugurates new terminal at Guwahati airport
Earlier in the day, PM Modi inaugurated a new terminal at Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport in Guwahati. He also took a tour of the building, which is dubbed the "country's first nature-themed airport." The Terminal 2 building can handle around 13.1 million passengers annually and was built at a cost of ₹4,000 crore. Modi also unveiled an 80-foot-tall statue of Gopinath Bardoloi, Assam's first chief minister, outside the airport.