Advisories to states to curb racial attacks on north-easterners

The Union Home Ministry will issue advisories to all state governments that they bring in stringent provisions in their law to deal with racial discrimination against the people of North-Eastern region living in different parts of the country, said Union Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju.

Speaking at a programme organised by the BJP North-East Samparka Cell here on Saturday, Rijiju said the advisories will be based on the recommendations made by M P Bezbaruah Committee that has looked into various concerns of the people of North-Eastern region living outside their home states.

Rijiju’s statement comes in the light of recent attacks on youths from the North-Eastern states in Bangalore and Gurgaon. 

“Any discrimination of people from north-eastern region will send a negative message back home. We need to link the North-Eastern region with the mainland closely. For this, all state governments should act proactively and there should be peoples’ participation. We will soon issue advisories in this regard,” he said.

The Bezbaruah Committee was set up by the Centre in February to find the cause of racial attacks on people from the North-East. The Committee, among others, had suggested promulgation of an anti-racial law or amendment to the Indian Penal Code to curb racial attacks, hostels facilities for people from the region and inclusion of a chapter on North-Eastern region in NCERT textbooks, among others. Rijiju said a majority of the recommendations will be implemented in two months.

Guest houses

Later, in an interaction with the audience, Rijiju said he was in consultation with the Union Urban Development Ministry on constructing guest houses for people from the North-East in metropolis. 

The NDA government had come out with a programme to provide road connectively to all villages in the region. He said a large number of people from the North-East were studying or working in Bangalore and they cherished their stay here.

Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said all eight capitals of the North-Eastern region will be connected through rail within next three years. The Centre has earmarked Rs 6,000 crore for the railway projects for 2014-15 in the region, he said.

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers H N Ananth Kumar blamed the Congress for treating people from the North-East as a vote bank. The NDA government has earmarked Rs 53,706 crore for the development of the region. He said the Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation would be setting up ultramodern fertiliser plants in the region.

Cultural programmes were organised as part of the event. A student from Arunachal Pradesh sang the smash-hit Kannada film song “Mungaru Maleye” from the Ganesh-starrer Mungaru Male, which received all-round appreciation from the audience and the guests.