SHILLONG: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday urged the people of the poll-bound state to extend their support to AICC chief Sonia Gandhi even as he promised to empower tribal governing bodies and improve women's representation in decision-making administrative units in matrilineal Meghalaya.
"Under the guidance of Sonia Gandhi, the UPA has been working hard for inclusive development of not only the northeast but all states and communities of the country, especially the backward, scheduled tribes and castes," Singh, who mentioned the name of the AICC president at least four times during the course of his short speech, said.
He added it was because of Sonia Gandhi's "concern for ordinary men and women" that the Congress-led UPA had been voted to power by the people of the country for the second consecutive term. Referring to the RTE, RTI and MGREG Acts, the PM also claimed that under the UPA, generation of employment in the country had been at an "unprecedented scale".
"The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre has always recognized the special needs of the northeast, which has been receiving three to four times more central assistance than the rest of India," Singh said at an election meeting at the Polo Grounds here on Friday.
Heaping praises on the Congress-led government in the state, Singh, who was flanked by chief minister Mukul Sangma on the dais, certified the state government for having delivered "transparent governance" and having "utilized well" the resources made available to it "under various flagship programmes of the Congress."
Praising the "extreme beauty" of Meghalaya and in general of the northeast, which has rich natural resources and "highly talented" people, the PM said he felt a "strong emotional attachment" with the region. "It is my privilege to represent one of the northeastern states in Parliament," Singh, who represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha, said.
Claiming that Meghalaya was one of the "fastest growing" states in the country not only in economic terms but also in infrastructure development, Singh eulogized chief minister Sangma's pet project, the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Promotion Programme.
Observing that Meghalaya was emerging as a "big tourist destination", the PM said improvement in road, rail and air connectivity would attract a larger number of visitors to the state. He said the Shillong-Guwahati, Shillong-Tura and Shillong-Silchar roads were being widened and the projects likely to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.
PM extols Sonia in Meghalaya rally
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PM extols Sonia in Meghalaya rally
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PM extols Sonia in Meghalaya rally
