Shillong: Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju on Saturday addressed BJP party workers in Shillong on the recently-tabled Union Budget in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Briefing the media later, Rijiju lauded the Centre for the overall allocation of funds for the Northeast in the budget. According to the union minister, in last year’s budget, the total allocation for the northeast was a little more than Rs 68,000 crore which now has come to more than Rs 76,000 cr – a “quantum jump” of nearly Rs 8,000 crore.
Mentioning that how it has been an honor for him to be part of the Cabinet, especially being a tribal from the Northeast, the minister said, “On behalf of the northeastern people, I feel that it is an honour to be there in the Cabinet under the leadership of PM Narendra Modiji, and, as a person from northeast and as a tribal from northeast, it is a huge honour to become the first tribal Law Minister of the country.”
The minister said it took almost 75 years for a tribal in India to be the law minister of the country. “So, it is a huge responsibility and faith which honourable Prime Minister has reposed in me. So I feel that to become the Law Minister of the country is not an honor for Kiren Rijiju, it is an honor for the entire Northeast and the entire tribal community of the country,” said Rijiju.
He also emphasized how this is the first time that there are two cabinet ministers and 3 ministers of states from the NE in the Union Council of Ministers at the same time.
“This shows that how much the honorable Prime Minister gives importance to the northeast. Normally democracy runs with numbers but for the Prime Minister numbers do not matter all the time. It is his emotional connect, especially with the people of northeast, which has made him to give a huge representation in important portfolios in the Cabinet,” the minister added.
Concerning the Union Budget, Rijiju said when it comes to infrastructure, which requires huge investment, in the last seven-and-half years alone the region has received budgetary support that was never received in last five or six decades.
This support includes railway projects, airports, highways and roads for villages in rural areas and all important critical support for the development of soft infrastructure in the field of education, health and other sectors.
The PM DevINE scheme with an initial allotment of Rs 1500 cr will also be utilized in those sectors which are not covered by any other programs and policies or schemes, the minister said.
“What we’ve seen is that in the NE, due to its unique geographical and regional character, there are some areas, some critical structures, some issues, which are not settled by existing programmes and policies. There are many areas that are left out or leaves a gap. This special amount is to fill up all those gaps, so that nothing is left as a vacuum,” said Rijiju.
The Union Minister said that belonging to the northeastern region, he takes special interest to ensure that some of the schemes allocated under the budget are implemented properly. He added it is a moral duty on the part of everyone to ensure that all the funds are utilized prudently.
Rijiju said that in a place like Shillong, which is known as a very progressive city and being a very old city, people of the state will definitely wholeheartedly welcome the Union Budget because it has given provision for every section of the society.
“Nobody will be left out whether it is with regards to electricity connection or gas connection or portable water at your doorstep, banking accessibility; all critical requirement of the common people are taken care under this budget,” said Rijiju.
About the MDA government in Meghalaya, which is in alliance with the BJP, Rijiju said that he was hopeful that the young and dynamic CM Conrad Sangma will ensure all the schemes and amount allocated under the Union Budget 22-23 will be implemented effectively.