Union Home Minister and Chairman of the North Eastern Council Amit Shah with Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia, Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Meghalaya Governor C. H. Vijayashankar, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a group photo at the 73rd Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council, in Shillong on June 4, 2026. Photo: X/@AmitShah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (June 4, 2026) said the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre transformed the Northeast, comprising eight States, from a region of conflicts into a “hotspot” of opportunities.Addressing the 73rd plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, he said that opportunities in the region surfaced after the Modi government ended the era of violence associated with secessionist activities.NEC’s mandateMr. Shah said the NEC was fulfilling the people’s aspirations and promoting culture while serving as an institution for strategic planning to develop the landlocked region.He urged the Chief Ministers of the region, scheduled to review the India-Bangladesh border security in Tripura on Friday (April 5, 2026), to shift their focus from law and order to shielding the rights of the citizens, as insurgency is no longer an issue.The Home Minister directed the States to build artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain infrastructure for new generations. He also instructed them to market the region’s potential in aromatic oil-yielding agarwood, foreign trade, and health tourism.The Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura attended the session along with the Department of North Eastern Region Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and other senior officials.Five missionsMr. Scindia outlined five missions for the region — high-resolution village resource mapping; monitoring of wetlands, forests, rivers and landscapes; support for geospatial and space-tech start-ups; NER-Shield for disaster resilience and early warning; and green wealth and natural capital accounting.Later, in a memorandum submitted to Mr. Shah, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma highlighted key concerns. He urged the Centre to strengthen mechanisms for checking illegal immigration.“We suggested that measures such as the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act and the Inner Line Permit (a British-era temporary travel document), for which the State Assembly passed resolutions, could serve as viable mechanisms to regulate and check illegal immigration,” he said.Mr. Sangma also sought the inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the NEC session reflected the ambitions of a confident region. “…the focus is now on preparing the Northeast for the opportunities of the future,” he said.Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio reaffirmed his State’s commitment to working closely with the Centre and the sister States in advancing a prosperous, peaceful, and integrated northeast. Published - June 04, 2026 09:45 pm IST
