Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday targeted the Congress, saying it gave problems to Assam while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been providing solutions.
“Congress always gave Assam problems. On the other hand, the BJP has provided solutions,” Modi told a gathering of the BJP’s booth-level workers in Guwahati ahead of the assembly polls this year.
Modi, who was on a day-long visit to the poll-bound state and launched an emergency landing facility (ELF) on a national highway and inaugurated projects, referred to the new semiconductor facility coming up in Assam’s Jagiroad. He said Assam will also be known for that facility soon.
He said Assam would get around ₹50,000 crore this year as part of its share of central taxes, which was around ₹10,000 crore during the Congress rule. He said Assam received over ₹550,000 crore for development over the last 11 years. “Can Congress, which did not give money for Assam, develop the state?”
Earlier in the day, Modi inaugurated the northeast’s first ELF. An Indian Air Force (IAF) C-130J Super Hercules with him on board landed on a national highway bypass at Moran in Assam’s Dibrugarh district.
The ELF has been designed and constructed in coordination with the IAF to support the landing and take-off of military and civil aircraft during emergencies. Located around 300 km from the Line of Actual Control with China, it will serve as a critical asset for emergency response, enabling quick deployment of rescue and relief operations during natural disasters or strategic requirements in the northeast.
Envisioned as dual-use infrastructure, the ELF is capable of handling fighter aircraft up to 40 tonnes and transport aircraft up to 74 tonnes maximum take-off weight.
“When I landed on the ELF, it created a history for the northeast. Earlier, when people mentioned the region, they thought of broken roads. That was then, and it is the present,” said Modi.
Modi added that the ELF is an indication that India is taking all steps needed for its security. He added that in the new India, not only are the country’s borders being secured, but it can teach enemies a lesson in their backyards.
“I offer my prayers to the martyrs of the [2019] Pulwama [Jammu and Kashmir] attack, the anniversary of which falls today. The way we punished the terrorists after this, the entire world saw it. India’s strength was on display during the [post-2025 Pahalgam attack] Operation Sindoor as well. Did you see such measures during the Congress rule?
He said that the Congress never took the nation’s security seriously, and scams worth thousands of crores used to take place in defence deals. Modi said that now India is building highways, tunnels, and bridges along the international borders. Modi accused the Congress of standing in support of those who are anti-India and support the breakup of the northeast.
Modi, who inaugurated a bridge over the Brahmaputra, said the Congress constructed just three bridges over the river in seven decades. He added that the BJP made five new ones in the past 11 years. “After remaining away from power for 10 years, Congress has become more toxic, and now its statements are poisonous. Their leaders are working to protect illegal infiltrators and erase Assam’s real identity,” said Modi, who also inaugurated a data centre, a transit campus of the Indian Institute of Management Guwahati, and flagged off 225 electric buses. He urged the BJP workers ensure that the party returns to power for a third time in Assam.