Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates various developmental works during the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council, in Shillong, Meghalaya, on December 18, 2022.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Ahead of the football World Cup final between Argentina and France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used soccer as a metaphor for development in the northeast.
Addressing a function marking the golden jubilee of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong on Sunday, the Prime Minister noted that he was in a football stadium when the world was glued on the FIFA World Cup decider in Qatar.
Established in 1971, NEC is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the north-eastern region comprising eight States.
“It is coincidental that we are discussing development in a football field among soccer lovers on a day when the mind is on another stadium in Qatar. So, why not speak in the language of football?” he said after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of several projects worth more than ₹2,450 crore at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Football is the most pursued sport in the northeast with several players from the region forming the backbone of major clubs as well as the Indian national team.
“We all know a player is shown the red card and ejected from the football field for foul play and behaviour contrary to sportsmanship. Likewise, we have since 2014 (when his government came to power for the first time) red-carded all hurdles in the way of the development of the northeast,” Mr Modi said.
He listed these hurdles as corruption, ethnic differences, nepotism, violence, deliberate delays in implementation of projects and vote-bank politics that were “previously allowed” to be deep-rooted.
“We adopted a new approach to developing sports and sports infrastructure and one of the factors is the talent in the north-eastern States. The region’s sportspersons are shining on the global stage,” the Prime Minister said.
While the country’s first sports university has been set up in the northeast (Manipur), there are some 90 sports facilities in various stages of completion across the region, he said.
“Our eyes are on Qatar to see two foreign teams fighting it out for the World Cup. But that day is not far off when we will cheer an Indian team on the field with the Tricolour flying high,” Mr Modi said, hoping that the investment in sports today would bring the desired result tomorrow.