Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling to Assam this Friday to address a public meeting at Kokrajhar after the Centre signed the Bodo Peace Accord that brought together all the different factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, once known for violent ways to press for its demand for a separate State.
Calling it a “historic” achievement since the Bodos — an ethnic tribal group — had given up on their demand for a separate State, Mr. Modi’s visit is meant to take forward the process of bringing peace. Quite literally.
Since mid-December last year, when the Government of India was forced to call off the Indo-Japan summit because of spontaneous student protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the violence that followed, Mr. Modi had to put off his scheduled visit on at least one other occasion.
PM unwelcome
Apart from the bilateral summit, the Khelo India Games of January was the other event the Prime Minister was expected to inaugurate, but didn’t, as the All Assam Students Union (AASU) had announced it would welcome the games but oppose Mr. Modi’s visit.
Emotion