Shah announces signing of Karbi peace deal

NEW DELHI: The signing of the Karbi-anglong Agreement is a milestone in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “insurgency-free prosperous Northeast”, Union home minister Amit Shah said after five insurgent groups of Assam signed a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the state to end years of war in the region.

The insurgent groups which signed the peace accord include Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front, People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri, United People’s Liberation Army and Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers factions.

“Over 1000 armed cadres have abjured violence and joined the mainstream of society, which reflects their trust in Modi ji’s leadership,” Shah said.

The home minister said the central and state governments are committed to all round development of Karbi Anglong.

“We not only sign peace accords but implement them within our time too,” he said, citing the similar peace pacts earlier signed with other insurgent groups of the Northeast -- the NDFB, NLFT and Bru groups.

The Karbi Anglong region, an area dominated by ethnic Karbi tribals, has seen years of violence in the rebels’ fight for a separate homeland.

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the most important thing in a democracy is a citizen’s independence and freedom of expression which is directly linked to good policing, and this needs to be continuously improved.

Delivering the keynote speech during the 51st foundation day of the Bureau of Police Research and Development, Shah said democracy cannot be successful if law and order is not good.

“Democracy is our nature... this was our character even before independence and we accepted this after gaining freedom. This is the nature of our people. The biggest thing in a democracy is a person’s independence and freedom of expression.”

“Democracy is not just about voting for parties and forming a government... this is just a part of the system. What is the success or fruit of democracy? The fruit is that 130 crore people of the country, according to their capabilities and intelligence, get to develop themselves and the country gets the benefit of this cumulative effect for its development,” Shah said. He said ‘beat constable’ deployed at the lowest level of the police system makes the “biggest contribution” towards making a democracy successful by protecting the common man.