MODI: Night stays mandatory for ministers in northeastern states

New Delhi May 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that one-night stays mandatory for Union ministers who visit the northeastern states in an effort to send out a message that the insurgency-hit region is safe for all.

While going to matter, Prime minister’s office planned fortnightly visits of Union ministers to the region from the past two years.

Tourism and culture minister Mahesh Sharma said linking tourism and development in the northeast and making it a tourist destination for people from all over the world is the “prime minister’s dream.”

"To ensure that, he has asked all the Union ministers to not only take trips to the northeast states but also to stay the night there," he said. People familiar with the matter in the tourism ministry said the government is keen to change the popular perception about the northeast as a “security nightmare” plagued with the insurgency.

"And what better way to showcase its safety than to have senior Union ministers stay there overnight," a person familiar with the matter said. As a result of this move, Sharma visited Assam in the first week of April to be part of the Namami Brahmaputra Festival, which is the biggest river festival in Guwahati. Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju was also present during the event.