GUWAHATI: Union home minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre would do its best to remove the sense of ‘disconnect’ prevalent among the people of the northeast . He called the region, India’s ‘strong arm’.

He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the 19th National Youth Festival, 2015, on Monday. The Union minister said if Jammu and Kashmir is the nation’s crown, the northeast is its ‘strong arm’.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Union MoS for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Union MoS for sports and youth affairs Sarbananda Sonowal and a number of state MPs attended the event on Monday.

“From our first day in power, our focus has been on the NE’s progress and prosperity. For the first time after Independence, Guwahati was selected to host the National Youth Festival. Our government also organized the national DGPs conference in Guwahati. We want to remove every sense of disconnect,” Rajnath added.

The concluding ceremony of the festival coincided with the 151st birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Youths from different parts of the country took part in the event and Rajnath took the opportunity of spreading the saint’s message.

“Swami Vivekananda was a global youth in his time. Today, a majority of India’s population comprises youths. I believe in youth power. You can make India a superpower. I know the challenges before you, especially the problem of unemployment. Our government at the Centre will work in active cooperation with state governments to create employment opportunities here,” the home minister said.

