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Tagged as 'outsiders', people from northeast face racial slurs

PM Narendra Modi is presented with a painting by Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh during the Manipur Sangai Festival in Imphal on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

IMPHAL: Though the nuances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s speech, delivered in Hindi, flummoxed many in the audience, the crux of it was clear. Taking note of the unemployment problem in the northeast, Modi talked of various employment-generation schemes for Northeastern states.Plans are afoot to recruit youth from the northeast in Delhi Police , Modi said. He also reiterated his promise to send 200 policewomen from the northeast to Gujarat on a two-year deputation to enhance national integration. The assurance found resonance among people who have at times been targeted in hate crimes in Delhi and elsewhere.Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Sangai Festival at the Bhaigyachandra Open Air Theatre in Imphal East on Sunday afternoon, Modi said the Centre’ decision to set up a sports university in Manipur would promote sports in the region and boost employment. Though he did not spell out any package, he underscored the need to boost tourism in the northeast.In a separate meeting with BJP’s Manipur unit leaders at the party’s Neityaipat Chuthek office, Modi pledged his support to the proposed bus service between Imphal and Myanmar’s Mandalay. He spoke of the need to enhance development of the region and the need for links with the South East Asian countries.Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh urged Modi to upgrade the Centre-run Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) to an AIIMS . He sought the operationalization of the Tulihal (Imphal) international airport and improvement of the Imphal-Silchar highway, the state’s second lifeline. The party’s Manipur unit submitted a memorandum to Modi seeking the withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from the state.