GUWAHATI: BJP president Amit Shah here on Monday said BJP has steered the northeast to unprecedented development and the region is set to become the biggest contributor to the country's GDP "The northeastern states will soon become the biggest contributor to the nation's GDP because of the visionary policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ," Shah said at the 'Ground Breaking Ceremony' of cancer hospitals here on Monday. He added, "The bhumi puja (foundation laying ceremony) of 19 cancer hospitals itself is a big stride for the region after Independence."The hospitals are being set up under the Assam Cancer Care Foundation, a joint initiative of the state government, which will pump in Rs 1,030 crore, and Tata Trusts, which has provided Rs 900 crore. The Centre will provide Rs 180 crore. Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata said, "The centres will take up a battle against cancer so that people suffering from this silent killer get proper treatment and increase their chance of survival.""The 19 hospitals will be completed in 24 months and will cater to cancer patients free of cost under the Atal Amrit Abhiyan and other health schemes," health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.A project like this, Shah said, with such a large number of cancer care facilities in different parts of the state, could not have been possible under Congress rule. "The northeastern states have been under Congress rule for the most part. Despite being one of the highest revenue generators before Independence, the region remained underdeveloped under successive Congress governments." He added, "Now, that trend has been reversed since BJP came to power at the Centre and majority of the states came under the rule of BJP or NDA partners."Shah said two years of a BJP-led government in Assam and four years of the NDA government at the Centre have done more for the region than decades of Congress rule, referring to connectivity infrastructure projects. "In fact, the entire region is going through a turnaround in terms of rail, road and IT connectivity. These are essentials for the region's progress," he added.On similar lines, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "In two years, the government has been able to free the system of corruption." He added, "We have inherited a system which was mired by corruption. Today, we have an atmosphere of democracy where everyone can live a dignified life."Though the BJP president did not refer to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the tenor of Shah's speech appeared to set the stage for BJP's campaign. Later in the evening, Shah convened a meeting on the preparations for 2019 with Sonowal, ministers, MPs, MLAs and president of the state unit of BJP Ranjeet Kumar Dass here. The BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance has set a target of winning 21 out of 25 parliamentary seats in the eight northeastern states.

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