Guwahati

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up a two-day visit to Assam on Sunday, during which he unveiled projects worth ₹15,600 crore, engaged with students and party workers, paid tributes to martyrs of the Assam Movement, and mounted a sharp political attack on the Congress—effectively setting the tone for the 2026 Assembly elections.

Marking his third visit to the state this year, the Prime Minister’s itinerary blended emotional outreach with a strong emphasis on infrastructure development and political messaging.

On Saturday, Modi paid homage to the martyrs of the Assam Agitation, unveiled an 80-foot statue of Assam’s first Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, inaugurated the airport’s newly built ₹4,000-crore terminal, and addressed a public rally.

At the rally, he accused the Congress of neglecting Assam and the Northeast for decades, alleging that the party encouraged encroachment on land and forests by illegal infiltrators while failing to prioritise regional development.

The Prime Minister began Sunday with an interactive session under the ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ initiative, engaging with 25 students aboard the three-deck cruise vessel MV Charaidew 2 on the Brahmaputra. Over a 45-minute interaction, he responded to queries on examinations, personal growth, and career choices.

Later, Modi visited the Swahid Smarak Kshetra in Guwahati to honour the martyrs of the Assam Agitation—an anti-illegal immigration movement that lasted six years and concluded in 1985. He paid floral tributes at the Martyrs’ Column, where a ceremonial lamp burns perpetually in memory of the 860 martyrs, and toured the gallery housing their busts. He also garlanded the statue of Khargeswar Talukdar, the first martyr of the movement.

From Guwahati, the Prime Minister travelled to Dibrugarh and then to Namrup in Upper Assam, where he laid the foundation stone of a ₹10,601-crore brownfield ammonia-urea fertiliser plant. The project, to be developed by the Assam Valley Fertiliser and Chemical Company Ltd (AVFCCL), will have an annual urea production capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes and is scheduled to be commissioned by 2030.

The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony was attended by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union and state ministers, MPs, MLAs, senior officials, and representatives of stakeholder organisations. The plant is being described as India’s first to utilise associated natural gas as a primary raw material for nitrogen-based fertiliser production.

Concluding his Assam tour with a public rally in Namrup, Modi launched a fresh offensive against the Congress, accusing it of engaging in “anti-national activities” and facilitating the settlement of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam.

“The Congress wants infiltrators to occupy Assam’s land and forests to protect its vote bank. It does not care about the people or the identity of Assam,” the Prime Minister alleged.

He further claimed that the opposition party was resisting voter list revisions to retain political advantage and reiterated that the BJP would continue working to safeguard Assam’s land, culture, and identity.

Modi also accused the Congress of historical wrongs, stating that even after 11 years of corrective efforts by his government, much work remained to restore the damage. He cited the party’s opposition to awarding the Bharat Ratna to cultural icon Bhupen Hazarika as an insult to Assam and its people.

Emphasising development, the Prime Minister said Assam was reclaiming its historical strength reminiscent of the Ahom era through industrialisation and enhanced connectivity. He accused previous governments of failing to modernise the Namrup fertiliser unit and neglecting farmers’ concerns.

“The new fertiliser plant will strengthen agriculture and generate thousands of employment opportunities for Assam’s youth,” Modi said.

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The Prime Minister departed for New Delhi from Dibrugarh airport, where he was seen off by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister Sarma, and members of the state cabinet.