‘Engine of the train…’: Scindia responds to Bangladesh CA Yunus’s ‘landlocked Northeast’ remark

At News18’s flagship Rising Bharat Summit, being held from April 8 through April 9, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Minister of Development of the North Eastern Region, addressed controversial claims recently made by Bangladesh interim government chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus.

Speaking to News18’s Senior Anchor and Managing Editor-Sp projects, Anand Narsimhan, in a session titled “North East Calling: Driving Digital Growth & Development”, Scindia took a pointed dig at Yunus, who had said that because the Seven Sister states of India are landlocked, Bangladesh is sole guardian of the ocean in that region.

The Indian minister remarked that whilst some countries might not be “landlocked,” they lack the power of India’s “ashtalakshmi” – a reference to the eight Northeastern states. He further emphasised the remarkable growth trajectory of these states, saying, “All 8 northeast states are growing at 12-12 per cent. These regions are the engine of the train that drives India.”

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Drawing on his experience with the Krishi Udaan initiative while he was Civil Aviation minister, Scindia pointed to the fact that pineapples from Tripura fly all the way to Germany, not only make their way to Chennai or Thailand. He said that chillies from Nagaland go all the way to Dubai. “Our capability to be able to impact both Global North and Global South from the Northeast is phenomenal”.

Scindia also pointed out that India’s Northeast is not isolated and in fact has influence over both Global North and Global South.

“The Northeast shares 6,000 kilometres of international boundary. Its connectivity with the global south is unparalleled to anyone. It is imperative that we not only look outward towards the Global North, but also towards the Global South.”

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During his four-day visit to Beijing, Yunus courted a major controversy by mentioning the North Eastern states of India.

Pleading with Beijing to set up an economic base in Bangladesh, Yunus said that Dhaka is the “sole guardian of the ocean” in the region.

In a video that went viral on social media, Yunus said that “[T]he seven states of India, known as the Seven Sisters, are landlocked. They have no way to reach the ocean. We are the only guardians of the ocean in this region. This opens up huge possibilities. This could be an extension of the Chinese economy— build, produce, and market things, bring them back to China, and export to the rest of the world.”

Referring to the narrative Bangladesh is trying to set, Scindia said, “narrative is about making sure that you lift the reality and truth about the comparative and competitive advantage of your proposition. That’s the narrative.”