Maharashtra key to India’s growth story being scripted in Modi 3.0: EAM Jaishankar

Mumbai: Ahead of the November 20 Assembly elections in the state, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said a developed Maharashtra is indispensable for a developed India and highlighted that economic, employment and development issues are being addressed at an unprecedented pace in the third term of the Narendra Modi government.

“The government’s economic, employment and development focus has been very strong during the third term,” he said, addressing media persons at the BJP office in Mumbai.

He said border security and countering terrorism are the other pre-requisites for economic development and the government is alive to the developments taking place in the neighbourhood.

The minister said the government’s third term has also seen the country play a larger role on the global stage with PM Modi taking personal initiative on the Ukraine conflict and visiting Ukraine and also meeting President Vladimir Putin during the recent BRICS Summit.

Highlighting the government’s busy diplomatic agenda, S. Jaishankar highlighted the recent visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, PM Modi’s visit to Singapore, the PM’s participation in the G7 Summit which represents the developed nations which are central to investments, and the PM’s visit to the UN and meeting with Big Tech leaders in the US.

Talking about infiltration from the Bangladesh border, the minister said the fencing on the border has improved and infiltration has come down under the Modi government.

“There was political upheaval in the country a few months back and due to this there were increased attempts to infiltrate but we acted promptly. The government has no confusion about what to do for protecting the security and border of the country and this is not limited to just Bangladesh border, but also Myanmar,” he said.

The open border regime with Myanmar has been reviewed and the earlier view of taking a lenient stand on allowing people to enter the country has stopped since 2014. “We have spruced up the security on the border wherever it was needed,” he said, while responding to a question.