Agartala, Apr 15: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday hit out at the Congress and Communists for not appointing anyone from the tribal community to the post of President during their rule.

"The Congress and Communists continued to rule for years but not a single tribal son or daughter was made the President of the country. For the first time after 75 years of independence, PM Narendra Modi honoured the Adivasi communities by giving India a President hailing from the Adivasi community," Shah said at a public rally in Agartala.

Speaking about the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport at Agartala, Shah hit out at the Communists for not honouring the contributions of Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore.

"Communists have worked to forget the contributions of Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore. PM Modi has started the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport and unveiled a statue to pay respects to him. You must have seen the list of Padma awardees. PM Modi has conferred the Padma awards to Satyaram Reang and Beni Chandra Jamatia from the tribal community to honour the tribals in Tripura," the Union Home Minister said.

Speaking about how the BJP government has worked for the tribal community, "Narendra Modi government has not only worked on developmental projects throughout the country to increase the respect, security and societal development of tribals but has also taken them along."

Pointing at the importance given by the Narendra Modi government to the tribals, Amit Shah said, "Before 2014, the budget for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs was Rs 24,000 crore.Under PM Modi, the budget has increased to Rs 1,25,000 crore."

Attacking the Communists, Shah said that while they handed over guns to youths, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought them to the mainstream and handed them laptops.

"Wherever the Communists went, they left poverty, starvation, lack of education and healthcare facilities and youths were handed over arms. Whereas, Modi ji provided them with laptops and employment opportunites. By striking around 10 agreements, we disarmed the youths and mainstreamed them...40,000 people from the Bru and Reang communities now lead a life in well-settled villages," Shah said.

The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases, starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in the general elections.

(ANI)