Strong states create strong nation: Amit Shah

Faridabad, Nov 17: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Monday said that strong states create a strong nation.

Chairing the 32nd meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) in Faridabad, Haryana, Union Home Minister Shah said that according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, strong states create a strong nation, and zonal councils play a very important role in translating this into reality on the ground.

At the beginning of the meeting, tributes were paid and two minutes of silence were observed in memory of those who lost their lives in the recent car bomb blast in Delhi and the explosion at Nowgam Police Station in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha, and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah attended the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Union Home Minister Shah said that in line with the track record of the Modi government so far, the culprits of the Delhi bomb blast will be traced even from the netherworld, brought before the country’s judicial system, and given the strictest possible punishment.

He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, eliminating terrorism from its roots was a collective commitment of the government.

Shah said that Zonal Councils were extremely important for dialogue, cooperation, coordination, and ‘policy synergy’.

He said many types of problems had been resolved through these councils.

The Home Minister emphasised the continuance of all-out efforts to ensure speedy justice in crimes against women and children, and also to eradicate malnutrition and stunting.

Laying stress on speedy investigation in cases of sexual offenses and rape under the POCSO Act against women and children, he said that no civilised society can accept such heinous crimes.

Shah said that the safety of women and children was the priority of the government, and for this, the number of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) should be increased.

He said that the sectors of cooperation, agriculture, and fisheries could become important means of eradicating poverty and providing employment.

The Home Minister said that poverty was being eradicated and employment was increasing through cooperation, agriculture, and fisheries.

Referring to PM Modi’s mantra of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ (Prosperity through Cooperation), he said that the cooperative sector holds immense potential for employment.

Shah said that only through growth in employment – especially self-employment - along with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could the dream of a developed India be realised.

He said that GDP alone was not an indicator of a country’s prosperity, and true prosperity was achieved only when every individual rises above the poverty line.

Shah said that the Government of India’s Ministry of Cooperation had initiated 57 measures across the country to strengthen the cooperative sector.

He said that these include computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), establishment of three new national-level cooperative societies, and the setting up of Tribhuvan Sahkari University.

The Home Minister said that the original spirit and role of Zonal Councils was advisory, but in the last decade, they had been accepted as action-oriented platforms and have delivered results.

He said that with follow-up, the government had not only accepted issues between states, between regions and states, and between the Centre and state governments, but also created concrete pathways for their resolution.

Shah said the government’s goal was clear - regional strength along with national progress and India’s global leadership in every field, which would lead towards the creation of a great India.

He said that all states should work in mutual coordination to resolve water resource management and water-related problems.

The Home Minister said that compared to 2004-2014, the number of Zonal Council meetings from 2014 to 2025 had increased by about two-and-a-half times and that these meetings had been made meaningful.

He said that between 2004 and 2014, there were a total of 25 meetings of Zonal Councils and Standing Committees, whereas from 2014 to 2025 till now, 64 meetings had been held.

Shah said that more than doubling the number of meetings reflects PM Modi’s concept of ‘Team India’.

He said that in these meetings, 1600 issues were discussed and 1303 issues (81.43 percent) were resolved.

The Home Minister said that this had been possible due to the cooperation of all State governments, union territories, and central ministries and departments, with the Inter-State Council Secretariat playing an active role.

He said that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the creation of ‘Vande Mataram’.

“At one time, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s great composition ‘Vande Mataram’ became the clarion call for our country’s freedom,” Shah said. “Today, the Government of India and all states are working together to once again make it the clarion call for building a great India.”

He said that this was an effort to instill the values of patriotism in India’s younger generation.

Shah appealed to all states and union territories to rekindle the spirit of patriotism among the country’s youth through the ‘Vande Mataram’ song.

Referring to the implementation of the three new criminal laws, he said that their enforcement had yielded very positive results.

“Under the new laws, the conviction rate has increased by approximately 25 to 40 percent and culprits are receiving timely punishment,” the Home Minister said.

He said that state governments need to make further efforts for the effective implementation of these laws.

Shah requested all state governments to upgrade technology from investigation and forensic analysis to online linking of courts.

He appreciated Rajasthan’s contribution to the campaign to promote millets and said that all states should increase the production and consumption of millets.

The Home Minister appealed to state governments to include millets in the scheme of providing 5 kg of free food grains to the poor every month.

He said that this would increase millet production, the new generation would develop the habit of eating millets, and people’s health would also improve.

In today’s meeting, along with issues of the member states, several extremely important national issues were also discussed, which included the implementation of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for speedy investigation and prompt disposal of rape cases against women and children, availability of brick-and-mortar banking within the designated radius of every village, issues related to water sharing, environment, and higher education, the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), and other matters of common interest at the regional level.

In addition, six issues of national importance — urban master planning, power supply system, strengthening of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs), eliminating malnutrition in children through the ‘Poshan Abhiyan’, reducing school dropout rates, and participation of public hospitals in the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana - were included in the agenda.

The Home Minister said that the energetic land of Surajkund was not only historic but also a living testimony to the rich cultural and artistic heritage and economic consciousness.

“The land of Surajkund and the example of lord Suryanarayan’s Bhagirath-like efforts inspire us,” he said. “It was here that lord Krishna himself first uttered the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita with his divine mouth, and evidence of the ancient civilisation of the Indus Valley has also been found here.”

Shah said that Haryana and Punjab are the land of the great Sikh Gurus, who not only contributed to strengthening the country’s spiritual consciousness but also made immense sacrifices for the country’s honour and freedom.

“Today our country is moving forward on the basis of its original traditions, but had Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji not been there, the country would not be moving on the basis of its original traditions today,” he said.

The Home Minister said that the great sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and the sacrifice of the Tenth Guru gave the country great strength and showed the path of struggle.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Kavinder Gupta, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena, Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh Gulab Chand Kataria along with senior ministers from these states and union territories, Union Home Secretary, Secretary of the Inter-State Council Secretariat, Chief Secretaries, and Advisors of the member states, and senior officers from state governments as well as various central ministries and departments were also present during the meeting.