Shillong, January 29: Denouncing insurgent movements in the North-East which have affected the overall development of the region, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today said violence and democracy cannot co-exist.
“We need to take initiatives to bring back those influenced by the cult of violence into the mainstream of our society. Everyone involved has to realise that violence and democracy cannot co-exist,” she said inaugurating the 12th North-East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference here.
The Lok Sabha Speaker said the region, surrounded by five countries, is extremely important to the territorial integrity of the nation.
“It is in recognition of this strategic significance and the special characteristics of its people and their cultures that the framers of our Constitution thought it fit to incorporate special provisions in the Constitution to take care of the specific requirements of this region,” she said.
–PTI