RANCHI: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah presided over the 27th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council here on Thursday.
Senior leaders and officials from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal were also present on the occasion. Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand; Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister of Odisha; Samrat Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar; and Chandrima Bhattacharya, Finance Minister of West Bengal, were all present, in addition to chief secretaries and top central government officials.
The meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council, convened by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs together with the Jharkhand government, aimed at building cooperative federalism, redressing regional development issues, and resolving long-standing inter-state issues.
Speaking to the Assembly, Shah praised the courage of Indian security personnel in Operation Sindoor, and by consensus, a resolution was moved to thank them. According to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has presented India’s strong stance against terrorism to the international community.
Shah emphasised the cultural and historical importance of eastern India as a junction of devotion, education, and revolution. He quoted efforts by freedom fighters and national heroes such as Birsa Munda, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Dr Rajendra Prasad.
Highlighting Modi’s TEAM BHARAT vision, Shah said states’ development is central to India’s aim to be a developed nation by 2047. He pointed out the increased productivity of zonal council meetings during the Modi regime, with 63 meetings between 2014 and 2025, against 25 between 2004 and 2014. Of the 1,580 issues that have been discussed, 83 per cent have been resolved, pointing to the efficacy of the platform.