[1][2][3] The committee was headed by a Congress ideologue and prominent author and scholar from the Northeast Indian state Assam Rejaul Karim Laskar.
[5] However, since the inauguration of the Modi Government at the centre, the BJP started to challenge Congress party's dominance in the region.
[6] By mid 2016, BJP had replaced two Congress government's in the region, first in Arunachal Pradesh and then in Assam.
[8] Under the circumstances, the Congress central leadership woke up to the need to formulate an effective strategy to deal with the challenge and to retain its support base in the region.
BJP national Spokesperson Nalin Kohli has been quoted as saying, "The move to attract Christians, Muslims, and other communities ...has only confirmed that the Congress has a communal agenda...".