evidence: Coming from a politically active family, Shri Rijiju showed a keen interest in public affairs from his student days. At the age of 31 he was appointed as a Member of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Government of India (2002-04). In 2004 he was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from West Arunachal Pradesh constituency, which is one of the largest in the country. As a MP, Shri Rijiju quickly earned the respect of his more seasoned colleagues by his active participation in parliamentary work both inside and outside the House. He served on many important committees of Parliament in the14th Lok Sabha. With a more than 90% attendance record, and with an impressive regularity in raising questions of national and international importance and participating in key debates, he was duly adjudged as the Best Young Parliamentarian by the media. Despite growing up in one of the most remote and underdeveloped regions of the country, he has embraced the opportunities life has offered him and today is widely recognised as the voice of the North East both within the Government of India and in the public eye. He has been a passionate advocate of greater integration of the North East with the national mainstream. Shri Rijiju was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha on May 16th 2014. In recognition of his work, he was inducted by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi into the Council of Ministers as a Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 26th, 2014.