Politics / Assam

Guwahati, June 29: Amid pulls and pressures from various quarters, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today got a breather when the influential Assam Jamiat-e-Ulema decided not to clamour for ministerial berths. Jamiat working president Badruddin Azmal, who is currently in the Saudi city of Jeddah, told The Telegraph that his organisation would not make any demand to the chief minister regarding the composition of his ministry.

In the past, the organisation had openly lobbied for plum ministerial berths for minority legislators of its choice and had also voiced its opinion on the size of...

Nagaon, June 29: The Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KNLF) today said it was ready to call off its indefinite blockade in the two hill districts if voluntary organisations and political parties can dissuade the rival United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) from attacking its activists.

The KNLF, earlier known as a splinter group of the UPDS, clamped the blockade on June 21 in protest against the killing of four of its members in an encounter with security forces at Donkamokam in the last week of May.

KNLF general secretary H.S. Timung said it might call off the...

ITANAGAR, June 29 – Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister L Wanglat informed the Assembly on Monday that second-in-command of Arunachal Dragon Force (ADF) Chow Monglang along with all cadres of his underground outfit would lay down arms in a ceremony here within a day or two.

The cadres trained by NSCN-K at its Myanmar camp would surrender a cache of arms, including AK-47, AK-56, M 20 pistols and magazines, assorted ammunition, two wireless sets and SBBL guns, which they had brought from the neighbouring country to create a reign of terror in Lohit and parts of lower Dibang valley and Siang...

GUWAHATI, June 29 – The new Council of Ministers that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will have in place by July 7 may well be a surprise package, with distinct possibilities of Gogoi inducting a few fresh faces using the opportunity. Sources in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), disclosed today that the Chief Minister would propose to bring in a few MLAs as Ministers, while dropping a lot many of the current team. Gogoi, the sources said, has drawn up a list of a handful of MLAs who could be sworn.

The sources, which preferred not to be named, said that the names of the MLAs were drawn...

Guwahati, June 28: The Assam Congress today heaved a sigh of relief when two cabinet ministers — power minister Debananda Konwar and industry minister Bhubaneswar Kalita — put in their papers after initial reservation. Konwar sent his resignation through a personal aide, while Kalita personally handed over his to chief minister Tarun Gogoi. There was a lot of apprehension in the party over the two leaders’ initial indifferent response to the chief minister’s request on relinquishing their posts before he downsized the government.

“Both of them made their reservations known and hence, the...

Nagaon, June 28: The Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) today made it clear to the Jayanta Rongpi faction that it would have to give up its Leftist ideology if it wants reunification. ASDC chief Holiram Terang today said his party would not consider any political relationship with the Left group and Rongpi’s unity proposal would be discussed only if “the leaders who left the party four years ago shed their CPI(M-L) tag and came only as members of the Progressive faction”.

The Rongpi-led group of the ASDC had recently proposed that the two factions merge to regain legitimacy in the...

KOKRAJHAR, June 27 – The State Government has extended ceasefire agreement with the Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam (ACMA) upto February 2005. The decision for extension of ceasefire has been taken at a meeting which was held on June 23 between Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and a delegation of ACMA. The meeting was held at the CM’s chamber in Janata Bhawan, informed Xabrias Khakha, chairman of ACMA.

Khakha further informed that beside the Chief Minister, Khagen Sharma, Inspector General of Police (special branch), Kanhu Murmu, Chammander in-chief, S Munda, education and environment secretary and...

GUWAHATI, June 27 – State Ministers continued to tender their resignations to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for the second day today to enable him to downsize the Ministry, and so far 25 Ministers have tendered their resignations. The Ministers took a decision during an informal meeting on June 25 that all of them would resign en masse to enable the Chief Minister to downsize his Ministry and the Ministers started tendering their resignations one by one since yesterday.

Since this morning, State Ministers visited the residence of the Chief Minister one by one to submit their resignation letters...

Guwahati, June 26: The countdown to the downsizing of the Tarun Gogoi ministry in Assam has begun. Fifteen ministers put in their papers today, following a request by the chief minister last night to his ministry to resign en masse before he leaves for New Delhi on Monday. He will finalise his new team in consultation with the Congress high command there.

A source in the chief minister’s office said till late evening 15 ministers had tendered their resignation, some of them by fax. The whole process is likely to be completed before Gogoi leaves for New Delhi by a 4 pm flight on Monday, he...

KARBI ANGLONG, June 26 –Tension continued in the Dhansiri Reserve Forest area of central Assam's Karbi Anglong district following an attempt to construct houses and a church there by Nagas from across the border, reports PTI.

Official sources here said the people from across Nagaland were setting up houses and a church there on the land they claimed to have been sold by a fake NGO which provided them with false land deeds in the name of the district administration.

Security forces had been deployed in the area and district superintendent visited to ease the tension there and prevent the...