Politics / Assam

NEW DELHI, May 16 – The Congress Party high command may be busy stitching together an alliance, but the Congress-ruled Assam Government is ready with its own wish-list, with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi contemplating to seek a special package for employment generation and solution of the flood and erosion problem on a priority basis. The news of return of the Congress back to power at the Centre has brought with it hopes for Congress-ruled States like Assam, which has for long been alleging discrimination at the hands of BJP-led NDA Government. “I am expecting a better treatment from the Centre...

GUWAHATI, May 16 – The State’s premier regional outfit, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), has decided to take the lead in the formation of a joint forum of regional parties from across the country to secure regional interests. The party is planning to organise a national convention of all such parties soon to formalise the alliance. Disclosing this to presspersons, on the sidelines of the central executive committee meeting of the party here this afternoon, AGP spokesman Jagadish Bhuyan said that the party will shortly establish contact with all regional parties in this regard.

The decision to...

GUWAHATI, May 15 — Overcoming the initial shock and the internal bickering that followed its somewhat lacklustre electoral performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the State, the State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today tried to put up a brave front and claimed that there was nothing for it to be dispirited by the Lok Sabha poll results. Rather, it said, the party had secured the highest number of votes in 28 of the 126 Legislative Assembly Constituencies (LACs) of the State.

The party has won two of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, namely, Nagaon and Mangaldoi, in the State, while its ally ABSU-BPAC...

Guwahati, May 13: Bhupen Hazarika today lost to Bhupen Hazarika, at least that is what the music maestro thinks. Accepting his defeat to the Congress’ Kirip Chaliha “sportingly”, the BJP’s star candidate tonight said that “complacency among the grassroots workers” had led to his loss in Guwahati. “They (the party workers) thought that there was no need for campaigning as Bhupen Hazarika is contesting. That made the difference in the ultimate analysis,” Hazarika told The Telegraph.

He had declined to speak to reporters who thronged his residence here after the result trend became clear. While...

LUMDING, May 13 – The people of Lumding in general and the employees of Lumding railway division in particular have expressed deep concern over the unabated extortions and killings in Karbi Anglong and NC Hills districts by extremists violating all norms of ceasefire.

The railway employees, through their trade unions, have submitted memorandums to the General Manager, Divisional Railway Manager, NF Railway and other concerned authority, expressing deep concern over the extortion in the form of monthly payment from the salary of the employees, extortion of high amount from the middle class...

TINSUKIA, May 13–The Asom Gana Parishad candidate for the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat has created history in Assam politics by winning the Dibrugarh seat. This Parliamentary seat has never been threatened to be taken away from the Congress Party since Independence. But as analyzed in the pre poll analysis due to the presence of the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Sri Kamakhya Prasad Tasha in the fray and some other important issues in the constituency affected the Congress candidate none other than the president of the state unit of the party, Sri Paban Singh Ghatowar.

Sarbananda Sonowal...

GUWAHATI, May 13 – Though the performance of the Congress is much beyond expectation in the national level, in Assam, the party received a major setback as the president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) was defeated in the polls. The major gainer was the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which managed to win two seats, while, the BJP also managed two. All Bodo Students’ Union backed independent candidate Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmutiary managed to get elected from Kokrajhar constituency for the third consecutive time.

The election in the State was marked by defeat of political heavyweights...

DIBRUGARH, May 12 – Litterateur, Narayan Ghatowar, who is also an important functionary of the AASU-sponsored Asom Unnati Sabha has said that he is pained by the “unnecessary political debate on whether the tea labourers of the State are Assamese or not.” Speaking to The Assam Tribune here today, he said that it is universally understood that Assam’s tea labourer community is an intrinsic part of the Assamese society, and regretted that Congress leader Paban Singh Ghatowar has raked up an uncalled for controversy by asking if he is an Assamese or not.

“Paban Singh Ghatowar is an important...

Dhubri/Kokrajhar, May 10: Security forces have launched a fresh operation to flush out militants of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) from the Mahamaya forest in Dhubri district. The forces have also tightened security in the Adivasi and Bodo-dominated areas of the Lower Assam districts where ethnic tension is brewing.

Tension gripped the Adivasi and Bodo-dominated areas of Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts after two Adivasis were killed by suspected NDFB militants. The incident triggered retaliatory attacks by Santhal miscreants.

Residents alleged that the Kokrajhar district...

GOLAGHAT, May 10 – It is world’s most famous sanctuary for the endangered one-horned rhino, but the plight of the Kaziranga National Park does not find any mention in the speeches of politicians. The 859 sq km Park spans five constituencies, including Bokakhat, but the politicians here seem to be oblivious of its existence. This despite the fact that during elections, the candidates and their retinues have been regularly using the National Highway-37, the road east of the park to attend election meetings.

“Barring a 376 square km stretch of land where illegal migrants have settled, the park...