Politics / Assam

GUWAHATI, March 4: A group of 60 Asom Gana Parishad workers today disrupted a public rally addressed by NCP leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A. Sangma and former Assam home minister Bhrigu Kumar Phukan. The AGP activists snatched the microphones and ransacked the dais which led to a clash between the rallyists and the attackers. Police resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the groups. The meeting was jointly organised by the NCP and Phukan's Asom Jatiya Sanmilan to kick off their election campaign. Phukan described the incident as an "act of cowardice on part of the AGP and a...

GUWAHATI, March 4: The Gujarat earthquake has turned into a wake-up call for the citizens of Guwahati, resulting in the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) being flooded with complaints of unauthorised constructions. The GMC Commissioner, A K Bhutani, has asserted that the Commission would not tolerate any unauthorised construction in the city. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, Bhutani said about a hundred buildings are under scrutiny by the GMC in Guwahati. He said that in recent weeks, the GMC had received about 250 complaints, including about a hundred through e-mail, about...

DIBRUGARH, March 4: In an unprecedented move, the reception committee of the 66th session of the Asam Sahitya Sabha today was forced by shopkeepers to refund them their application money. The decision to refund the money was taken today after a prolonged and heated debate on the matter. Accordingly, those who applied for restaurants would now get back Rs 2225 each, those who put up tea stalls would be given back Rs 1550 each and those who had put up betelnut stalls at the session venue at Sahityarathi Kshetra would be given back Rs 940 each. It may be recalled that there was chaos in the...

GUWAHATI, March 3: Top SULFA leader Lohit Deuri and 12 of his accomplices, including three personal security officers, were arrested this evening for assaulting businessmen and indulging in vandalism at the Fancy Bazar. The former militant's personal security officers, provided by the government, were also disarmed by the city police. The arrested persons will be produced before a magistrate tomorrow. Police said Deuri's personal security officers and a group of SULFA members went to Fancy Bazar, ransacked some shops and beat up shopowners and employees after an altercation over money matters...

NEW DELHI, March 2 (PTI): In a bid to placate the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in accepting two other Naga factions NSCN (Khaplang) and the Naga Federal Group (NFG) in the peace process, the Government today indicated that the three-year-old ceasefire could be extended to Naga inhabited areas in the neighbouring areas. The response from Assam and Manipur Chief ministers PK Mahanta and Radhabinod Koijam were positive, home minister LK Advani told reporters after the two Chief Ministers held separate meetings with him and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But it has been...

GUWAHATI, March 4: With Assembly elections around the corner, political equations are quickly changing in the State. The People's Democratic Front (PDF), a leading political party of the Bodo community, has geared up its activities. This time the PDF has favoured electoral alliance with the 'small indigenous groups' in a bid to bring all tribal people together. The heavyweight of the party has already initiated parleys with like-minded 'indigenous groups' for electoral alliance to achieve desired results in the election. It is learnt that the leadership of the party is disappointed with the...

GUWAHATI, March 2: The CPM today took strong exception to a revelation by the ruling Asom Gana Parishad that it was holding parleys with partners of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance for a poll tie-up. CPM leaders also denied claims by the AGP that the Left parties were taken into confidence before discussions were held with NDA partners. "Our party is yet to hold any discussion with the AGP about the coming Assembly elections. If the AGP has been holding discussions with any other party on any electoral understanding, then they have been doing it on their own and we were not told about...

GUWAHATI, March 1: The ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is open to forge poll alliance with constituents of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) barring the BJP. The AGP Vice-president Nurul Hussain today informed during a Press conference held at the party headquarter that regional party's allies in the ruling coalition would not oppose to poll alliance with NDA constituents in the State. He, however, did not divulge the names of NDA constituents, the AGP is considering for poll alliance.

NEW DELHI, February 27: The Supreme Court's move to examine the validity of the IMDT Act is likely to finally sound its death knell as the Apex Court may order striking down of the controversial Act. The observation by the Division Bench led by the Chief Justice of India, A S Anand that unhindered illegal infiltration from across the border may not only change the demographic pattern of Assam but poses a threat to the internal security and sovereignty of the country, has led to renewed hope that the Act may finally be on its way out. However, the Apex Court wants to hear out all parties...

NEW DELHI, February 26: The Supreme Court today decided to go into the validity of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 after the Centre accepted the Act as discriminatory as it applied only to the State of Assam but refused to repeal it in the absence of a political consensus. Earlier, the court had given sufficient opportunity to the Centre to repeal the Act. But today solicitor general Harish Salve told the court about the predicament of the Centre in repealing the Act in the absence of political consensus and urged it to hear the matter and decide about the validity...