Politics / Assam

GUWAHATI, July 25: Pandemonium broke out in Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) as soon as the members assembled to attend the session beginning today. Sources in Diphu informed that the anti-Jotson Bey members of the house tried to move a non-confidence motion against the Chairman of the house, Babu Rongpi with the Deputy Speaker, Daniel Teron in the Chair. In fact, Daniel Teron was occupying the chair even before the chairman, Babu Rongpi, entered the house along with the Legislative Secretary Rup Singh Tisso as per the schedule at 10 am. Seeing the Deputy Chairman in the chair, the...

NEW DELHI, July 23: The Assam Government has moved the Supreme Court against "occupation" of its forest and revenue lands by Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Over the years, a series of meetings between the three north-eastern neighbours have failed to resolve the decade-old boundary dispute. In two separate suits, taken up by the Court earlier this week, the Assam Government sought the Court's intervention to restore its right to administer its "own" areas, as envisaged in the first schedule of the Constitution. Considering the nature of the tangle, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice...

DIPHU, July 22: Since the day it was formed on May 17, 1986, Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) probably faced worst ever crisis today as its two powerful leaders Jayanta Rongpi and Holiram Terang are at loggerheads. In fact, the crisis has virtually split the ASDC into two groups sans the formalities. The common Karbi people's dream for a separate autonomous state within the state of Assam lies shattered as the ASDC stalwarts are engaged in a power struggle within the party. It is yet to be answered what actually triggered the bitter conflict between Rongpi and Terang, both of whom are...

GUWAHATI, July 22: Despite the strict guidelines laid down by the National Human Rights Commission, most of the jails in Assam are in a deplorable condition. The jail inmates are compelled to spend their days in unhygienic condition as most of the district jails neither have proper maintenance nor funds to repair old constructions. One of the oldest jails in the country in Lower Assam's Dhubri district is facing the perennial waterlogging problem. Disclosing this to The Asian Age on Monday, the special representative of the commission in the Northeast, SB Medhi, said that two persons serving...

NEW DELHI, July 21: The Centre is willing to open a dialogue with the outlawed ULFA only if the outfit suspends all operations in the state. This was conveyed to a delegation of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba-Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials here today. But what came as a surprise to the AJYCP members led by its president and general secretary, Dilip Patgiri and Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee was the offer by the MHA, to the students body, to take an initiative in mediating between the Union Government and the ULFA. The delegation had called on the MHA to...

Kheroni, July 20: Karbis and Biharis are fleeing Kheroni in Assam's Karbi Anglong district following ethnic violence, which claimed 23 lives in the past week. Member of Parliament Janayant Rongpi and legislator Holiram Terang went to the spot Friday to pacify the Karbis, who are in a minority. Superintendent of Police Anil Phukan, who has been camping here along with deputy Inspector-General of Police (central western range) Dilip Bora, said the situation was tense and there was mistrust between the two communities. The killing of six youths in Thesso Ranghing by Biharis, in the presence of...

DIPHU, July 20: The Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) convention held here today took major decisions on restructuring the party and reallocating responsibilities of Chief Executive Member and executive members. All these decisions were taken amid walk-out by members belonging to Holiram Terang and Jotson Bey group both in the Standing Committee meeting and Central Committee meetings of the party. As per decision Jayanta Rongpi has been replaced by Chandra Kanta Terang as the President of ASDC while Holiram Terang has been replaced by Hem Sing Tisso as the General Secretary of the ASDC...

GUWAHATI, July 19: The recent spate of violence in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam during the past three days has once again exposed the explosive law and order situation prevailing in the two hill districts. At least 60 persons have lost their lives in the districts since April. And while in the first few incidents, the victims were either Nepalis or Biharis, the situation has drastically changed during the past two days with the Karbi tribals now becoming target of retaliatory attacks. The latest reports of violence have come from Serapathar village under Kheroni police station, where at...

GUWAHATI, July 19: The law-and-order situation in the Karbi Anglong hill district is deteriorating day-by-day as six more persons were killed in the ongoing ethnic clashes in the district last night. Police sources said here that a group of about 20 to 25 miscreants, suspected to be of Bihari community, armed with bows and arrows attacked a Karbi village No 2 Serapathar under Kheroni Police Station at around 2 am last night and killed six persons. Three others were seriously injured in the attack. Police sources said that those killed in the attack have been identified as Babu Ronghang (20)...

GUWAHATI, July 19: Tribal Students Federation (TSF) of Assam has vowed to foil bid to set up a coal-based thermo electric project by the Northeastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) at Longtong Udoipur under Tirap tribal belt in Margherita. The primary reason for which the TSF is opposed to setting up of project that is the state government is preparing to allot 1000 bighas of land for the project evicting total 305 families from the area. Already the Government has evicted 200 families in Udoipur village without paying compensation. The leaders of the TSF on Tuesday informed the Press...