Politics / Meghalaya

SHILLONG, April 10 –The April 16, 2001 occupation of the small village of Pyrdiwah in Meghalaya, located along the Indo-Bangladesh border still haunts the villagers. The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) had surrounded the BSF post in Pyrdiwah, which is under “adverse possession” of Bangladesh and forcibly evicted the villagers on the morning of that fateful day.

The External Affairs Ministry was informed of the developments only on April 17. The matter was taken up strongly both in New Delhi and Dhaka the next day. The Bangladesh government acted swiftly to order the BDR to vacate Pyrdiwah within 24...

SHILLONG, April 9 – Notwithstanding alliances elsewhere in the country, the tussle between the ruling Congress and the Opposition NCP continued in Meghalaya with the former seeking disqualification of the latter’s five legislators on the ground of allegedly supporting NTC leader Purno A Sangma in the coming Lok Sabha polls, reports PTI.

Two senior ministers of Congress in Meghalaya – Tony Curti Lyngdoh and Sayeedullah Nongrum – in a joint complaint to Assembly Speaker Martin M Danggo sought diqualification of membership of five NCP MLAS who, they said, were still ‘supporting’ Sangma...

SHILLONG, April 1 – The regional political parties of Meghalaya are yet to release a common manifesto for the coming Lok Sabha polls, even as electioneering is picking up in the hill State. Four regional parties – United Democratic Party (UDP), Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) have set up a consensus candidate, Loniak Marbaniang under the banner of Regional Parties’ Alliance (RPA) for the Shillong parliamentary seat.

Filing of nominations for the April 20 Lok Sabha elections in the State...

Shillong, March 10: Four regional political parties of Meghalaya today floated the Regional Parties Alliance (RPA) and selected North Eastern Hill University mathematician S. Loniak Marbaniang as a consensus candidate for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The parties, which are part of the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) had earlier decided not to align with the Congress but file a common candidate to contest the Shillong parliamentary seat.

The decision of the regional parties to join hands and contest the Lok Sabha elections has made the Congress wary that a combined...

Shillong, March 5: The BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today announced a deal on propping up a consensus candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya so as to jointly take on the Congress.

In a joint news conference today, the BJP and the NCP announced the formation of a co-ordination committee of both parties soon to decide whether to contest under the aegis of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or the United Democratic Front of Meghalaya.

Addressing the news conference, presidents of both the BJP and the NCP state units said the co-ordination committee would wait for...

Shillong, Feb. 26: A Meghalaya customs official, released from militant custody recently, has provided police with valuable information on links between rebels of the Northeast and Bangladesh army personnel.

L.H. Faihrem, who was released by the banned Achik National Volunteers? Council (ANVC) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) on February 19 after months in captivity, said during interrogation that the militants had kept him in a hideout in Bangladesh, senior police officials said.

A senior police official, in charge of investigating the case, said Faihrem had also...

New Delhi, Feb. 25: Purno A. Sangma has finally cleared the air on his links with militants. The Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker came out strongly last night against allegations that sought to identify him closely with the banned Garo organisation.

The A?chik National Volunteers Council (ANVC) had openly declared its support to the Tura MP, reportedly asking people to vote for him, and lauded his ability as a political leader. ?There is no verification of the statements issued by the ANVC. That it has asked the people to vote in my favour has not been verified...

Shillong, Feb. 23: The BJP?s gameplan in Meghalaya is simple. The party wants to appease all regional parties of the state and set up ?a consensus candidate? to take on the Congress.

BJP central leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Arun Shourie have made it clear that they would support former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A. Sangma in the Garo hills while hinting that the party would prefer a common candidate for the other seat.

The hunt for a consensus candidate has already begun and the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to keep the regional forces like the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the...

TURA, Feb 17? The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma suffered a major setback when it failed to form the next executive committee of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), losing to rival Congress that got the required numbers with support from regional party UDP and Independents.

The decision of the three United Democratic Party MDCs and four Independents to support Congress took the total strength of the group to 18 MDCs, two more than the required number for a simple majority. Both NCP and Congress failed to get a simple majority in the...

Shillong, Feb. 16: The debacle of Purno A. Sangma?s party in the Meghalaya district council elections has given the Congress enough reason to rejoice. Its leaders are convinced that ?Purno Sangma can be defeated? in the parliamentary elections. Sangma will be looking to retain the Tura seat for a record fifth time.

The split in the Nationalist Congress Party, both at the Centre and in his home state, has not done Sangma?s morale any good and he has been busy doing some damage control.

The Congress in Meghalaya, which Sangma split in June 1999, has once more revved up its campaign to dislodge...