Guwahati/New Delhi, July 1: Making a last-ditch effort to remain in the government, Assam PCC veterans have asked chief minister Tarun Gogoi to choose them over their younger colleagues in the new ministry because of their experience. The veterans said that as younger MLAs have age on their side, they could wait before joining the ministry.

AICC general secretary in charge of the Northeast, Digvijay Singh, today said the final list of ministers to be retained after the downsizing would be completed within the next couple of days.

?The chief minister has full liberty to decide his team and we...

Aizawl, July 1: The Human Rights Network of Indigenous-Tribal People, Northeast unit, has vehemently opposed the proposed laying of gas pipeline through Mizoram by South Korea?s Daewoo International Company and the Gas Authority of India Ltd, in view of the ecological damage.

Addressing a press conference today, president of the rights panel Rafael Thangmawia said a proposal has been drafted by the two companies whereby a pipeline for the gas to be extracted from the Arakan state in western Myanmar would be laid through the Chakma Autonomous District Council area in south Mizoram.

He said...

Shillong, July 1: Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang is said to be troubled by the hectic lobbying that is still going on in Delhi to remain in the downsized state ministry. Though Lapang has just returned from Delhi after submitting his list of 12 ministers, former ministers and MLAs of his own party, the Congress, have not yet given up hope. Sources said that besides Lapang, other Congress leaders also carried their own lists to the capital. The deadline for downsizing the ministry from the existing 41 to 12 ministers is July 6.

A senior Congress leader said, ?There could be a few...

Kohima, July 1: The inquiry committee set up to probe the Rs 38,000 crore Nagaland lottery scam of 1998 has ruled out misappropriation of funds but criticised the functioning of the finance department. The scam had figured in the comptroller and auditor-general?s report of 1997-98 and several Congress leaders of the state as well as the Northeast had become embroiled in the controversy.

The CAG report had stated that the entire sale proceeds from tickets amounting to Rs 38,297.32 crore had not been deposited in the government account. It had also stated that the government?s agreement with the...

Nagaon, July 1: A senior Assam government official and a constable were killed when NSCN (I-M) militants attacked a team of police and civil officials on an eviction drive in the Dhansiri reserve forest in Karbi Anglong district today. Police sources said the team comprised personnel of Karbi Anglong police, commandos and the CRPF. The leader of the team, extra-assistant commissioner of Dhansiri Dipankar Das died on the spot, while the constable succumbed to his injuries later. Nine policemen were critically injured in the attack.

The militants, who had constructed at least 22 well...