GUWAHATI, February 21: The Gauhati High Court today allowed a petition filed by W Nipamacha Singh and 31 other Manipur MLAs challenging the order of the Manipur Speaker which rejected the resolution moved by a notice on November 18 last year by these MLAs for the removal of the Speaker. Quashing the Speaker's said rejection order dated December 5, 2000, Justice AK Patnaik of the High Court directed the placing of the November 18, 2000 notice moved by the MLAs, again before the Manipur Assembly (unless withdrawn by the petitioners). Appearing for the petitioner MLAs, Nilamani Singh, Senior...

IMPHAL, February 21:The State Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam indicated today that the size of his ministry will kept small, at least initially, on account of the financial problems faced by the State. Radhabinod Koijam, who addressed a press conference at the residence of Union Defence Minister George Fernandez at New Delhi today, also confirmed that the first expansion of the ministry will take place on Friday next. The CM is return to Imphal tomorrow. According to official reports from New Delhi, the State Chief Minister has also made it clear that 'tainted' former ministers, who have been...

AIZAWL, February 16: Chief Minister Zoramthanga has asked the Prime Minister to allot Mizoram a separate All-India cadre as the officials posted under the present AGMUT cadre were not under the control of the State government, which created hindrance in running a smooth administration, reports UNI. The Chief Minister raised the issue during a meeting with Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi on Wednesday, official sources said here. Zoramthanga observed that while the three newly-formed States had a separate cadre, Mizoram, which achieved statehood in the late eighties, still lacked one despite...

NEW DELHI, February 20: New Manipur Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam favoured the declaration of "unilateral ceasefire" with all insurgent groups operating in the State on the pattern of Jammu and Kashmir. Koijam, who took over the reins of power in the Northeastern state on February 15, told Zee News. "My request to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Government of India is that there should be unilateral ceasefire covering all the insurgent groups of Manipur even if the groups do not respond to my appeal or to the appeal of the Government of India." Ex-ministers father abducted...

GUWAHATI February 20: Health Minister Kamala Kalita today informed the State Assembly that the State Government was planning to enact a legislation making it compulsory for Government doctors to serve in rural areas. In reply to cut motion on grant for Health Department, Kalita said a majority of Government doctors in the State were not willing to serve in rural areas. He also said mushrooming of nursing homes in urban areas of the State has opened large number of attractive job avenues for doctors who are averse to work in rural areas. He informed that almost all the States in the country...