Gandhian Anna Hazare on Monday persuaded Right To Information activist and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi to end his fast unto-death against the construction of mega dams on rivers in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh without making a cumulative downstream impact study.
Right to Information activist Akhil Gogoi on Saturday alleged that a journalist -- who filmed the molestation of a girl in Guwahati on Monday night on his mobile -- had 'instigated' it, but the news channel he belonged to denied the accusation as 'baseless'.
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity, an organisation spearheading protests against a proposed dam in eastern Assam, has called for an indefinite bandh in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts from Tuesday. The bandh has been called to protest 'police atrocities' on agitators who were forcefully evicted from the demonstration site at Ranganadi in the wee hours of Monday. Akhil Gogoi, general secretary of KMSS, claimed that police personnel resorted to unprovoked lathi-charge.
Team Anna member Akhil Gogoi began a fast unto death on Saturday against construction of big dams on Brahmaputra River and its tributaries and called for action against officials involved in alleged 'atrocities' on anti-dam activists.
Urging Team Anna to change its decision of joining electoral politics, prominent Team Anna member and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi on Saturday said, "Otherwise, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti will have to take an independent stand".
The on-going mass agitation against the construction of 2000 MW Subansiri lower hydroelectric project along the Assam-Arunachal border has intensified. Anti-dam protestors have resisted the movement of two turbines meant for the mega dam project that is being constructed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation at Gerukamukh at the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh.
The special investigation team of Assam police set up to probe the July 9 molestation case in Guwahati will send raw footages of the incident recorded by a private channel for forensic test.
RTI activist and Team Anna member Akhil Gogoi on Tuesday claimed that the recent molestation of a girl in Guwahati, allegedly instigated by the reporter of a local news channel, may have been part of a greater conspiracy to tarnish the image of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and destabilise the state government.
Private news channel scribe Gaurav Jyoti Neog, blamed by Right To Information activist Akhil Gogoi for allegedly instigating the molestation of a girl in Guwahati, said on Sunday that the charges against him were 'malicious and wild'.
The Guwahati high court has rejected the anticipatory bail petition of the reporter of a news channel who allegedly shot the video of the molestation of a girl on July 9.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said the role of a local journalist, who has been accused by RTI activist Akhil Gogoi of instigating the assault on a girl outside a city pub, was "unethical".
Akhil Gogoi, an RTI activist from Assam, has been part of activist Anna Hazare's inner circle since the last two years. In an interview with rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore, he explains how the core members of Team Anna swung into action and carried the movement forward when Hazare and his aides Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were arrested by the Delhi police on August 16. Akhil is one of the 22 members who form the core group of Team Anna.
The Assam assembly on Friday passed a bill to regulate the slaughter, consumption and transportation of cattle, notwithstanding the walkout staged by the opposition parties in protest against the government's refusal to forward the legislation to a select committee.
The BJP-led alliance in Assam is all set to form the government for the second successive term winning 72 of the 102 seats declared so far and is leading in three others.
The police on Thursday booked litterateur Hiren Gohain, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti chief Gogoi and senior journalist Manjit Mahanta under sedition charges for their comments on the Citizenship Amendment Bill.
At least 13 people, including the prime accused, have been arrested so far for allegedly lynching an All Assam Students' Union leader in Jorhat city, while the outfit on Tuesday vowed not to keep quiet until the culprits were given 'exemplary punishment.'
The senior Congress leader opined that the situation in Assam can now be divided into two phases -- pre-CAA and post-CAA, and it was necessary to unite all anti-CAA forces in order to protect the ethos of the Assam Accord.
'One reason given for the failure of the Congress in Assam was due to the alliance with the AIUDF.'
The accident occurred when the private boat 'Ma Kamala' was headed to Majuli from Nimati Ghat and the government-owned ferry 'Tripkai' was coming from the riverine island.
The prime minister witnessed the protests when he travelled to the Raj Bhavan in Guwahati, where he will spend the night, from Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.
The union has sought clarification on the environmental impact of the project in the nearby areas of neighbouring Assam.
The incident was recorded by locals on their mobile phones and circulated on social media.
The agitators belonging to 70 organisations, led by KMSS and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, gathered at the secretariat to protest against the passing of the bill in the Lower House of Parliament.
Protests were held outside the Uttar Pradesh Bhawan, Rajghat, India Gate, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Assam Bhawan and Delhi University where people voiced their opposition to the controversial changes introduced in the law.
Although the authorities had maintained till the last minute that Mevani and his supporters did not have permission to hold the event, it seems the rally organisers and Delhi Police reached a compromise later.
The BJP, which has two MLAs in the MDA government, backed the Cabinet decision.
They warned that the 'prime minister and his cabinet colleagues will be stopped from entering the state' if their interests were harmed.
After the 18-member 'Assam Advisory Committee' suggested the two organisations to form a political party, a source close to the development said the new outfit will be launched within the next 10 days.
'If the Citizenship Bill passes, then the very principle of Indian citizenship, which is called jus soli (right of birthplace) will convert to principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood) on the basis of religion.' 'Citizenship is being given on the basis of religion and it is against the Constitution.'
A day after total shutdown in Assam to protest against the CAB, fresh protests erupted in the state and neighbouring Tripura and other parts of the nation.
Anti-CAB protests intensify in Guwahati even as the PM appealed for calm, assuring the people of the state that the govt will protect their interests.
'You can never say never in politics.' 'We may still see the return of AAP, but hopefully not of the same abusive politics again,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Indian intelligence agencies have often claimed that left-wing extremists are trying to make inroads in the militancy-hit regions of north-east to foment further unrest. But Jaideep Saikia, noted terrorism and conflict analyst, claims, "People who speak of Maoism taking roots in the north-east have not read history".
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