Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said racism should be condemned "unequivocally" after a contestant from Guwahati on a dance reality show was subjected to racist rhetoric.
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.
Spearheading the protests against the dams, the All Assam Students' Union, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and All Mishing Students' Union have raised the alarm that these mega dams would have a catastrophic effect on life and livelihoods of people living in the downstream areas of the Brahmaputra river in Assam.
A mass protest mobilised by anti-dam protestors from Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) on Thursday stopped a turbine component that was being transported to the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro-power Project in Dhemaji district of Assam.
As political parties and the All Assam Students Union protest against the India-Bangladesh land pact signed on September 6 in Dhaka, the governor of Assam has called for a special one-day session of the Assam assembly on October 17 to discus the issue, as demanded by the opposition parties.
Leading the protest against 'India-Bangladesh Land Pact' that was signed on September 6 in Dhaka in presence of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, the All Assam Students Union on Thursday brought out a protest rally in the city.
The bench said it will hear petitions pertaining to Assam and Tripura separately as the problem with CAA in these two states is different from rest of the country.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said it will hear the transfer petition of the Centre on January 10.
Amid widespread protests against the citizenship bill in the state, the govt suspended Internet services to 'prevent spreading rumours'.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act filed by an activist. A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notice to the Centre on activist Saket Gokhale's plea and tagged them along with over 160 petitions challenging the CAA which are listed for hearing this month.
Newly floated Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), led by former All Assam Students' Union leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi, on Thursday forged an alliance with the Raijor Dal of jailed anti-citizenship law activist Akhil Gogoi for the upcoming assembly elections.
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.'
Yemen is ranked the worst (153rd), while Iraq is 152nd and Pakistan 151st.
Students' organisations and political parties are participating in the bandh to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there.
Sarma's eyes, according to those close to him, were always set on the top job in Assam. However, the leader who owed his early rise to two former chief ministers from the Congress had to toil for many years with dogged determination to achieve his goal.
The Cupid-struck should better watch out while celebrating Valentine's Day in Assam on Saturday, as volunteers of 'Asom Sena', the moral police wing of All Assam Students' Union is going to keep a close watch on them. "We are not opposed to the celebration of Valentine's Day but will certainly keep a watch so that nothing immoral and vulgar is indulged in by those out on a celebration mood on the day in the state," an official of the Asom Sena said.
The influential All Assam Students Union on Wednesday said that the peace initiative launched by the pro-talks leaders of the ULFA'a 28 th battalion raised hopes for a solution, provided the top brass of the United Liberation Front of Asom and the Indian government respond to it by holding a direct and unconditional political dialogue to solve the insurgency issue.
As the state Wildlife and Forest Department's all 'efforts to gear up vigil in the habitats of endangered one-horned Asiatic rhinoceros' has come to a naught, the All Assam Students Union alleging nexus between rhino poachers and a section of people in power in the state has demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into incidents of rhino poaching in the state.
The Assamese 'gamosa' and the salutation 'Joi Aai Asom' along with the cry 'Ho!Ho!' has become the symbol of the protests raging the state against the amended Citizenship Act.
For the banned ULFA, it is the people from the 'Indian sub-continent' who are illegal migrants in Assam and not the 'trespassers' from neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal.
For the chief minister and Assam alike, the road ahead is full of challenges, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The government will provide legal support to the excluded people, said Assam Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.
'Himanta Biswa Sarma has put a lot of effort in demonising Muslims this time.'
'It seems we will get an NRC which will include the names of illegal foreigners and exclude genuine Indian citizens'
The NRC is being prepared to identify illegal migrants in Assam.
A bench headed by CJI Bobde is likely to hear a batch of 143 petitions. The apex court had on January 9 refused to entertain a plea seeking that the CAA be declared constitutional, saying the country is going through difficult times and there is so much violence that endeavour should be for peace.
The party is less forthcoming about who the chief minister will be if it stays in power.
All shops, business establishments, schools and colleges remained closed. Attendance in government offices and banks was thin.\n\n
Accusing the BJP of adopting an anti-Assam policy, Mahanta said, "Let the BJP form a new government alone. We will welcome that".
Two motor-bikes were torched, while some private cars were seized by crowds in Jalukbari near the Guwahati University, sources said.
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.
Celebrations erupted across Assam with opponents of the bill bursting crackers, distributing sweets and breaking into frenzied dancing on the streets.
West Bengal had witnessed violence and arson from December 13 to 17 during protests against the new citizenship law.
Several petitions, including those by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.
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