Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday informed the state assembly that the arrested chairman of United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa and foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury had been in Bangladesh since 1990, while finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika and deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah shifted to Bangladesh on a later date.
'We wanted the PM to speak, and he just refused to -- now we have the opportunity, not just in the Lok Sabha, but also in the Rajya Sabha, to lay the government on the mat.'
The banned ULFA, which had called for a general strike on Independence Day, triggered four explosions in Dhubri and Bongaigaon districts of Assam on Wednesday.
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his Maharashtra counterpart Prithviraj Chavan held talks with Congress central leadership in New Delhi amid indications that decision on replacement of chief ministers will be made soon starting with Assam.
In the wake of massive surrender of militants from different insurgent outfits in the state in several spells of late, Assam government is finding it hard to mobilise resources to take care of the Himalayan task of rehabilitation of these surrendered militants who have responded to the call for peace from the government.
Opposition MPs on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh over the violence.
Hazarika, a former minister, said that he resigned from all posts in the AGP, including that of the general secretary.
The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee under Mallikarjun Kharge's presidency will be held in Hyderabad on Saturday during which the party's top brass will deliberate on evolving a strategy for upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The apex court was hearing separate pleas filed in 2007 by senior journalist BG Verghese, and noted lyricist Javed Akhtar and Shabnam Hashmi, seeking a probe into the alleged fake encounters.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai, Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukon and a host of Cabinet ministers and Congress veterans are among the total 485 candidates whose fate will be decided on Monday in the first phase of the Assembly elections in Assam to be held in 62 Local Authorities Constituencies spread over 13 districts.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has sent a strong word of precaution to the group of dissidence within the Congress Legislature Party by reminding them that he has been the chief minister of the State since 2001 only because of the confidence imposed on his by the people of Assam and will remain in the chair as long as the people desire so.
'It is difficult to replace him because if he is replaced, it will lead to a sense of defeat among the Meiteis, rightly or wrongly, and more chaos.'
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the deadly 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons on Wednesday jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, shouted slogans and released yellow smoke from canisters that triggered panic and chaos in the House.
The opposition strategy to corner the government on Manipur will continue in the Rajya Sabha as well, the sources said.
Chowdhury said that the visiting MPs will present their observations on Manipur in Parliament.
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Home Minister Amit Shah after two visitors jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and opened canisters that emitted coloured smoke, triggering panic among the members.
Top Congress leaders held deliberations on Saturday at the first meeting of the new Congress Working Committee (CWC) focusing on preparing a comprehensive road map for ensuring the party's victory in the upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Women staged a semi-nude protest in Assam's largest city Guwahati against an eviction drive in Silsako Beel (lake) area on Friday, as excavators ravaged to the ground several houses to clear alleged encroached land of the wetland.
Earlier, Vijay Wadettiwar questioned the recent meeting between Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar, who heads the rival faction of the party.
Sarma, while responding to reporters' questions on high price of veggies in Guwahati, had said, "Vegetables are not priced so high in villages. Here the Miya vendors charge us more. Had it been Assamese vendors selling vegetables, they wouldn't have fleeced their own people."
From Indian poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar to English great William Shakespeare, Lok Sabha members quoted extensively from literature to put across their arguments as they raised the Manipur issue during a debate on the no-confidence motion over the past two days.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to re-examine its 1998 judgment granting MPs and MLAs immunity from prosecution for taking bribe to make a speech or vote in Parliament or state legislatures.
Amid different voices within the Congress and INDIA bloc on DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against Sanatan Dharma, the principal opposition party on Monday said it respects all religions and stressed that others also have the freedom to express their views.
The opposition parties are seeking the President's intervention in the matter, claiming that violence in the BJP-ruled northeastern state is continuing unabated.
In a memorandum submitted to Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey, the 21 opposition MPs who signed the document demanded urgent rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people to bring peace and harmony to the state.
'It's unfortunate that the prime minister prioritises his own image over the humanitarian situation that is unfolding in Manipur, prioritising his ego over the atrocities that women and tribals have had to suffer in Manipur.'
Amid the political crisis in Maharashtra, the Congress on Thursday said it does not want to interfere in Shiv Sena's 'internal matter" but asserted confidence in Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Let the existing collegium system which is functioning not get derailed, the SC observed.
Nandhakumar ends East Bengal's 1658-day wait to beat Mohun Bagan
The Arunachal Pradesh government has launched an ambitious plan to build 50 mini hydropower projects along the border with China for electrification of remote villages that are facing challenges of poor connectivity and mountainous terrain.
The political war of words over Manipur intensified on Saturday with the BJP raising the incidents of atrocities against women in West Bengal and Rajasthan and questioning the 'silence' of the opposition, which termed it as a diversionary tactic to avoid debate on the situation in the north-eastern state.
The Supreme Court on Friday said it will take a decision on the early listing of petitions challenging the Centre's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 which had given a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not see a debate on the Manipur violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on it during their addresses on the no-confidence motion.
'There are more young people in Assam who are unemployed than possibly anywhere else.'
"NDA is a beautiful rainbow of regional aspirations... So nation's development through the development of states... At a time when we are working for a developed India, NDA is taking the lead in showing the spirit of sabka prayas," he said.
Several rebel Maharashtra MLAs are currently camping in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati.
Reversing the burden of evidence means that the principle of innocent until proven guilty does not apply. It is exactly the opposite: Guilty as charged, until you can convince the judges of the contrary, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Sisodia was unhappy with the recommendations, so he asked the then excise commissioner Rahul Singh to seek public opinion by placing the Dhawan Committee report on web site, the agency alleged in the chargesheet.
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