At least one person was killed and several others, including policemen, were injured in a clash between evicted people and security personnel in Paikan Reserve Forest in Assam's Goalpara district on Thursday, an official said.
Recalling his detention during Hiteshwar Saikia's tenure as Assam Chief Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that during the Congress government in Assam, he was beaten up and had jail food for seven days in the state.
Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has called upon China to expand its economic influence in Bangladesh, controversially mentioning that India's northeastern states being landlocked could present an opportunity. Yunus, who recently visited China and met with President Xi Jinping, highlighted Bangladesh's role as the "only guardian of the ocean " in the region, suggesting it could be a pathway for Chinese economic expansion. This statement has sparked debate, with Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic advisory council, questioning the relevance of India's landlocked states in Yunus' appeal to China. Yunus, however, emphasized the importance of a strong friendship with China, viewing it as a counterbalance to India. During his visit, Yunus signed nine agreements with Beijing and secured USD 2.1 billion in investments, loans, and grants from the Chinese government and companies.
'Militants are taking over the administration. Fundamentalists have been released from jail.'
For the chief minister and Assam alike, the road ahead is full of challenges, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Addressing a massive Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata, Banerjee gave a clarion call to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2026 assembly elections and eventually oust it from power at the Centre, declaring, "If this linguistic profiling doesn't stop, our resistance movement will reach New Delhi."
'Mr Modi has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve, and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029.' 'He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday vowed to hunt down each and every terrorist involved in the Pahalgam attack and said all of them will be made answerable for the heinous act.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of raising questions on sensitive defence matters in Parliament after his marriage to a British citizen. Sarma alleged that Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has links with the Pakistani establishment, including working for an organisation allegedly a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Gogoi has rejected the allegations as "baseless" and said the BJP is trying to divert attention from its own failures.
Noting that the border disputes go back to the British era, Sarma in an said Assam has been holding talks with other states too and faulted the previous Congress governments for not clearly demarcating boundaries while carving out new states.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, allegedly linked to Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's British wife, has visited India 18 times. Sarma, while speaking in the state assembly, claimed that the initial information in the case is "very fatal" for the Congress and will have a "huge impact" on the politics of Assam. He also stated that the investigation findings will put some people in an indefensible position.
Assam has become a hotbed of "jihadi activities" with five modules having links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarul Islam busted in five months, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday.
The Assam government has banned the serving and consumption of beef in restaurants, hotels, and public places. The decision was made at a meeting of the state cabinet to amend the existing law on beef consumption. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the current law is strong but there has been no prohibition on beef consumption at restaurants, hotels, and religious or social gatherings. The new law aims to put a complete ban on consumption of beef in public places in Assam.
Nine labourers were trapped inside a coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the site, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The incident took place at the Assam Coal Quarry, situated in the 3 Kilo area of Umrangso in the district. Rescue operations were launched immediately with teams consisting of local authorities, emergency responders and mining experts working to locate and free the trapped workers.
The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of repeatedly supplying "oxygen" to Pakistan, and slammed the opposition party for its leader Charanjit Singh Channi's remarks questioning the veracity of Balakot air strikes after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress is full of pro-Pakistan leaders who make statements against India's interests, and mocked the party for its letter that had advised its functionaries to toe the official line on the issue. Patra also criticized other Congress leaders for their comments on the Pulwama and Pahalgam terror attacks, accusing them of lowering the morale of the armed forces. He further slammed the Congress for claiming credit for the government's announcement of the caste census and said the party never carried out the exercise during its over 60-year stint in power.
The Assam Cabinet on Sunday had decided not to register any case against the Congress MP or his British spouse, who the BJP has accused of having ISI links, but instructed the DGP to file an FIR against Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.
The opposition Congress in Assam has accused the BJP government of running a "police raj" after official data revealed that 72 people were killed and 220 injured in police actions since Himanta Biswa Sarma became the chief minister in May 2021. The Congress has demanded that the Supreme Court take suo motu cognisance of the data and investigate the alleged fake encounters in the state. The data shows that a total of 256 police actions have been taken between May 2021 and February 2024, resulting in the deaths of 38 people in police remand and 34 more while in custody but before remand. The Congress has alleged that the ruling party is using the police for political gains, while the government has defended its actions, stating that police cases have been registered in each incident and that the NHRC guidelines have been followed.
The government nominated Tharoor, who serves as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, to lead one of the seven multi-party delegations abroad for putting across India's stand against Pakistan for supporting terrorism.
Sisodia claimed that while the Assam government procured PPE kits for Rs 600 a piece from other companies, Sarma gave urgent supply orders to the firms of his wife and son's business partners for Rs 990 a piece "taking advantage of the COVID-19 emergency".
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma believes that the BJP could win more seats in the state by aggressively campaigning in minority-dominated areas. He attributed the party's recent success in the bypolls to its beneficiary schemes, which he claims have garnered support from the minority community. Sarma emphasized that the BJP will continue with its development work for all communities and has no plans for appeasement. He also gave an update on the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge project, which is progressing well and is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. Sarma also hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle in the coming months.
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 ACA Stadium will also host five to six matches of the ICC Women's ODI World Cup, which will be the first World Cup cricket matches in the northeast, Saikia said.
Eight persons have been killed in floods and landslides in Assam as incessant rainfall caused massive inundation in 17 districts, affecting over 78,000 people, officials said on Saturday.
Assam journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder was arrested for a second time on Thursday after being granted bail in a previous case where he was accused of attempting to steal bank documents. The arrest came after Mozumder questioned the Managing Director of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Limited about alleged financial irregularities. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that Mozumder is not a "recognized journalist" as the government only recognizes journalists from print and electronic media.
Reciting Islamic verse 'Kalma' saved the life of Assam University Professor Debasish Bhattacharya by a whisker from the terrorists' bullets in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam where he was holidaying with his family.
The labourers, who are said to be of Nepali origin, were engaged in the construction of a hotel.
Assam Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh was arrested on Saturday for a social media post questioning the status of cases registered against three senior BJP leaders, including a former state chief and two serving MLAs. The arrest came after a complaint by the wife of BJP MLA Manab Deka, who was mentioned in Singh's post. Singh's arrest was met with criticism from the Congress, with Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleging that Singh was "brutally dragged away" by police.
Murmu, a descendant of Sido-Kanu, who led the Santhal revolt in 1855, joined the party in Deoghar on Sunday in the presence of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
After a series of meetings, Sarma told reporters that BJP's Assam legislature party is likely to meet in Guwahati on Sunday and all questions related to the next government will be answered there.
A team of navy, army, NDRF, and SDRF personnel are working to rescue nine workers trapped inside a coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district. The mine is suspected to be illegal, and one person has been arrested in connection with the incident. Rescue efforts have been underway since Monday, but no workers have been found yet.
Labelling All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal as the 'enemy of Assam', state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday asserted that he is an extremist in protecting Indian and the Assamese culture.
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Rescue operations at a flooded coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district continued for the seventh day on Sunday to locate trapped labourers inside the quarry. The bodies of four labourers have been recovered so far, with the dewatering process expected to reach its final stage soon. The mine was abandoned 12 years ago and was under the Assam Mineral Development Corporation until three years ago. The leader of the workers has been arrested and the police are conducting investigations into the case.
Protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent in Cachar district of Assam on Sunday, with protesters throwing stones at police and the police using batons to disperse the crowd. The incident occurred in Berenga area of Silchar town where around 300-400 people protested without permission. The Cachar district administration imposed prohibitory measures across the district under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to prevent further unrest. The order prohibits gatherings of five or more people without permission, carrying weapons, organizing protests, and traffic disruptions.
The Assam Assembly has discontinued the decades-old practice of a two-hour break on Fridays to allow Muslim legislators to offer 'namaz'. The decision, which was made in August but implemented this session, has been met with criticism from opposition MLAs who argue that it was imposed by the ruling BJP. The decision was taken by the House's Rules Committee, which was headed by the Speaker, and was justified as a move to promote secularism and productivity.
The Election Commission on Friday barred Sarma from campaigning for ongoing Assam elections for 48 hours for his remark against Bodoland People's Front Chairperson Hagrama Mohilary.
Sarma also claimed that marriages of minors were registered by the Kazis earlier, but the proposed bill will prohibit any such move.
'There is a saying in Assamese about inflicting pain on an adversary: He cut my hands with a sword and rubbed salt into my wounds.' 'This has never been the BJP's culture but it started happening openly and frequently under Himanta Biswa Sarma.'
This will "stop the influx of illegal foreigners" and the state government will be 'very strict" in issuing Aadhaar cards, he said.
'...in the minds of the youth of Assam.' 'Now, no protests happen in Assam because of fear of police encounters.'
