The Assam cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years in the state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
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.
The meeting was attended by 26 participants including Chief Ministers and Lt Governors of UTs, he said while briefing the media.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the rescue mission in the landslide-hit Mundakkai region of Wayanad could take a few more days, and appointed a cabinet sub-committee of four ministers to coordinate the rescue efforts.
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
Alarmed by the devastating fire at the AMRI Hospital in neighbouring Kolkata, which claimed 93 lives, the Assam government has decided to conduct a fresh fire-safety audit in all hospitals, educational institutions, hotels and residential apartment buildings across the state.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday informed the media in Guwahati that in response to the request made by Dr Ram's son and wife, the state government decided to give its nod for a CBI probe into the incident.
The visit of a high-level delegation of revenue officials from Bangladesh to India-Bangladesh border areas in Dhubri sector in western Assam has triggered sharp protests by political and non-political groups in Assam.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani, who was arrested by Assam police from the western state for a purported tweet, was on Thursday remanded to three days police custody by a court in Kokrajhar in the north eastern state.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
The AFSPA, often criticised as a draconian law, gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary.
Hazarika, a former minister, said that he resigned from all posts in the AGP, including that of the general secretary.
"The basic cause behind insurgency and Maoists activities or naxalism is frustration over lack of livelihood options. So we need to create jobs or source of income for youth in backward areas to prevent them from going astray. It is not true only in case of Assam but for the whole of the country," Gogoi said.
'Women' as a political constituency appears to be an idea that has come of age. It is changing India in ways that we only dimly understand, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
BJP minister Sum Ronghang, the hill areas development and mines and minerals minister, alleged that the BJP functions in a "non-transparent manner".
The All India Congress Committee has asked the party's ministers and legislators in Assam to declare their personal assets before Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.Veerappa Moily, the Congress leader in charge of Assam, told mediapersons that though there was no provision in the Constitution to make it mandatory for ministers and Members of Legislative Assembly to declare their assets, all party ministers and legislators in Assam would have to do so before Tarun Gogoi.
Hours after the release of United Liberation Front of Asom Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa from Guwhati's Central Jail, the Assam government clarified that the ban the outfit will stay despite the outfit's leadership talking truce.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday hinted at the involvement of a third force behind the raging ethnic violence in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC) areas of Kokrajhar and Chirang.
The epicenter of the quake was Sonitpur and the quake occurred at 7.51 am at a depth of 17 kilometres, it said.
While Himanta Biswa Sarma scotched rumours that he would be the king this time, political sources in Guwahati maintained that he, and not Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, had a bigger say in choosing candidates, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Opposition parties in India, led by the Congress, have demanded a detailed discussion in Parliament on alleged discrepancies in voter lists. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, highlighting concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. The opposition alleges large-scale duplication of EPIC numbers, which they claim undermines voter integrity and the electoral process. They have also pointed out instances of inflated voter lists in states like Maharashtra and Haryana. The Election Commission has acknowledged discrepancies but maintains that these are not widespread and that corrective measures are being taken. The opposition, however, insists on a comprehensive discussion on the matter to ensure the integrity of elections in India.
'We are in a dilemma if the central government supports this ethnic violence and Biren Singh.'
The United Liberation Front of Asom is trying to re-group, after it suffered a setback recently when a faction of the banned extremist outfit broke away to participate in peace talks with the Centre.Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has stated that though the law and order situation in the state is currently under control, the government has information about the anti-talks faction of the banned ULFA, led by commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, trying to regroup.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said two major terror modules were busted in the state in a "nationally coordinated operation".
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday promised to publish a white paper by the first week of October giving details about the steps taken by the government to check the illegal migration from Bangladesh even as a fresh wave of people's agitation against the problem of illegal migrants threatening to gather momentum in the state.
'Saha had taken charge in a difficult time and led the party to a crucial victory in the election. He deserves to be the next Chief Minister'
A total of five FIRs have been registered against Banerjee in Assam since the publication of the NRC final draft on July 30.
The CPI-M leader was the chief minister of the state from 2000 to 2011.
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.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
