The Assam and Nagaland governments have agreed to abide by the Supreme Court's decision on the border dispute in case the two states are unable to find a political settlement to the issue.
The Telangana issue has rekindled Bodo tribe's demand for statehood in Assam besides adding fire to the long-standing statehood demands of different other ethnic communities including Karbi, Dimasa, Koch-Rajbongshi.
Assam government on Monday announced that the wives and children of arrested United Liberation Front of Asom leaders chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, foreign secretary Sasadhar Choudhury were under police security and would be released soon as there was no case registered against the spouses; although they were members of the women wing of the outfit.
"I cannot confirm or deny the news." That is how Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi reacted to United Liberation Front of Assam chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa's arrest news amid emerging contradicting reports.
There is deep concern in Assam over the reported dam being built by the Chinese on the Brahmaputra river, at its source in Tibet. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi directed the state chief secretary to constitute an expert committee headed by Dr Dulal Chandra Goswami, former Professor of Guwahati University, to examine the issues like water availability, hydroelectric potential scenario, floods and related issues.
Notwithstanding the recent arrest of several top insurgent leaders from various groups in Assam, there will be no let-up on the counter-insurgency operation in Assam till insurgents give up arms and join the political process, said Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
After assuming charge as the chief minister for the third time in a row, Tarun Gogoi is faced with a Himalayan task of constituting his ministry that can have only 18 ministers beside him, thanks to the policy of downsizing of state ministries that is in vogue through out the country.
With a batch of key leaders of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom deserting the outfit's shelters in Bangladesh, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday raised hopes for starting a dialogue with the outfit soon while terming the 'desertion' of ranks by the ULFA men a 'good sign' for the efforts to restore peace in the state.
The chief magistrate's court in Kamrup district, Assam, has directed the Criminal Investigation Department of the Assam police to conduct a probe into the allegation levelled against Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and others for cutting and eating a cake painted in colours of the National Flag at a Republic Day tea party in January.
Taking a step forward to hold a dialogue with the Government of India, the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has sent a letter to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi expressing his outfit's desire to hold unconditional peace talks.
The peace talks process with top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders has started, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Monday but ruled out that the state's sovereignty would be on the agenda. "The process for talks has started but no breakthrough achieved. However, the government is optimistic," Gogoi told reporters in Guwahati.The issue of 'sovereignity of Assam', however, would never be on the agenda for talks, he said.
The banned United Liberation Front of Asom on Friday gave a strong message to the government that it may be down off late because of the reverses it has suffered in Bangladesh and in the wake of arrest of so many of its top leaders, saying it is definitely not.
Deviating from his earlier stand on the release of top leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom from jail to facilitate talks with the outfit, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh would have the final say in the matter.
With several top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders deported to India from Bangladesh, the Centre is treading cautiously on holding deliberations with the outlawed outfit as it does not want to repeat the 1992 experience when five of the militant leaders, released for talks, used the opportunity to go underground and regroup.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday expressed interest to meet intellectuals and civil society leaders in Assam who have organised a state-level convention to mount pressure on the banned United Liberation Front of Asom to come forward for talks with the government.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said on Wednesday that the Maoists had been trying to set up base in Assam for the last three years to exploit the fluid situation in the insurgency-hit state, but in vain, thanks to alertness shown by the Assam police, a force with much experience in counter-insurgency operations.
He further slammed the saffron party for attempting to "hoodwink" the people following National Register of Citizens publication.
The Assam government has submitted written requests to the prime minister and the Union home minister for setting up of a hub of National Security Guard in Guwahati dedicated to the entire north eastern region affected by insurgency. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has submitted separate requests to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram in view of the state's and the region's vulnerability against terror, an official source said.
Even as three eastern districts in Assam are reeling under flood, 14 of the 27 districts in the state are facing an unprecedented dry spell, which compelled the state government to declare those drought affected, following a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said there are positive signals from the United Liberation Front of Asom leadership for peace talks except its elusive 'military chief' Paresh Barua.
The Pramathesh Baruah Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by the Cultural Affairs Department of Assam government was presented to the cultural icon of North East India by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in a solemn function organized in Guwahati on Friday night for his all-round contribution towards culture and nation building.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday claimed that top leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom who are either in captivity or out on bail were willing to hold talks with the government and had sent "feelers" to him in this regard.
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.
The United Liberation Front of Asom doves, the pro-talks faction of the ULFA, has demanded full autonomy for Assam within the framework of the Constitution, after detaching itself from the banned militant group's demand for the 'restoration of Assam's sovereignty'.Mrinal Hazarika, president of the ULFA doves, submitted a 18-point charter of demand to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, to resolve the insurgency problem in the state.
The latest statistics from the Union Home Ministry has shown that insurgency has slowed down significantly over the last one and half decades in Assam, official sources said.The statistics made available by the Home Ministry suggested that the 1998-2001 period was the worst and after that period, things had started looking up, except the aberration of last year.The figures showed that since 1992, a staggering 6,745 people had lost their lives in insurgency-related incidents.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday claimed that over 300-odd cadres, belonging to the banned United Liberation Front of Asom and the anti-peace talks faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland, were hiding in Bangladesh. He claimed that at least ten top ranking leaders of the ULFA had taken refuge in the neighbouring country and were operating from there.'ULFA chief Paresh Barua and NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary keep shifting their locations,'Gogoi said
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday said he will step down as the chairman of the counter-insurgency Unified Command in order to concentrate on development activities. The chief secretary will take over the responsibility. "I want to focus more on development work as it is the development that will ultimately neutralise insurgency. Had there been no insurgency, the state could have afforded to pump more money into development and welfare schemes," he said.
A source in the chief minister's office informed that the judicial inquiry would continue simultaneously along with the investigation that was being carried out by the Additional Chief Secretary of the State Alok Party. Gogoi has made it clear that no official would be spared if found guilty of intentional killing of 'any innocent person' in the name of counter-insurgency operation in general.
Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party MPs at an event to mark the 53rd death anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyay, a party ideologue who had founded its progenitor Jana Sangh, Modi said the saffron party always puts "rashtraneeti" above "rajneeti" and gives respect to even its political rivals.
The death toll in Assam's Udalguri and Darrang districts, dogged by clashes between Bodos and illegal Bangladeshi migrants, rose to 40 today with the violence spreading to neighbouring Chirang district.
He said the state government was not heeding to the recommendation of the Justice (retd) K N Saikia Commission, which inquired into certain cases of secret (extra judicial) killings of kin of United Liberation Front of Asom members in the state during 1998-2001, to disband the Unified Command.
Gogoi renewed his appeal to the ULFA to agree to talks for the sake of lasting peace and economic growth of Assam.
After reviewing the security scenario in the state in a high-level meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi directed the state Director General of Police G M Srivastava to hand over the case to the CID and take necessary steps to nab the culprit immediately.
81 per cent voter turnout recorded in West Bengal, 80 per cent in Assam.
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.
The arrests were made on the basis of confessions made by arrested ULFA cadre Manoj Tamuly, who was allegedly trained by an Inter Services Intelligence operative.
Nitish Kumar conveyed his concern over the attacks to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday night, sources in his secretariat said on Thursday.
Three hundred and five members of the United Liberation Front of Barak Valley led by its president Pancharam Apeto gave up arms before Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi in Guwahati on Monday.
The death toll due to the devastating floods in Assam has risen to 23. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday announced Rs one lakh compensation for the flood-affected victims. He claimed that the overall flood situation had improved due to a brief lull in the rains. River islands Majuli, Lakhimpur and Dhakuakhana and Rangiya subdivisions in the state were worst hit by the current wave of floods.The floods have affected as many as 20.68 lakh people from 13 districts.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi hoped that the fugitive ULFA commander in chief Paresh Baruah would realise the ground realities in the state in the wake of people's show of support to the peace overture of the pro-talks faction of the outfit led by Mrinal Hazarika, former commander of the 28th battalion of the group.
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