The Opposition's attack comes close on the heels of its campaign against railway minister Mamata Banerjee.

New Delhi, Aug 26 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the situation in certain parts of north east remains a matter of concern and that the writ of the state should be "firmly" established in all these areas. He said state police and the central paramilitary forces should take firm action against those who take the law into their own hands.

"In the north east, the situation in general is better today than it was in the recent past, but some areas of concern still remain.

"In Manipur, for example, the Naga-Metei divide has accentuated. The unfortunate growth of identity-based assertiveness in the north east, particularly in Manipur and the North Cachar Hills, needs well thought-out and sensitive handling," Singh said while addressing a three-day Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police.

He said, "The situation in Darjeeling hill area also needs a careful watch. The writ of the state should be firmly established in all these areas. The state police and the central paramilitary forces should take firm action against those who take the law into their own hands."

Singh said in other areas in the north east, there is a need to consolidate the gains of the past while, at the same time, ensuring that new problems do not arise.

New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) Top BJP leaders today slammed successive Congress governments for failing to check illegal migration in the North-East and blamed votebank politics for "insensitivity" towards the region.

"Most of these challenges are due to the sins of omission and commission committed by the Congress party and its governments.

This is evident most starkly in its approach to, and its track record of, dealing with the biggest problem that is plaguing the North-East -- "external aggression" in the form of massive infiltration from Bangladesh.

"The problem has not only endangered the very survival of Assam, but is also threatening other North-Eastern states," BJP Parliamentary Party chairman L K Advani said here.

Pointing out that it was India which helped in the creation of Bangladesh, he said, "We want good relations with it, but it should not be at the cost of Assam's existence."

Taking credit for conceiving the idea of Unique Identity Cards during the NDA regime, the former deputy prime minister said its aim was to detect illegal settlers, delete their names from the voters list and deport them to their native country.

"But unfortunately, security is not in the priority of present scheme of things... it is obvious that, like previous Congress governments, UPA I and II have chosen to be silent spectators to this aggression.

Rather, they have aided and abetted this external aggression for myopic votebank considerations ," he charged. Advani was speaking at the launch of BJP's North-East 'sampark' (communication) cell here.

Addressing the gathering, party President Nitin Gadkari said it was "unfortunate" that the UPA government was not concerned about the illegal immigrants.

Blaming "votebank politics" behind the "insensitivity", Gadkari said this could lead to socio-economic problems and questioned, "Why does the government give no attention towards the region." He said BJP will soon come out with a vision document '2025-North-East'.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley lamented that people do not use the "mind space" that North East requires today.

Accusing the Centre of neglecting the region, he said when NDA was in power, the region was linked by the East-West corridor.

"But so far only 30 per cent of the work has been completed in connecting the North-East," he lamented.

By Syed Zarir Hussain

Guwahati, Aug 20 (IANS) A fractured opposition in Assam could help the Congress party complete an electoral hat-trick despite facing a barrage of corruption charges, say analysts and lawmakers.

“Unless the opposition unites and gives a fight to the Congress, the ruling party's victory in the 2011 assembly elections is almost inevitable despite rampant corruption and failures on all fronts,” Bijoya Chakraborty, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Guwahati, told IANS.

Assam goes to the polls early next year with the Congress aiming for a third straight win.

“The lead for opposition unity should come from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). I agree it would be a cakewalk for the Congress if the opposition remains fractured,” said senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Hemen Das.

In the 2001 elections, the AGP and BJP fought as allies but were routed by the Congress. In 2006, the AGP and the BJP severed ties but again the Congress won.

In the 2009 parliamentary election, the AGP and BJP fought together but still failed to fare well, prompting the regional party to snap ties with its saffron ally.

“We have decided against any tie-up with the BJP next year although we might go for tie-ups with smaller parties,” AGP general secretary Atul Bora said.

But the BJP is keen to partner with the AGP. “We want the AGP to team up with us to challenge the Congress,” the BJP MP said.

Even as the opposition is fractured, the Congress government is facing a barrage of corruption charges, including the Rs.1,000 crore financial scam in the North Cachar Hills district. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the scam.

“Corruption charges apart, the issue of price rise, border disputes, insurgency and other issues are haunting the government. But with the opposition failing to pin down the government, the chances of the Congress coming back to power looks certain if there is no opposition unity,” said Haidar Hussain, editor of Asomiya Pratidin, an Assamese daily.

The Congress is having the last laugh.

“The opposition is trying to make an issue of corruption although we can boldly say we are not involved. People of Assam have reposed faith in our government and we are sure of winning the 2011 elections as well,” acting Chief Minister Bhumidhar Barman said.

The main opposition AGP is faced with serious internal problems, the leadership issue being the primary concern.

“It is true we need to set our house in order before reaching out to the people with a definite agenda if we are to get their trust back,” a senior AGP leader admitted.

Badruddin Ajmal, leader of the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), told IANS: “We have to wait and watch. The question of aligning with AGP would come only if it formally cuts ties with BJP and also set their own house in order.”

The AUDF is the third largest party after Congress and AGP in the 126-member house.

GUWAHATI : BJP leader Sushma Swaraj today said that many political parties are not taking the problem of infiltration seriously because of 'vote bank politics'.

"There is no consensus on the issue among the political parties as they are not serious and some are treating infiltrators as their vote bank," Swaraj told a conclave on influx of Bangladeshis organised by the North East Policy Institute in Guwahati.

She regretted that several important clauses of the historic Assam Accord, signed 25 years ago, have not been implemented.

"All political parties need to go in for self-introspection and analyse why the accord has not been implemented", she said.

Describing the agitation spearheaded by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) in the 1980s against infiltration as the biggest struggle after Independence, Swaraj called for a new "workline" to ensure that the accord was implemented.

"A new workline has to be thrashed out which should be legally tenable, socially acceptable and politically useful," the BJP leader said.

"There has been severe set back in deportation of infiltrators as a result of which the demographic pattern of Assam is threatened," she said.

Swaraj called for completing the fencing work along the Indo-Bangla border which was the only solution in stopping influx of foreigners.

BHOPAL: One out of every five members of Madhya Pradesh assembly is facing criminal charges varying from minor offences to heinous ones like murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping.

A total of 42 MLAs of various political parties in the 230-member House, besides two ministers and a former minister, have criminal cases registered against them. These include seven women.

"Criminal cases of various types have been registered against a total of 42 MLAs, two ministers and a former minister of this assembly," state home minister Umashankar Gupta said in a written reply to question from Congress MLA Ranveer Jatav in the just concluded monsoon session of the assembly.

Seven women members - Women and Child Development Minister, Ranjana Baghel, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and Congress leader Jumuma Devi, BJP MLA from Bijawar Asha Rani, Congress MLAs Kalpana Parulekar (Mahidpur), Sadhana Sthapak (Gadarwara) and Imrati Devi (Dabra) and Bharatiya Janshakti Party MLA from Bada Malehra constituency Rekha Yadav - were also booked.

Apart from Baghel, the other Minister against whom criminal case has been registered is Public Health Engineering and Cooperative Minister Gaurishankar Bisen.

Baghel, who represents Manawar constituency in Dhar district, is facing charges under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (threatening to kill) in a case registered against her at Manawar Police Station in Dhar district in 2009.

Baghel is the only Minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan Ministry who was arrested and released during her ministership.

Bisen was booked under Section 188 of IPC for violating the Balaghat Collector's order and a case in this regard was registered against him at Kotwali Police Station in Balaghat district in 2009. This case is sub-judice.

Asha Rani, a BJP MLA from Bijawar constituency in Chhatarpur district, was booked at Kolar Road Police Station here in January this year for allegedly abetting suicide of her maidservant Tijji Bai, her abduction, keeping her as a bonded labourer and sexually abusing her.

The victim, Tijji Bai, who had sustained serious burn injuries, was found dead at the Bhopal residence of the leader in November 2007.

A case is being tried in Bhopal District Court and Asha Rani has been shown as an absconder.

A case against former Health Minister Anoop Mishra, who resigned last month amid allegations that his family members were involved in a murder case, is also sub-judice.

He has been charged with violating Collector's order besides Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act relating to ending the campaign 48 hours ahead of polls. The case is registered at Malanpur Police Station in Bhind district.

Leader of the Opposition Jamuna Devi is facing a case for disturbing law and order at Jehangirabad Police Station in Bhopal. Another Congress MLA Brajendra Singh Rathore is one of the accused in the murder of former BJP Minister Sunil Nayak and had secured an anticipatory bail from the Supreme Court before being sworn-in in the Assembly in November 2009.

Nayak, who was the BJP candidate from the Prithvipur Assembly constituency, was shot dead on the day of polling for the Assembly polls in November 2008 near Prithvipur town in Tikamgarh district.

Rathore, who was contesting from the same seat, had emerged victorious. A total of 11 persons including eight his family members are accused in this case.

Police have submitted challans in many of the cases and the criminal proceedings are on in courts.