Showing posts with label Guwahati. Show all posts
'No politics on blasts'
8:58 AM
GUWAHATI, April 9 : Coming down heavily on the Opposition parties for their hue and cry on the current law-and-order situation in the State, Asom Governor SC Mathur today asked them as to why they had failed to tackle terror during their ten-year rule in the State. He, however, said being the constitutional head of the State he does not take any side.
Talking to newsmen at Raj Bhavan today, Mathur said: “The need of the hour is cooperation from all, including the media. No party should play politics with the current situation in the State, as that will only harm the interest of the common people. Local committees should be formed as is the case in Punjab. Such committees should inform the police of all developments in their respective areas. Such committees have scripted a success story in Punjab.”
While appealing to the rebel groups of the State to join the mainstream of society, the Governor said rehabilitation packages are a must for surrendered rebels. “I take the responsibility of taking up the issue of rehabilitation packages for surrendered militants with the State and the Central governments. A State-level committee should also be formed for the purpose. We should see that the rebels get bank loans after their surrender. When a youth don’t have to think for his livelihood, naturally he will be less inclined towards rebel groups.”
On the current law-and-order situation in the State, the Governor said: “I have asked the DGP this morning as to why the police can’t stop blasts in the State. He said the militants have changed their modus operandi. In the recent blast at Maligaon in Guwahati, the bomb was planted under the seat of a bicycle.”
Replying to a query from reporters, Mathur said: “We aren’t secure today. Safety of the common people is under threat.” When asked whether he is defending the Congress by questioning the role of the Opposition parties, the Governor said: “I am the constitutional head of the State. I don’t take any side.”
When he was repeatedly asked about Independent MLAs Jiten Gogoi and Kushal Duori against whom arrest warrants have been issued for violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, an evasive Governor said: “I have done my duty by asking the government to arrest the two MLAs. They will be arrested soon.”
When asked on the reasons behind the failure on the part of the government to arrest NC Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) Chief Executive Member (CEM) Mohet Hojai for his alleged links with rebel groups, the Governor said: “I have done my duty. Hojai will be arrested soon.”
Talking to newsmen at Raj Bhavan today, Mathur said: “The need of the hour is cooperation from all, including the media. No party should play politics with the current situation in the State, as that will only harm the interest of the common people. Local committees should be formed as is the case in Punjab. Such committees should inform the police of all developments in their respective areas. Such committees have scripted a success story in Punjab.”
While appealing to the rebel groups of the State to join the mainstream of society, the Governor said rehabilitation packages are a must for surrendered rebels. “I take the responsibility of taking up the issue of rehabilitation packages for surrendered militants with the State and the Central governments. A State-level committee should also be formed for the purpose. We should see that the rebels get bank loans after their surrender. When a youth don’t have to think for his livelihood, naturally he will be less inclined towards rebel groups.”
On the current law-and-order situation in the State, the Governor said: “I have asked the DGP this morning as to why the police can’t stop blasts in the State. He said the militants have changed their modus operandi. In the recent blast at Maligaon in Guwahati, the bomb was planted under the seat of a bicycle.”
Replying to a query from reporters, Mathur said: “We aren’t secure today. Safety of the common people is under threat.” When asked whether he is defending the Congress by questioning the role of the Opposition parties, the Governor said: “I am the constitutional head of the State. I don’t take any side.”
When he was repeatedly asked about Independent MLAs Jiten Gogoi and Kushal Duori against whom arrest warrants have been issued for violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, an evasive Governor said: “I have done my duty by asking the government to arrest the two MLAs. They will be arrested soon.”
When asked on the reasons behind the failure on the part of the government to arrest NC Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) Chief Executive Member (CEM) Mohet Hojai for his alleged links with rebel groups, the Governor said: “I have done my duty. Hojai will be arrested soon.”
Star power in BJP campaign
12:32 AMGUWAHATI: If the elections are here can the stars be far behind?
Bollywood’s “dream girl” Hema Malini will fly into Assam on Tuesday to address a series of poll rallies for BJP candidates in Dhubri, Nagaon and Guwahati.
A BJP spokesperson said Hema Malini would fly to Guwahati in the morning and take a chopper to Lumding, where she will canvass for the party’s Nagaon candidate Rajen Gohain. She will then fly to Golokgunj to address a public rally for Dhubri candidate Nilomoy Pradhani.
In the afternoon, the Bollywood star will round off her daylong visit by addressing another rally at Pandu in Guwahati where former Union minister Bijoya Chakraborty is the BJP candidate.
The BJP is hoping that star power will be able to provide the spark into the hitherto lacklustre poll scene in the constituency. On April 1, television celebrity Smriti Irani will address a series of public rallies in Assam for the BJP.
Contractors balk
IMPHAL: There’s no time like poll time to indulge in a little bit of arm-twisting.
As political parties intensified their campaign for the two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur, contractors of the Manipur power department on Monday threatened to boycott the elections if their pending bills were not cleared before voting day.
While the Outer Manipur constituency goes to the polls on April 16, the Inner votes on April 22.
“Contractors of the state power department will stay away from the elections along with their families if the pending bills for the completed projects are not cleared before the election,” S. Jugindro Singh, secretary of the All Manipur Electricity Department Contractors and Suppliers’ Association, said on Monday. He said liabilities amounting to Rs 6.29 crore were yet to be cleared by the department. Nearly 100 contractors are members of this association.
Blame game on
GUWAHATI: Election time brings out the most dramatic of charges.
The AGP-BJP combine on Monday alleged that a Congress leader was recently “detained” at the airport here with a briefcase containing Rs 25 lakh, apparently meant for use during the elections.
BJP vice-president Dhruba Prasad Baishya, however, refused to name the leader.
He said the Congress-led government was not taking any steps to check price rise even after the inflation rate came down because it has a “secret understanding” with business lobby. AGP chief spokesperson Atul Bora, who also addressed the media, said chief minister Tarun Gogoi should make public the deal he allegedly struck with tea companies in Calcutta.
AGP denies BJP Guwahati
11:19 AMGuwahati, Feb 13 : The AGP has decided against giving away the prestigious Guwahati parliamentary seat to the BJP, following stiff resistance from its local unit.
The Guwahati district unit of the AGP is adamant not to leave the seat to the BJP and decided to recommend the name of the West Guwahati legislator Ramendra Narayan Kalita for the seat.
Kalita’s name has been propped up after the AGP leadership changed its earlier decision not to give tickets to any sitting legislator.
The party has also started shortlisting candidates for the constituencies where it is likely to contest.
Making a departure from its stand, the AGP has now decided to nominate Dhekiajuli legislator Joseph Toppo to contest from the Tezpur seat, encouraging the Guwahati unit to bid for Kalita.
“There is no justification for the BJP to claim the seat. In all the assembly constituencies as well as the panchayats that fall under the Guwahati parliamentary seat, our party’s performance is much better than BJP,” said an AGP leader from the Guwahati district unit.
The BJP has been staking its claim for the seat on the basis of better performance than the AGP in the last few parliamentary elections. Its candidate Bhupen Hazarika had finished second while the AGP’s Biren Baishya was in third place in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
In the preceding election, BJP leader Bijoya Chakraborty, who is again seeking the party nomination from the seat, emerged victorious. The AGP, however, did not see any rationale in the BJP’s argument. It claimed that since the last two parliamentary elections, the political equation in Guwahati has changed and this was reflected in the last Assembly and panchayat elections.
An 11-member committee formed by the AGP to shortlist the candidates, too, is in favour of Kalita’s candidature. The committee is meeting on February 14 with the parliamentary committees to finalise its list of candidates, which would be then forwarded to the steering committee, which is the highest policy-making body of the AGP, for the final decision.
Apart from Kalita from Guwahati, the other names, the committee “unofficially” received from the respective parliamentary committees are Bhupen Roy from Barpeta, Gunin Hazarika from Koliabor, Joseph Toppo from Tezpur and Sabdha Rabha from Kokrajhar, sources said.
But the AGP is still in talks for an alliance with the Rabiram Narzary-led BPPF. If the deal is struck, the party would leave the Kokrajhar seat to the BPPF.
The party has already named the candidatures of Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh and Arun Sarma from Lakhimpur. It has decided to leave Jorhat, Nagaon, Dhubri, Mangaldai, Silchar and Karimganj for BJP. It will leave Diphu seat to the ASDC.
