Politics / Northeast

NEW DELHI, July 23: The Assam Government has moved the Supreme Court against "occupation" of its forest and revenue lands by Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Over the years, a series of meetings between the three north-eastern neighbours have failed to resolve the decade-old boundary dispute. In two separate suits, taken up by the Court earlier this week, the Assam Government sought the Court's intervention to restore its right to administer its "own" areas, as envisaged in the first schedule of the Constitution. Considering the nature of the tangle, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice...

AGARTALA, July 23: India and Dhaka will sign an agreement next month to start Agartala-Dhaka bus service after the successful running of the 'Souhardha' service between Calcutta and Dhaka, reports UNI. A senior official told newspersons here on Sunday that a 16-member joint Indo-Bangla official team had recently conducted an-the-spot survey to examine the 144-km-long road with its infrastructural facilities to commence the service. The joint working group that held a meeting with Tripura Chief Secretary V Thulasidas on this subject on July 18 came here by road. The senior officials of the two...

GUWAHATI, July 21: Worried by the recent Bhutan Government move to launch a full scale Army operation against the ultras, the leadership of the banned ULFA has geared up its security. The ULFA camps which are located at Deothang, Koipani, Sarbhang and Samdrup Jongkhar areas of Bhutan are being equipped with powerful landmines keeping in view a massive operation. The leadership of the rebel group is understood to have directed Pradyut Gohain to increase 'arsenal power' of the seven battalion located at Sukhni area. The self-styled Captain Gohain along with 40-odd soldiers are guarding the seven...

NEW DELHI, July 19: The Army is slowly readying for a major operation to dislodge the ULFA insurgents from their camps in Bhutan now that the kingdom's Parliament is speaking about forcing them out. Sources said the operation has to be "well thought out as it will be difficult to surprise the insurgents". More important, it will have to be a joint operation along with the Royal Bhutanese Army. "Patience is the key. We have to remember this is an operation in another country. A botched operation will be a major embarrassment," an official said. The terrain and the defensive positions of the...

AGARTALA, July 19: Stage is all set for much awaited Agartala-Dhaka bus service. An India and Bangladesh joint team has already undertaken route survey for the proposed Agartala-Dhaka bus service on Wednesday. Sources said the members of both the countries will hold a high-level meeting on Thursday in Dhaka and decide as to which route will be better for Agartala-Dhaka bus service. The meeting will submit recommendations to Dhaka and Delhi on which a formal accord on the bus service will be signed by the both countries. It may be mentioned that both the countries have already agreed to sign...

NEW DELHI, July 17: The Supreme Court today directed all the Northeastern states besides West Bengal affected by the illegal infiltration from across the border to respond to the updated status report filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), even as the Centre again reaffirmed its contention that the IMDT Act is a discriminatory piece of legislation. The MHA counter affidavit filed today, however, declined to specify any time-frame for repealing the controversial Act. The Ministry's response came in connection with a writ petition filed by the former All Assam Students Union (AASU)...

GUWAHATI, July 16: After intensifying the presence of the Army on the international border with Assam, the National Assembly of Bhutan has directed its security forces to check the General Engineering and Reserve Force and Army vehicles passing through the national highways of Bhutan, especially near the areas where the militants had their camps. Suspecting that drivers of these trucks operating for the GREF and Indian Army are also hand-in-glove with the militants, the National Assembly passed this resolution during its current session. The resolution, which was also published in Royal Bhutan...

GUWAHATI, August 31: In a significant move, four countries - India, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh - have decided to boost the border trade and to improve the old existing roads linking the four countries. The decision was taken at an international conference on 'Regional economic cooperation and development involving India, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh' held at Kunming, China recently. The representatives of the four countries suggested setting up of trade points at Zemithang, Gelling and Kibithoo in the Northeast to facilitate trade with Myanmar and China. The three-day conference also laid...

ITANAGAR, August 29: The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, has appointed Omen Deori as secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), party sources here said. Deori, has also been appointed as one of the members of the national campaign committee. The Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, Mukut Mithi, and the state Pradesh congress Committee president, Dera Natung, have hailed the decision of the Congress president and congratulated Deori on her appointment as secretary of AICC.

NEW DELHI, August 23: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has advocated a soft line for resolving the insurgency problem of the Northeast, calling for implementation of the various accords signed with the insurgent outfits and other groups by the government of India. The NCP manifesto released today at Mumbai has devoted a separate section for the Northeast stressing more on economic aspects than the political dimension. The manifesto says insurgency cannot be solved by mere force and police or military action. The basic issue of development has to be addressed, geographical isolation, lack...