NEW DELHI, May 16 – The Congress Party high command may be busy stitching together an alliance, but the Congress-ruled Assam Government is ready with its own wish-list, with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi contemplating to seek a special package for employment generation and solution of the flood and erosion problem on a priority basis. The news of return of the Congress back to power at the Centre has brought with it hopes for Congress-ruled States like Assam, which has for long been alleging discrimination at the hands of BJP-led NDA Government. “I am expecting a better treatment from the Centre...

GUWAHATI, May 16 – The State’s premier regional outfit, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), has decided to take the lead in the formation of a joint forum of regional parties from across the country to secure regional interests. The party is planning to organise a national convention of all such parties soon to formalise the alliance. Disclosing this to presspersons, on the sidelines of the central executive committee meeting of the party here this afternoon, AGP spokesman Jagadish Bhuyan said that the party will shortly establish contact with all regional parties in this regard.

The decision to...

Kohima, May 15: A controversy has erupted in Nagaland following conflicting stands taken by different organisations on celebration of A.Z. Phizo’s birth centenary tomorrow. An A.Z. Phizo Birth Centenary Committee headed by Thepf?lhouvie, who is associated with the Naga National Council (NNC) led by Phizo’s daughter Adinno Phizo, was formed a few months ago. The NSCN (I-M) had opposed the formation of the committee tooth and nail.

The Naga Hoho, which had maintained silence over the issue then, has tried to distance itself from the matter, adding to the confusion. The Hoho, in a statement...

Shillong, May 15: Syiem of Hima Mylliem, Laborious Manik Syiem, was voted out of power through a referendum by the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) last evening. The referendum against Laborious Syiem received the support of 27 of the 42 members present in the House. He was ousted a couple of years ago by the KHADC for alleged misappropriation of funds and other irregularities in the Mylliem Dorbar, but has been contesting the decision of the district council to remove him from the post. Latho Manik Syiem was appointed acting Syiem.

Soon after the ouster, Laborious moved court...

AGARTALA, May 15 – Before the Lok Sabha polls, the ruling CPI-M in Tripura had only one objective - to increase the margin of its contestants - and they did it in style, reports PTI. The party won both the Lok Sabha seats in the state by a record margin for the fourth time in a row and the deposits of all other contestants were forfeited.

In the 1999 general elections, Samar Chowdhury of the CPI-M defeated his Trinamool Congress rival and former chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumder by 1,98,399 votes in the West Tripura constituency. And this time, CPI-M’s Khagen Das defeated his nearest...