Mizoram Cong leader quits

Aizawl, Feb. 20: Congress stalwart and former Union minister C. Silvera quit the party yesterday. In a short letter to PCC chief Lalthanhawla, Silvera said, ?I hereby inform you that I have resigned from my primary Congress membership as of today, February 19, 2003.?

A copy of the resignation letter has been sent to AICC president Sonia Gandhi and chief of the Tuikhuahtlang unit to which Silvera belonged.

Silvera said he had no immediate plans to join another political party. ?I am retiring,? he said. However, sources said bad blood between Silvera and Lalthanhawla might have prompted the...

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Mahanta pulls out of LS race

Nagaon, Feb. 19: Still smarting from his defeat in the AGP presidential election last month, former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta today pulled out of the Lok Sabha contest even ?if his party decided to nominate him?.

Mahanta dismissed speculation that he would contest the poll from Nagaon, his home district. ?I am not interested in contesting, not even if my party decides to nominate me,? he told newsmen at his residence here.

Mahanta?s statement came as a rude shock to a section of his sympathisers who have been projecting their leader as the party candidate for the coming elections...

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Rebels accuse minister of swindling Rs 15 lakh

Imphal, Feb. 19: A banned militant outfit has accused Manipur family welfare minister Bijoy Koijam and his younger brother of swindling money meant for centrally-sponsored schemes and given them a week to return the amount.

The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday charged the family welfare minister with pocketing Rs 15 lakh while saying that his younger brother Warjit Singh had taken Rs 4 lakh out of Rs 50 lakh withdrawn for implementing the schemes in the two hill districts.

The amount withdrawn is part of the Rs 1 crore provided by the Union family welfare ministry under the National...

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No end in sight to Wokha meet impasse

Dimapur, Feb. 19: The abortive bid of the Naga National Council (NNC) to hold its reconciliation meeting at Wokha yesterday has spawned a fresh round of accusations and counter-charges.

Responding to the NNC?s allegation that the state government had sabotaged the Wokha meet, chief minister Neiphiu Rio today hit back, saying that the NNC was trying to pass the buck for its own failures.

Rio also said those involved in organising the now-doomed show of unity were not genuine leaders but those who were trying to make a mockery of the people.

?In this conducive atmosphere, do you think anybody...

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Conservationist minister wins coveted award for welfare

New Delhi, Feb. 19: Assam forest minister Pradyut Bordoloi was today conferred the prestigious Venu Menon National Animal Award for Leadership in Conservation.

The award for the current year, which carries a citation and a statuette, was given away by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which has also declared the minister the ?animal welfare politician of the year.? Bordoloi is the first politician in the country to be given the award.

?This is a recognition that will induce me to work harder for conservation. Whether I?m forest minister or not is immaterial. My efforts to...

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Notice
The Northeast Vigil website ran from 1999 to 2009. It is not operated or maintained anymore. It has been put up here solely for archival sentiments. This site has over 6,000 news items that are of value to academics, researchers and journalists.

Subir Ghosh
Notice
The Northeast Vigil website ran from 1999 to 2009. It is not operated or maintained anymore. It has been put up here solely for archival sentiments. This site has over 6,000 news items that are of value to academics, researchers and journalists.

Subir Ghosh