State ministers asked to submit list of assets

State ministers asked to submit list of assets

By Our Correspondent GUWAHATI, June 27 – Senior Congress leader and party in-charge, Assam, Veerappa Moily has asked the Congress Ministers in Assam to submit their respective statement of assets and liabilities to the Chief Minister. This comes after the arrest of former State Education Minister Ripun Bora by the CBI, while he was allegedly trying to offer bribe to a CBI official in New Delhi. Though Moily did not make any comment on Bora, he, however said that ‘the law will take its own course’ He further stated that a suggestion has been made during a meeting with the Congress leaders, on making the filing of the statement of assets and liabilities compulsory by passing the same in the State Assembly as it is done in some of the other States.Moily was speaking to the media persons here at the Circuit House today. On the ‘tainted’ Ministers of the State, he said, “Charges against the Ministers would be there and the party leadership could react only if some concrete evidences are produced.”Moily while underscoring the need for a better co-ordination between the party and the ruling Government, especially the Ministers, stated, “I want a better relationship between the party workers and the Ministers and so I have urged the Ministers to make regular visits to the party offices.”The senior Congress leader also expressed satisfaction over the unilateral ceasefire declared by the leaders of the ULFA’s 28th battalion and appealed the other members to come forward for talks as well. Moily also divulged that during the manifesto committee meeting with the party members, it was revealed that as far as equality between the urban and the rural population in Assam is concerned, Assam is presently ranked number one.On the concerns voiced by Assam over the proposed mega hydel projects in Arunachal Pradesh, he said that the issue would be discussed with the Union Irrigation Minister soon. He further stated that a host of other core issues were discussed during his meeting with the party members and leaders including Assam Accord implementation, setting up of development councils for ethnic communities, welfare of the minorities, tea tribes and other backward communities.“Issues like infrastructure development, power scenario, health, education, employment generation and filling up of backlog of vacancies for ST and SC were discussed,” informed Moily.The Congress executive committee meeting discussed at length the execution of the loan waiving scheme announced by the Central Government recently. Source: assam tribune

Floods spark blame-game in Congress

Floods spark blame-game in Congress - Party split on relief steps
A STAFF REPORTER

Guwahati, June 16: The flash floods in Assam’s Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts have triggered a wave of displeasure even within the government.

Some members of the ruling Congress have accused the revenue, water resources and finance departments of not taking timely measures to secure the embankments in the flood-prone districts.

Sources said floods in Lakhimpur district had affected at least 347 villages. Around 200 families in Bihpuria town have started dismantling their homes in anticipation of a major breach in embankment.

The death toll in the flood-hit district has risen to six with two more bodies being recovered from Nowboicha constituency.

Things came to such a pass that elected representatives of the Congress are even asking Opposition members to convey to the flood-affected that their suffering has been caused by a natural calamity and adequate relief will be provided to them.

The development assumes significance because in most places the ruling and Opposition members do not see eye to eye. Sources in the Congress said all-party meetings were being held in the affected areas, particularly in Lakhimpur, Bihpuria and Nowboicha, whose MLA is an associate member of the Congress.

The locals are peeved with the ruling Congress for the apparent lack of flood-control initiatives. “What can we do if the government does not even sanction our project, leave alone release funds for them? The government is only giving assurances and we are facing the wrath of the people,” one of them said.

Party MLAs have even requested chief minister Tarun Gogoi to take swift action and release funds for both long and short-term flood control projects. They are also going to move the estimates committee of the Assembly.

Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Dilip Saikia said, “The government is not at all serious about tackling floods. If it is really serious, it should order a CBI probe into where the funds released so far by it have disappeared.”

Revenue, water resource, finance department officials said they were helpless, when asked about the delay in sanctioning funds for the projects. Source: telegraph india

Showcase for Sonia

Showcase for Sonia

It was not the Prime Minister who was going to be in town for the day. It was Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and the appointer of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As an elected Congress MP of the Lok Sabha, Congress president and member of the dynasty, it is she who commands the allegiance of all Congressmen — not the Prime Minister of the country. It is to her that all chief ministers run to have their problems solved and to make exaggerated claims of their achievements. And it is she who tells them when to drop which minister for crimes small and big — not the Prime Minister. Had Manmohan Singh got elected to the Lok Sabha, things may have been somewhat different. But his having to rely solely on our State to remain a member of the Rajya Sabha without really belonging to this State has not exactly endeared him to the people. Be that as it may, Sonia Gandhi had to begin her election tours a trifle early for the Lok Sabha elections next year, and there was every reason to begin with Asom not merely because she was going in alphabetical order, but also because there are so few Congress-run States left in the country. It made sense to begin with a Congress-run State rather than with a State where the Congress was in the opposition. Besides, had the Congress in Asom not hit the headlines recently with Ripun Bora trying to bribe a CBI investigator? And had not Sonia Gandhi advised Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to drop all ministers in his cabinet against whom there are criminal charges? The fact that the Prime Minister rarely sends instructions on disciplinary measures to Congress chief ministers could not have escaped anyone's notice. Be that as it may, Sonia Gandhi's presence was badly needed in Asom now because the Ripun Bora affair has come as a huge black mark for the Congress. This is not to suggest that the Congress has great respect for the eternal values that our ancestors swore by. The truth is that the Congress has created a new value system for itself. Put in a single sentence it is: Whatever you do, for God's sake do not get caught. There are so many others in the Congress who have committed crimes and bribed investigating officers. But they have been careful not to get caught red-handed. Ripun Bora's crime (as far as his party is concerned) is that he got caught while paying a hefty bribe and thereby shamed his party. He has set the alarm bells ringing for some other ministers of Mr Gogoi's cabinet who also have charges of serious crimes against them. He has made matters extremely difficult for a chief minister who promised a transparent government and lost no time in introducing the Right to Information Act. It must be very hard on him that his ministers have let him down. As such Sonia Gandhi's arrival at this juncture was a windfall of sorts, considering that she is thought to be such a vote-reaper in Congress circles. It did not matter one bit to the Congress that hundreds of buses had to be requisitioned to get enough people for the farmers' rally causing great inconvenience to commuters, or that the failure to get enough farmers for the rally resulted in the farmers' rally being converted to a women's rally. Nor did it seem to matter that people were stopped for about an hour by policemen along the route that her convoy was supposed to take. But what took one's breath away was the half-page advertisement in some newspapers about Asom being on the ‘‘fast track of progress and development’’. As an attempt to showcase the Tarun Gogoi government, it was a record of all the inconsequential things that the State government had done but there was no mention of the total collapse of law and order in North Cachar Hills district where the Black Widow left a gory tally of soft targets, or of the huge chunks of Asom's territory ceded to Nagaland, or the rapid increase of flesh trade in the State, or government-induced alcoholism among the youth or of the deplorable state of education and health care in the rural areas. Obviously, no one expected this government to talk about the large-scale illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis into Asom, and it did not. How thoughtful of a transparent government! Source: sentinel assam editorial 15.06.08

Centre firm to implement Accord: Sonia

By A Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, June 13 – Asserting that the Centre was committed to implementing the Assam Accord in its all aspects, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today and said that farmers’ interests and rural development were two key areas of focus of the UPA Government. Addressing a ‘State-level Kisan Rally’ (farmers’ rally) at the Khanapara Veterinary College playground in the city, Gandhi said that the Congress had all along been striving for development of the State and that it was duty-bound to implement the Assam Accord. “We are committed to implementing the Assam Accord in its different aspects – be it development or checking infiltration,” she said. Gandhi said that modernization of agriculture had been a top priority for the UPA Government and that more funds would be pumped in to boost the sector. Terming the Rs 70,000-crore loan waiver for farmers of the country as a landmark move, she said that the BJP-led NDA Government had done nothing for the farmers. Reiterating its commitment to protect the State from flood and erosion, the Congress president said that the recommendations of the flood task force were being implemented to check the menace. Claiming that the UPA Government was successful in arresting a possible steeper hike in oil prices, Gandhi said that fuel prices in India were still much lower than in its neighbouring countries. “While the BJP was in power, oil price in the international market was Rs 30-40 a barrel which is now Rs 130-140 a barrel. The recent hike, therefore, was inevitable but is still comparatively low considering the unprecedented hike in the international market,” she reasoned. In a veiled reference to the proposed Indo-US nuclear deal, Gandhi said that the changing circumstances made it imperative that prospects of nuclear energy were explored to meet growing power needs. “Nuclear energy has gained much importance in view of the steep rise in global oil prices,” she said.Gandhi had a word of praise for the self-help group (SHG) movement in the State, saying that with 80 per cent woman participation, the nearly 1.5 lakh SHGs of Assam were giving a fillip to woman entrepreneurship in villages. Gandhi further said that the ambitious Bharat Nirman project would change the face of the villages in terms of infrastructure and amenities. Gandhi also said that the Centre accorded priority to the development of minority communities and had set up a special ministry for them. Earlier, the UPA chairperson recalled the sacrifices of the farming community in India’s freedom struggle, and dwelt specifically on the farmers’ revolts of Assam at Patharughat and Phulaguri. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Veerappa Moily, Union Ministers Santosh Mohan Dev and Bijoy Krishna Handique, senior leader Margaret Alva and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhubaneswar Kalita were present at the dais. Earlier, Sonaram Bardoloi and Deepali Senapati, two model farmers, felicitated Sonia Gandhi. Source: assam tribune

Assam Congress ready to welcome Sonia with big rally

Assam Congress ready to welcome Sonia with big rally

A mammoth security arrangement is in place in view of Sonia Gandhi's visit to Guwahati on Friday. is arriving in Guwahati on Friday. The UPA chairperson and Congress president is arriving in the city at around 11 in the morning. Just after her arrival, she is schedule to address a a farmers’ rally at the Khanapara Veterinary Playground.Towards afternoon, Mrs Gandhi will attend a function to give away the prestigious Srimanta Sankardeva award to veteran journalist BG Verghese and Kesavananda Deva Goswami at the Rabindra Bhawan. The Award, presented in every two years by a national-level leader, has been instituted by the Government of Assam since 1986. It carries a cash of three lakh rupees, a gold medal, a shawl and a citation.Bsides, she is also scheduled to meet the Congress MLAs later in the day.Meanwhile, preparation to make the kishan rally a successful one is going on at war footing speed. Security in and around has also been tightened for the visit.According to information, she could announce a slew of bonanzas for the state farmers targetting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.She is also scheduled to address a Congress Party workers' meeting at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashoka on Friday. Ms. Gandhi is also scheduled to visit Mizoram on Saturday.On Thursday afternoon, AICC general secretary in charge of Assam, M Veerappa Moily, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, state Congress president Bhubneswar Kalita and senior leaders inspected the Khanapara veterinary playground and took stock of the progress of the preparations.

AJYCP, others set to greet Sonia visit with protest

Preparations are completing for Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit to Guwahati on Friday even as students organisations are set greet the visit with a statewide protest. Talking to Assam Times, AJYCP leaders here said th UPA chairperson has never addressed the problems of the people they voted amd that misrule is what has been the style and culture of Congress.The protest has reached crescendo as soon as CBI arrested Ripun Bora while he was trying to bribe a CBI official to hush up a murder case where is is one of the suspect. "It's a damage repairing visit by the Congress president", said the students adding that it is particularly aimed at gaining back the confidence of the people of Assam.Will Mrs Gnadhi address the multi-faceted problems of the farmers of Assam", they said.The AJYCP has demanded an impartial probe in to the allegations against all tainted ministers in the Tarun Gogoi cabinet. Source: assam times