Resentment in Congress over few ministerial berths

Guwahati/Imphal, May 30 (IANS) There is resentment among a section of the Congress in the northeast over the poor representation from the region in the Manmohan Singh ministry. A Congress ally in Assam has also threatened to withdraw support to the Assam government over the issue.
“Despite our requests, none of the Congress MPs from Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram was included in the ministry though the Congress won all five Lok Sabha seats in these states,” a Congress leader said in the Manipur capital Imphal on condition of anonymity.
Only three MPs have been inducted as ministers in the central ministry, from two of the region’s eight states — Assam and Meghalaya.
Some Congress workers burnt Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in effigy in different parts of eastern Assam Friday to register their protest over the non-inclusion of more party MPs from Assam, where the Congress won seven of the 14 Lok Sabha seats.
Only one - Bijoy Krishna Handique - has found a cabinet berth while both MPs from Meghalaya - one from the Congress, Vincent H. Pala, and Agatha K.
Sangma of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - have been inducted in the ministry.
In the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, there were two cabinet ministers and one minister of state from Assam and Meghalaya.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), a junior partner of the ruling Congress in Assam, has threatened to withdrew support to the Tarun Gogoi government in protest against the non-inclusion of its lone Lok Sabha member, Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary, in the central ministry.
“This is clear betrayal as assurances had been given to all pre-poll partners regarding allotment of ministerial berths,” BPF leader Hagrama Mohilary said.
“Our central working committee will meet June 4 to decide whether or not we should continue to support the Congress government (in Assam),” he added.
The influential Assam Cha Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) is also upset over the non-inclusion of Paban Singh Ghatowar, a tea garden leader and a former minister, in the Manmohan Singh cabinet.
“All branch units of ACMS would meet in Guwahati Monday to discuss the issue and to take the next course of action,” said ACMS general secretary Dileswar Tanti.

HC asks Dispur for municipal poll plan

Guwahati

Opposition members protest the dissolution of the GMC council. A file picture May 12 : Gauhati High Court has directed Dispur to submit before it its plans to hold the municipal elections here. The court issued the directive after hearing a petition filed by former councillor of Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Prabhat Das, seeking its intervention for holding municipal elections without further delay. Das today said the order was passed by a single-judge bench of Justice A. Hazarika last Friday. The court has sought the reply by May 20. The petitioner said he was left with no option other than seek the court’s intervention as the state government apparently was in no mood to hold the civic polls as per the provisions laid down in the GMC Act. “The government has already delayed the municipal poll as a result of which I appealed to the court to issue the necessary directive to the state government to hold the election to the corporation without any further delay,” he said. Das said a constitutional provision clearly stated that elections to municipalities should be held before the expiry of six months from the date of dissolution of the general council. “Since the state government had dissolved the elected council of the GMC on May 24 last year, it should have held a fresh election by November 25. But we are surprised to see that the government is yet to take any step to hold the poll,” he said. The state government had dissolved the general council of the corporation under Section 425 (1) of the GMC Act, 1971 (amended) through an official order dated May 26, 2008. Das, who was an AGP councillor, accused the Congress government of deliberately delaying the municipal polls by showing scant regard for constitutional and legal provisions, fearing defeat in the hands of the Opposition. He also claimed that development had taken a backseat in the city because of the absence of elected representatives in the corporation. “I had to move court as nobody in the GMC or the government could say when the election would be held or state the reason for the delay,” he said. Das cited a Supreme Court ruling in October, 2006, which stated that no reason other than man-made or natural calamities was tenable for not holding civic polls on time.

AICC toed Gogoi line on AUDF

Kalyan Barooah

NEW DELHI, March 14 – AICC has taken a final decision not to have any electoral truck with the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), despite sustained effort by a section of Congressmen to seal a deal, highly placed sources said. On March 3, a crucial meeting was held at 10 Janpath, which was chaired by Congress president, Sonia Gandhi and attended by AICC in-charge for Assam, M Verappa Moily, External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, PCC president, Bhubaneswar Kalita, among other senior leaders.

Acting on inputs provided by a group of State Congressmen, believed to be Gogoi-baiters, the AICC convened a meeting to discuss the possibility of aligning with AUDF.

However, the Chief Minister opposed the move tooth and nail, sources said.

He asserted that the Congress would not stand to gain much by the alliance but on the other hand, the loss of tying-up with a Party, once described as ‘communal’ by the Congress, would alienate its core support base cutting across all sections. It was his contention that the Party’s support base among the minority community despite emergence of AUDF, was intact.

The alliance would directly benefit the AGP-BJP alliance and people of Assam would not support the Congress Party, he reportedly argued.

Sources said the Congress president went along the argument and endorsed the decision not to align with AUDF, sources said.

The Congress has been insisting that a large section of AUDF was willing to join with the Party, but the of leadership has been preventing it.

A group of Congress-men including some sitting MPs and ex-MPs and MLAs had petitioned the Congress president to align with AUDF citing disenchantment of the minority community with the Congress Party. These party men had argued that AUDF would inflict serious damage in at least six seats by splitting the minority votes.

They had supported the move to forge an alliance with AUDF ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in keeping with the prevailing ‘mood’ of the minority community.

Meanwhile, in an apparent bid to dispel the purported feeling among the minority community, the Congress is likely to rope in top leaders of community to campaign for the Party in the election.

In this connection, the Chief Minister this evening held a close door meeting with Ahya Bukhari, brother of the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid.

Meanwhile, talking to this newspaper, the Chief Minister said the Congress party’s election plank would development and positive attitude. He said he was going to attack the Opposition with facts and figures and compare the development works that have taken place during the NDA and UPA regimes.

He said the party is going to focus on the achievements of the State Governments with details of the projects and schemes taken up during Gogoi regime.

Assam has got unprecedented number of projects and schemes in different sectors during the UPA rule led by Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

On the problem of militancy, the effort would be to convince the people that the Government has managed to isolate the militants.

Meanwhile, the candidates for the two remaining seats of Dhubri and Lakhimpur is likely to be announced next week, as AICC is expected to take up finalisation of all pending seats at one go.

Abdul Hamid is reported to be ahead in the race for Dhubri seat, while Ranee Narah is emerging as the hot favourite to back the Lakhimpur seat, sources said.

Assam: Congress edges over rivals in poll preparations

Guwahati, Feb 18 : The ruling Congress in Assam is way ahead in respect of preparedness for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls compared to its arch rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the regional Asom Gana Parishad.

The Congress has completed the process of collecting applications from aspirants for party nominations. A party source informed that there are over 125 applicants seeking nomination to contest from the total 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state.

It is for the first time such a large number of aspirants have applied for party nomination before a Lok Sabha election in the state, handing a tough job to the election panel of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee to recommend names to the All India Congress Committee for final selection of party nominees in the state.

Senior party leaders attribute the rush of aspirants to the 'dream run' the party is having in the state since 1999 Lok Sabha polls during which the party won two Assembly elections and tasted overwhelming success in the last two rounds of Lok Sabha polls.

The party won in nine constituencies out of the total 14 Lok Sabha segments in the state in 2004 general election.

The ruling party hopes to better its performance this election, given that the BJP and the AGP, are still trying hard to cobble up a well accepted seat sharing understanding to keep the anti-Congress votes undivided.

The seat sharing or poll understanding bid of the AGP and the BJP have faced a road block over the candidature of the prestigious Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency, though both parties have by and large decided on the modality to share other 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

None of the parties are willing to give up candidature in Guwahati Lok Sabha seat which is now represented by the Congress. The Congress is too happy with differences creeping into the AGP-BJP's efforts on poll understanding.