Cong gains 11 in NC Hills

Silchar/Nagaon, Nov. 29: The Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), a prominent regional political party in NC Hills district, suffered a jolt yesterday when 11 of its councillors joined the Congress to allow it to form the new ruling set-up in the district council. The Autonomous District Council of North Cachar Hills is now in a state of suspended animation as the state government had taken it over on June 30 in the wake of serious allegations of financial malpractice levelled against the ruling ASDC, led by its chief executive member Mohit Hojai. The desertions of the ASDC councillors came at a time when speculations are rife that governor’s rule in the district council would end in a few days time. Prakanta Warisa, a former Rajya Sabha MP and district president of the ASDC, was caught unawares. The ASDC had won 16 seats in the 2007 elections in the 28-member council. Later, four BJP councillors joined them to make it 20. Of the 20, seven subsequently joined Congress leaving ASDC with 13. Now of the remaining, 11 have joined the Congress. The Congress is keen to stitch together a ruling combination before governor’s rule is waived. Barring Warisa and Hojai, the former chief executive councillor now in jail for his alleged link with the Dima Halam Daogah (Gorlosa), all the present folk of the ASDC councillors had leapt on the Congress bandwagon. The important leaders of the ASDC who had chosen to discard their parent party and join hands with the Congress included among others Mayanan Kemprai, Galan Daolagopu and Bejoyendra Kemprai. A crestfallen Warisa said over the phone from Guwahati that he was shocked at the developing signs of “indiscipline” inside the party, paving the way for the Congress to form the new council under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule. He said he was considering quitting from the post of the president of the ASDC district committee as he could not keep his flock together. The district unit of the ASDC has convened a meeting in Haflong on December 11 to discuss the fallout of this change in the political equations in the district. Congress NC Hills unit president and former ASDC’s Haflong legislator, Samarjeet Haflongbar, rushed to the district headquarters from Guwahati on Saturday and distributed the party’s primary membership cards to the 11 ASDC members. A source said a cabinet meeting scheduled on December 2 is likely to recommend revoking the suspension of the council and the Congress-led council headed by Haflongbar as CEM and former ASDC chief Depulal Hojai as chairman would take charge.

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Congress’ Assam unit holds record 18,828 meetings in a day

Guwahati, Nov 30 The ruling Congress party in Assam Sunday created a history of sorts by holding more than 18,500 meetings across the state as it kicked off its campaign for the 2011 state assembly elections, in which the party hopes to score a hat-trick.

A Congress party spokesperson said a total of 18,828 public meetings were held across the state Sunday aimed at reaching the grassroots workers ahead of the 2011 assembly elections.

“We know we are going to win the elections for the third time, but then we thought of involving our grassroots workers to ensure that all of them work together for the overall development of the state,” Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told journalists after attending one of the meetings in his home constituency of Jorhat in eastern Assam.

The idea to hold grassroots level meetings in block Congress booths was aimed at reaching the party workers and supporters to spread the message of the ruling government’s schemes and projects undertaken during its tenure since 2001.

“We have created history, a record of sorts, by holding 18,828 meetings in a single day. The meetings were highly successful with the supporters and workers greatly enthused,” Congress party spokesperson Haren Das said.

Assam Congress party president Bhubaneswar Kalita said the party is ready to hold elections even if it is held at an early date.

Elections are due in May 2011.

“No matter when the elections are held, we are ready to face the people. We know the Congress government since 2001 changed the entire landscape of Assam with allround development taking place,” Kalita said.

With the opposition in Assam a fractured lot and the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in a shambles following successive electoral defeats, the ruling Congress party is in an upbeat mood.

The AGP lost the state polls in 2001, then again in 2006, besides facing humiliating defeats in local elections earlier this year. More recently, the AGP also lost two by-elections to the state assembly.

The AGP-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the last parliamentary polls failed to yield result as the AGP won just one seat compared to two seats the party won in 2004.

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Rahul thanks tribals for Arunachal sweep

Rahul Gandhi

Itanagar, Nov 24 : The Congress-led UPA gover-nment would continue to work for development at the grassroots and steer the country towards rapid technological advancement, Rahul Gandhi said today while addressing a victory rally at Indira Gandhi Park here.

The afternoon rally was attended mostly by Congress workers as the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU), the apex students’ body of the state, called for a boycott in protest against the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI)’s recruitment drive centred around the young Amethi MP.

Sporting a white galuk (tribal man’s costume) the AICC general secretary projected himself as the aam admi ka sipahi (the common man’s army) and eulogised the Arunachal Pradesh tribals for helping the Congress make a clean sweep of the Assembly polls held last month.

Rahul arrived here today on a one-day visit to the state.

Earlier in the day, he attended the 8th Inter-College Youth Festival at Rajiv Gandhi University as the chief guest and chaired the Arunachal PCC executive committee meeting.

The UPA government wanted to make India strong both internally and externally rather than wedge a divide between the rich and the poor, Rahul said. “The Congress does not play divide and rule game like other parties. We do not want to make two types of India but want to make the country stronger.”

“India’s strength lies in agriculture, so we cannot ignore rural India but at the same time we are striving to make India stride in the IT sector and compete with other countries,” Rahul said.

During his 15-minute speech, Rahul, however, avoided any mention of China’s claim to parts of Arunachal Pradesh. Rahul reiterated the UPA government’s pledge to implement people-oriented development schemes at the grassroots.

“I myself as an aam admi ka sipahi always emphasise working for the growth of the mass though the Opposition party pilloried me like anything for mixing with poor people and accused that my party had sold India’s poverty to the other countries.”

He said though he could not be a part of the party’s poll campaign during the first week of October because of inclement weather, he felt great to see Dorjee Khandu-led Congress government returning to power.

“I heartily thank the people of Arunachal Pradesh for supporting the Congress to retain power during the recently concluded Assembly polls in the state.”

Chief minister Dorjee Khandu, former chief minister Gegong Apang, MPs Takam Sanjoy and Ninong Ering, AICC general secretaries Sanjoy Bapna and V. Narayanswamy, home minister Tako Dabi and PWD minister Nabam Tuki were present among others.

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Cong not to strip Paul of ministry

Shillong, Nov. 22: The AICC has asked party legislators in Meghalaya not to disturb coalition partners in the Congress-led alliance in the state to ensure smooth functioning of the government.

The directive comes in the wake of the demand of seven Congress MLAs to drop Paul Lyngdoh, the lone KHNAM minister, from the Meghalaya United Alliance ministry.

A senior member of the Congress and Meghalaya PCC functionary today said Paul Lyngdoh would not be dropped from the ministry as the Congress wanted to see that the present coalition completed its full term.

The AICC leaders who had summoned PCC president Friday Lyngdoh to Delhi wanted him to bury the issue and convince the Congress legislators to concentrate on development activities instead of raising the demand to drop urban affairs minister Paul Lyngdoh.

Friday Lyngdoh had a meeting with the AICC general secretary in charge of the Northeast, L. Faleiro, in Delhi yesterday and also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

An AICC source today said Sonia was unhappy over the persistent demand of some Congress legislators to drop Paul Lyngdoh only to get themselves accommodated in the ministry.

The AICC maintains if any Congress legislator is accommodated in the ministry, resentment among those left out will surface.

Legislators H.D.R. Lyngdoh, Founder Cajee, P.W. Kongjee, Ronney Lyngdoh, Friday Lyngdoh and A.L. Hek and Ampareen Lyngdoh recently submitted a letter to chief minister D.D. Lapang urging him to sack Paul Lyngdoh for his change of stand on uranium issue and his allegations that urban governance was not up to the mark.

Earlier, they had demanded that he be stripped of his portfolio.

Though on August 24 Paul Lyngdoh backed the cabinet decision to allow the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) to carry on with pre-mining development activities in West Khasi Hills, he later changed his stand and demanded a white paper from the government on the issue.

He had also asked the government to go slow on the project.

Paul Lyngdoh met Faleiro in Delhi last week and explained his position on the uranium issue.

The AICC wanted him to try to convince the people on the benefits of the uranium mining in the state.

The Congress leader said though the strength of the party legislators in the 60-member House is 28, the party does not want to ditch its coalition partners.

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Congress leader assaulted, vehicle torched in Meghalaya

Shillong, Nov 22 (PTI) Unidentified youths assaulted a local Congress leader and set his vehicle on fire in front of his residence in the city.

Four youths turned up at the residence of Shillong unit of Congress Coordination Committee secretary Donkupar War yesterday and started beating him up, police said.

The youths then set his vehicle on fire and escaped after sighting neighbours coming to the aid of War, they said.

The vehicle was partially damaged in the blaze.

War lodged an FIR at Lumdiengjri police station, however, the reason behind the attack was not yet clear, police said.

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Cong pushes for uranium mining in Meghalaya

Despite the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) coalition government forming the Joint Committee on Uranium Mining (JCOUM) to look into various issues including the health and environment aspects of mining, the Congress continues to bat for mining. AICC secretary in-charge of Meghalaya Ved Prakash said that people must understand the urgency and national importance of the need to extract uranium.

The anti-mining group, led by the Khasi Students' Union (KSU), had been opposing uranium mining in the West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. When the agitation intensified, Chief Minister D D Lapang had no option but to form JCOUM including the anti-mining group to look into the issue.

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Rahul is the front tier Gandhi for Congress now

NEW DELHI: The anointing of Sonia Gandhi’s political successor assumed a public hue with the Congress placing the entire credit of its success in the by-elections at young Rahul Gandhi’s doorstep. The grand old party’s thank you note to the heir apparent could not have been more elaborate, given its geographical stretch — from Assam to Kerala, by their reckoning, every win was an outcome of his “vision’’.

In a grand gesture, the Congress virtually handed over the political initiative and the credit of reviving the party’s footprint across the country to Rahul. “Behind the Congress victories in Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh… is the visible and invisible hand of Rahul Gandhi. It is his message, image and work that are being rewarded,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi waxed eloquent. Interestingly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi was not mentioned. His political mentor Digvijay Singh too was forgotten.

For, according to the Congress, Rahul dared to “experiment’’ in a political environment where maintaining status quo was the norm. It seems, it is no less than Rahul’s path-breaking “long-term vision’’ of going alone in the Hindi heartland and reviving the Youth Congress/NSUI in other states that is delivering the results.

Singhvi claimed that every single seat — from the three in Kerala, two in Assam, the lone parliamentary and assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, the routing of the CPI-M in West Bengal — was a gift to the party from the general secretary. “Only he could see the benefits of long term planning. When you see the workers’ strengthen in Kerala and West Bengal, you know that the NSUI and the Youth Congress have been energised,’’ Singhvi said, claiming credit for Mamata Banerjee’s good show as well.

Now, does it matter that the Congress lost the Rohru seat in Himachal, a stronghold of its former chief minister Virbhadra Singh or shed one in Rajasthan where it is ruling or that Mamata’s Trinamool Congress is about to gobble its political space in West Bengal.

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Congress swipes all seats in bypolls in Kerala

KOCHI - The Congress won all three-assembly seats namely Ernakulam, Alleppey and Kannur in the recent concluded Assembly by election.

MP A P Abdullakutty, an expelled candidate from CPI-M later joining Congress Party, emerged as the hero winning over a margin of over 12,000 votes over CPI-M’s M V Jayarajan.

In Ernakulam constituency, Congress candidates Dominic Presentation defeated CPI-M’s P N Sinulal in by over 8000 votes.

Meanwhile, A A Shukur of Congress in Alappuzha or Alleppey seat defeated G Krishaparasad of CPI by 4000 votes.

According to data from the State Electoral Office, Abdullakutty won 53,987 votes against 41,944 won by Jayarajan in Kannur constituency. BJP’s Ranjith won 5,665 votes.

Presentation bagged 46,119 votes against 37,499 votes polled by Seenulal. Sobha Surendran of the BJP improved the party’s tally in Ernakulam constituency over that of the 2006 Assembly elections by polling about 7,200 votes.

Shukoor won 42,774 votes against 38,029 votes polled by Krishnaprasad in Alappuzha. The BJP candidate K. Babu got 2,247 votes.

The candidate in Ernakulam assembly, Dominic Presentation thanked all the workers and supporters of UDF who worked his victory and promised that he would be to solve the issues related to the region

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Congress wins both assembly seats in Assam

Guwahati, Nov 10: Assam’s ruling Congress party Tuesday wrested both the assembly seats for which by-elections were held three days ago from the opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF).

Wajed Ali Choudhury won the South Salmara seat by a margin of more than 6,000 votes defeating AUDF candidate Abdur Rahman Ajmal, son of party chief Badruddin Ajmal.

South Salmara is about 300 km west of Assam’s main city of Guwahati.

In the Dhekiajuli seat in northern Assam’s Sonitpur district, Congress candidate Bhimananda Tanti trounced AGP candidate Shib Charan Sahu by over 21,000 votes.

The by-elections were necessitated after sitting legislators Joseph Toppo from the AGP and Badruddin Ajmal of the AUDF were elected as Lok Sabha MPs in the last general elections from Dhekiajuli and South Salmara respectively.

The AGP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a pre-poll alliance in the by-elections – the AGP put up its candidate in the Dhekiajuli seat and the BJP fielded its candidate in the South Salmara seat as part of the seat-sharing arrangement.

“We are happy at the results and believe the people of Dhekiajuli and South Salmara voted for the Congress party for the good governance we are providing to the people of Assam for the past eight years now,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told journalists.

The AGP and the AUDF accepted defeat.

“We accept the people’s verdict and now we must strengthen our base for the 2011 assembly elections,” said AGP leader Atul Bora.

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When Rahul came knocking

For dalits of Semra village, Rahul Gandhi's visit was like manna from heaven. It forced government officials to fast track development work
Pradeep Kapoor Semra (UP)
A fairytale is unfolding in a non-descript village of Semra in Uttar Pradesh. On January 14, 2009, the hopelessly poor dalit residents of this village, 30 km from Amethi, were visited by farishtas (angels). They seemed to have dropped some magic dust on a village that had not seen any development.
They were no ordinary farishtas of the kind that descend from the skies. They were Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and British Foreign Secretary David Milliband, who decided to stay in Semra to experience the hardships of Indian village life.
Ten months later, change seems to be sweeping this dusty village. A metal road is being speedily laid. Chotelal, owner of a tea stall on the road leading to the village, said, "Construction work on the road has accelerated during the past three months." "Rajiv Gandhi had flagged off the kuchcha road by using the spade or phawra. Now, his son Rahul is turning it into a metal road through Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana."
A huge neon-sign board has been set up. It flashes description of the road.Electricity poles, too, have been erected along the road to bring power to the villagers of Semra. The manifest change is visible in the life of dalit widow, Shiv Kumari. It was in her house that Rahul and Milliband spent a night. An excited Shiv Kumari opened the door for this correspondent to show with pride the room where her bhaiyya Rahul Gandhi and Milliband had spent the night on two cots and ate the food she had cooked.
Wiping the tears that welled up in her eyes, Shiv Kumari remembered how patiently the young leaders had heard her and the other members of the self-help group. She had told them about her tragic life - how she had been widowed a few years ago and how she had to bring up her five children alone on a measly daily wage of Rs 25 per day. A moved Rahul had picked up her youngest son, three-year-old Sunil, in his arms and hugged him.
Rahul had promised help then which came a few months later when an NGO began building another room in her house. Her father, Ram Kishore, and brother, Heeralal, both construction workers, are also helping out Shiv Kumari. She is also getting a widow pension. Even the ration for her family has improved after Rahul visited Semra.
Shiv Kumari complained about corruption in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). She alleged that she received only Rs 600 of the Rs 1,200 that was due to her. The rest, 50 per cent of her wages, was held back by the village pradhan. Later, however, she was told by the pradhan that she would get the entire money and also that she did not have to work at all.
Another dalit woman, Shivkala, who is also a member of the self-help group, said that women have begun to assert themselves. The likes of Pooja Bedi, film actress, are also helping them build their resolve and confidence. Bedi has assured that the villagers will soon be able to get interest-free loans to build pucca houses.
Nankau, a dalit youth, said that although Semra has been adopted as an Ambedkar village, there has been no development. Neither did people get old-age pension nor did they benefit from any government programme. Yet, villagers had enthusiastically participated in the 2009 general elections. Voter turnout in Semra was about 68 per cent.
Local political activist and social worker, Jagdish Piyush, has been working here for the past three decades. He said that Rahul's visit to the dalit basti in his Lok Sabha constituency has brought them  closer to the Congress. "Now, government officials have been forced to fast track development work," he said.
Interestingly, Rahul's visit has been welcomed by opposition parties, too. Senior BJP leader, Kalraj Mishra, told the media that such trips and close interaction between politicians and dalits should be encouraged.
Prominent dalit activist and former IG of police, SR Darapuri, told Hardnews that Rahul was reaching out to those who had never been looked up by anyone before. "He is doing what Gandhiji did by touring India to get first-hand information of the ground reality," he said.
Darapuri further said that Rahul was exploiting the dalits neglected by the complacent BSP supremo Mayawati.
While dalits in UP are happy with Rahul's periodic visit to their houses, there is a growing rage against copy cat visits by various Congress leaders. On Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, the state unit of the Congress instructed its leaders to follow Rahul's example and spend the day with the poor and the oppressed.
Congress leaders followed the directive of UPCC president, Rita Bahuguna. While Bahuguna cooked rotis for the dalits, some MPs and Union ministers from UP made a mockery of the programme. They took along with them cooks, guests, mosquito nets, coolers and other luxury items and the media, too. Branded as "dalit tourism", their conduct attracted the ire of the party leadership. Both AICC President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul conveyed their unhappiness about the shoddy manner in which Gandhi Jayanti was observed by sycophants of the UP Congress. Minister of State for Petroleum Jitin Prasada was an honourable exception who lived without fanfare at a dalit house.

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