News Analysis India

Tag: Himanta Biswa Sarma

  • Assam CM Himanta meets NSCN-IM leader Muivah, discusses Naga issue

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Deputed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met senior National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) leader Thuingaleng Muivah in Nagaland’s Dimapur on Tuesday.

    Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio was with Sarma during the hour-long closed-door meeting. What transpired there was in the realms of speculations.

    The meeting comes a day after Sarma’s purported intense deliberations with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday night.

    Sarma landed at Dimapur at 12:30 pm and straightway went to the private residence of Rio in the town. Later, both left for the meeting venue.

    At the end of the meeting, the Assam CM visited a resort in the vicinity and held separate discussions with former Intelligence Bureau special director AK Mishra and state BJP leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, party chief Temjen Imna Along Longkumer, and some Ministers.

    Mishra had met Muivah on Monday and after the meeting, NSCN-IM leader R Raising told journalists it would be meaningless to sign an agreement that denies the Nagas their flag and constitution.

    Prior to leaving for Dimapur, Sarma told journalists in Guwahati that it was a “routine” visit, being undertaken for a “political reason”.

    ALSO READ | Home Minister Amit Shah authorised me to hold preliminary talks with ULFA: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    “I keep going to Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram. There is nothing new. My visit is political. I am going there for a political reason,” he had said.

    He also disclosed that he had met the NSCN-IM leadership informally three-four times in Delhi.

    Given Sarma’s involvement in the Naga issue, the Congress feared that he might compromise on the state’s territorial interest considering the NSCN-IM’s demand for the creation of “Greater Nagalim” by integrating the Naga-inhabited areas of some neighbouring states with Nagaland.

    “…The Manipur CM (N Biren Singh) has been also asked to be a part of the talks along with the Assam CM. But we have come know that the Manipur CM has decided not to participate in the talks due to differences on the Greater Nagalim issue,” Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah said.

    He asked in what capacity Sarma held the talks with Muivah and if the CM could do this without taking the state Assembly and the cabinet into confidence.

    Meanwhile, Sarma on Tuesday revealed that his government was informally holding talks with Paresh Baruah, chairman of rebel group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

    “Assam government has maintained some communication with ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah, who is now the outfit’s chairman. I asked the Union Home Minister if I can directly talk to Baruah should there be such a situation. He gave the permission,” Sarma said.

    “If he (Baruah) is willing, I will talk to him over the phone or through other media. If the process gets a push, the Government of India will get involved at some point in time,” the CM said.

    He said these were early days and hence, no conclusion should be drawn. It is going to be a long affair, he added.

  • Maintained communication with ULFA chief Paresh Baruah, says Assam CM

    By ANI

    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said his government has maintained some communication with the insurgent group United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).

    Briefing mediapersons, the chief minister said, “Assam government has maintained some communication with ULFA chief Paresh Baruah after the formation of the government. I asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah whether I can directly talk to Baruah if such a situation arises. He gave permission and said it has to be a structured dialogue.”

    “So, as of now I only took permission to speak to him (Baruah) over the phone or through other media so that we can give a push to the peace process. But those are very preliminary things, no conclusion should be drawn and it will be a long affair,” Sarma added.

    Sarma is the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the Northeast chapter of the BJP-led state. Some of the major parties of the region are constituents of NEDA.

    On Monday, Assam Chief Minister held a meeting with Shah in New Delhi.

    After his meeting, he told ANI that discussions were held over the ongoing peace efforts within northeastern states and some other issues of Assam.

    “We held discussions on pending issues of Assam. There are a lot of peace initiatives going on in the northeast, we discussed that also. In totality, some issues of Assam and efforts of maintaining peace within northeastern states were held,” he said.

    Sarma further stated that he was partly involved in the ongoing peace process with the NSCN-IM, but never held any official negotiation with the Naga rebel group.

  • Home Minister Amit Shah authorised me to hold preliminary talks with ULFA: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has authorised him to hold preliminary talks with the insurgent group ULFA.

    After meeting Shah here tonight, Sarma also said that he is partly involved in the ongoing peace process with the NSCN-IM but was not officially holding any negotiation with the Naga rebel group.

    “I have discussed with the home minister on the issue of holding peace talks with the ULFA. He has authorised me to initiate the preliminary talks with the ULFA,” he told reporters here.

    The chief minister also said that if things move in a proper direction, the central government may get involved in the peace parleys with the ULFA at a later stage.

    Asked about his role in the dialogue with the NSCN-IM, Sarma said he was partly involved in it but never officially engaged in the peace talks with the Naga group.

    “As convenor of the NEDA, I have sometimes talked to some political parties (in Nagaland) in the past,” he said.

    Sarma is the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the Northeast version of the NDA where major parties of the region are constituents.

    The chief minister said he would travel to Nagaland on Tuesday as convenor of the NEDA to assess the political situation of the state after opposition parties too became part of the government.

    Referring to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), he said both central and state governments are on the same page in seeking a review of the NRC in Assam.

    However, a decision in this regard will be taken only by the Supreme Court as the NRC was prepared under the direct supervision of the apex court.

    Replying to another question, Sarma said he has no plans to effect a reshuffle in his ministry as of now.

    Sarma assumed charge as Assam chief minister on May 10.

  • Peace talks with NSCN-IM resume, CMs of Assam, Nagaland to meet Muivah Tuesday

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The peace talks between Centre and National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) resumed after nearly two years with the former special director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) AK Mishra meeting the rebel outfit’s general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah in Nagaland’s Dimapur on Monday.

    While the Centre had stressed that it was in favour of resolving the Naga imbroglio as soon as possible, the NSCN-IM said any solution to the Naga issue without the ‘sacred’ Naga flag and constitution would be meaningless.

    In a significant development, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is considered a troubleshooter for Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio will meet Muivah on Tuesday. Sources said Rio had arrived in Dimapur from Kohima on Monday for the meeting.

    The peace talks ran into trouble after the Centre’s interlocutor RN Ravi had allegedly circulated a “doctored” version of the Framework Agreement, signed between the Centre and the rebel group in 2015 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

    Even as a bitter spat between Ravi and NSCN-IM continued, Shah deputed Sarma, who was then serving as Assam’s Finance Minister, Rio and a Naga social activist to meet Muivah in Delhi to understand their grievances.

    In due course, the trio convinced Shah that Ravi should be relieved of his responsibilities as interlocutor. Subsequently, Mishra was roped in with a senior serving IB official to continue the engagements with NSCN-IM, followed by their informal meetings with the outfit’s leadership.

    For the last year, Muivah has maintained that only Ravi’s removal from the post of interlocutor would ensure the talks’ progress.

    ALSO READ | Are taxes levied by militants legal? Nagaland stands united against extortion by rebel groups

    “The NSCN had exercised much restraint against the systematic ultimatum issued by the representative of GoI (Ravi) since July 2019, which was replaced during the talks on October 31, 2019. The representative of GoI has acted very irresponsibly and disrespectful (sic) to the Naga talk teams during the talks on January 30 in Dimapur, referring to the NSCN proposal submitted on January 18 as stupid and contaminated,” Muivah’s February 2020 letter to the PM reads.

    Ravi, who was also serving as the Nagaland governor, is now holding the gubernatorial position of Tamil Nadu.

    Meanwhile, NSCN-IM leader R Raising told journalists on Monday that it would be meaningless to sign any agreement that denies the Nagas their flag and constitution.

    “Any agreement, which is short of the (Naga) flag and the constitution, will be unacceptable to the people and the NSCN-IM. It will be a meaningless agreement,” Raising said.

    “The Government of India had invited us to resume the talks. They sent their representative on the basis of a directive from the PM. We reaffirmed the Framework Agreement during today’s meeting in letter and in spirit,” Raising said.

    He said the success of the peace talks would depend on the sincerity and commitment of both sides.

    The Centre is holding parallel talks with seven other groups which came together under the banner of Naga National Political Groups or NNPGs and Raising said the NSCN-IM has already made its position clear that the solution would be inclusive.

  • Assam government to preserve heritage of Dimasa Kachari kingdom: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the state government will preserve the heritage of the 18th century Dimasa Kachari kingdom and develop its last capital at Khaspur, located 25 km from Silchar town in Cachar district.

    At the beginning of the Dimasa rule, Dimapur used to be the capital of the kingdom, which was later shifted to Malibang, now in Dima Hasao district of Assam.

    During a visit to Khaspur during the day, Sarma said the state government will take up a project on 100 bighas (25 acres) of land to preserve the heritage of the Dimasa Kachari kingdom and to make Khaspur into an attractive tourist destination, an official statement said here.

    The Department of Indigenous Faith and Culture of the state government will initiate steps for the preservation of the heritage of the kingdom, the chief minister said.

    The sun gate, lion gate, main gate, the king’s temple, Rani Chandrabha Hasnu Park, named after a Kachari queen, are among the relics dotting the place.

    Moreover, the state government would take steps to strengthen the Barman Dimasa Kachari Development Council in a bid to fast-track the development of the community, the chief minister added.

    Sarma visited monuments of the kingdom at Khaspur that bear testimony to the unique architecture of the Dimasa Kacharis , the statement said.

    Later in the day, he unveiled a statue of Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu, the last of the Dimasa Kachari kings, at Silchar Circuit House premises.

    The statue has been installed under the aegis of Barman Dimasa Kachari Development Council, which drew praise from the chief minister.

    The Dimasa Kachari kingdom had come into existence in the 18th century as a result of a matrimonial tie between the Koch royal family and the Dimasa rulers.

    The kingdom was annexed by the British a couple of years after the end of Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu’s rule around 1830.

    The chief minister also visited Bhuban Tirtha, in the same district, and offered prayer at the ancient temple atop a hill and sought blessings for the people of the state.

    Attending a meeting there, the chief minister said the state government would develop Bhuban Tirtha as an important pilgrimage site having all amenities for pilgrims with active cooperation of the local people, the statement added.

  • BJP govt in Assam softens position on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants issue

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: As the much-talked-about National Register of Citizens (NRC) continues to be in limbo, some decisions taken by the BJP-led Assam government indicate it is softening its position on the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

    Through a recent order, the Himanta Biswa Sarma government clipped the wings of the quasi-judicial Foreigners’ Tribunals which deal with the cases of suspected foreigners.

    The government directed the Members of the Tribunals that the “consequential orders”, which they pass for the deletion of names of declared foreigners from the voter list and their arrest and detention, were not necessary.

    The government also said that the orders passed for their deportation were not a correct approach.

    Given the government directives, the role of the Tribunals will now be limited to only determining if the people that they deal with are Indians or not. The state has around 100 Tribunals and each is headed by a member (read judge).

    “…In the performance assessment exercise carried out by the state Judicial Department on the basis of randomly-selected samples of opinions rendered by Learned Members of Foreigners Tribunals, the Judicial Department has viewed with seriousness the passing of consequential directions/orders by Learned Members (of Tribunals) while rendering the opinion,” the order, issued by the Political department to the Members of the Tribunals, reads.

    The government had last month “humanised” the detention centres for declared foreigners (illegal Bangladeshi immigrants) by renaming them as “transit camps”.

    The Assam Public Works (APW), an NGO based on whose petition the NRC was updated in the state, agreed the government has softened its stand on the issue.

    ALSO READ | State by-passing crucial clause of 1985 Accord while bringing in CAA: Assam Jatiya Parishad

    “Whether Congress or BJP, every party wants this problem to remain alive. People have lost faith in the system,” APW chief Abhijit Sarma told this newspaper.

    However, Advocate Fazluzzaman Mazumder of the Gauhati High Court said the government had corrected the misuse of powers by the Tribunals.

    “When a reference is made to the Tribunals by the Border Police, it only seeks their opinion on whether the person is Indian or not. This has to be decided as per the provisions of the Citizenship Act of 1955,” the advocate said.

    He added: “The Tribunals are not empowered by the Foreigners Act of 1946 and the Citizenship Act of 1955 to direct the state authorities to delete the name of a declared foreigner from the voter list or send the person to a detention centre or deport him/her.”

    The six detention centres (now transit camps) in the state currently have 181 detenues. Of them, 61 are declared foreign nationals while the remaining 120 others, who were convicted by the court and whose period of the sentence was over, are awaiting deportation.

    In deference to an order issued by the Supreme Court on May 10, 2019, altogether 273 detenues, who had spent more than three years in detention, were released on bail by the government. Subsequently, another 481 lodged in the detention centres for more than two years, were released based on separate orders issued by the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court in April last year.

  • Assam government to destroy around 2479 rhino horns kept in state treasuries

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The Assam council of ministers on Thursday decided to destroy 2,479 rhino horns, stockpiled in the treasuries of different districts of the state, by burning them in public to bust myths associated with it and prevent poaching of the animal.

    The meeting of the ministers, which was chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also gave its nod for a natural history museum at Kaziranga National Park where 94 rhino horns, extracted from those animals that had died due to natural reasons, will be kept and preserved as heritage pieces for academic purposes and public viewing.

    State Health Minister Keshab Mahanta told the media after the meeting that out of the total 2,623 rhino horns kept in the treasuries, 2479 of them will be destroyed. Another 50 rhino horns with court litigations will be preserved with due procedures.

    In another major decision which will benefit people from low income groups, the Assam council of ministers decided to waive off the license fee for rickshaws, handcarts and others in the capital city and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation was directed to explore feasibility of providing these licenses online without the applicants coming to the office, Mahanta said.

    The cabinet granted the long-standing demand of the tea tribe community for a state holiday on Karam Puja on September 17 this year.

    Asked if the holiday will be only for this year, Mahanta said that though the decision was so, the matter will come up for discussion when the annual holiday list will be prepared by the government later this year.

    The ministers also decided to start offline classes for 10th standard students in both government and private schools, including high madrasas, residential and day boarding schools from September 20 and school authorities will ensure that all employees and workers are fully vaccinated, Mahanta said Every class will have a maximum of 30 students and all COVID protocols will be strictly followed, he said adding necessary directives will be issued soon in this regard.

    It was agreed to sanction Rs 379 crore for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana towards payment of insurance premium on behalf of the farmers.

    The state government will pay 3.5 per cent share of the premium, which will include the state share of 1.5 per cent and two per cent share of the beneficiary. “This will benefit lakhs of farmers,” the health minister said.

    The ministers decided to develop the infrastructure of 12 farms under the Assam Seeds Corporation Limited and develop the horticulture nursery and the Ulubari Nursery under it here as state-of-the-art facilities.

    They agreed to relax the qualifying service to a minimum of one year for upward promotion from deputy director and joint director’s posts in the agriculture department to strengthen and help in its effective functioning.

    The other decisions taken were releasing Rs 98 crore to the Water Resource Department for its activities under Section 27 of the NABARD Act, 1981 (contributing to the share capital of the cooperative credit institutions) and sanctioning Rs 250 crore to Assam Infrastructure Funding Agency (AIFA) for taking up infrastructural development related projects.

    The Assam ministers agreed to create a separate post of chief engineer for health and education in the public works department (building) to expedite all health and educational infrastructure projects undertaken by PWD in the state, Mahanta added.

  • Three arrested for forging Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s signature

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The prime accused and two others have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a case related to the forging of the signature of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the law enforcers said on Monday.

    The prime accused, Imran Shah Chaudhary, was arrested in New Delhi on Sunday and will be brought here on a transit remand while two others, Rajib Kalita and Dilip Das were arrested on Saturday, a spokesperson of the Assam Police told reporters.

    Kalita was arrested at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here on his arrival from New Delhi while Das was picked up from the city.

    The Chief Minister’s Office had filed an FIR with the Dispur police station on September 8 stating that Sarma’s signature was forged in a note given to the Chief Engineer of Public Health Department (PHE), Water, for a work to be allotted in the name of Lohit Construction.

    Following the registration of the case, an investigation began and within a few hours, police from both Guwahati and Sivasagar picked up four persons associated with Lohit construction.

    During interrogation, the four persons – Binit Poddar, Dipjyoti Dutta, Jaimini Mohan, and Pankaj Gogoi – allegedly revealed that they had come in contact with one Imran Shah Chaudhary, who was introduced to them by the brother-in-law of Jaimini Mohan, the police spokesperson said.

    Chaudhary, alleged to be the kingpin of the scam, had claimed that it was very easy for him to get them a contract in PHE Department through the CMO directly. He had assured them of two contracts worth Rs 3.16 crore in the PHE department in lieu of three per cent commission, amounting to Rs 9 lakh.

    Poddar and Dutta managed to collect Rs. 9 lakh from friends and family and delivered it to Imran Shah Chaudhary who gave them the forged paper, that they submitted to the Chief Engineer, PHE Department. Police investigations found that Chaudhary and Rajib Kalita had escaped to Delhi after they came to know about the FIR.

    The Guwahati Police went immediately to New Delhi and tracked the accused persons, who were regularly changing their locations to escape the police dragnet. Chaudhary had allegedly created the forged document with the help of three persons, Dilip Das, Anupam Chaudhary, and Prakash Basumatary.

    They had scanned the chief minister’s actual signature to create the forged document in the shop of one Naba Roy and gave it to Chaudhary who gave them a one per cent commission of Rs 3 lakh, with each of them receiving Rs 1 lakh each.

    The police also picked up the shopkeeper where the document was forged on Monday while the two accused, Anupam Chaudhary and Prakash Basumatary are absconding, the spokesperson added.

  • Day after boat tragedy, CM Himanta says work for Jorhat-Majuli bridge to begin in November

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Five years after Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation, the Assam government will begin constructing a bridge over the Brahmaputra in November to connect Majuli island with Jorhat.

    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday made the announcement while visiting Neamatighat in Jorhat where a collision between two ferries or mechanised boats on Wednesday had left a 28-year-old woman dead. She was serving as a college lecturer in Majuli.

    One of the boats that capsized and sank had 90 passengers. Eighty-seven of them managed to swim ashore or were rescued by the locals and two others are missing, Assam State Disaster Management Authority said.

    Sarma said it would take four years to build the bridge. He said a Group of Ministers would be formed to review the progress of construction. Gadkari had laid the foundation ahead of the 2016 Assam elections.

    The CM, who monitored the search operation for about 45 minutes from a machine boat, said a criminal case would be registered in connection with the incident.

    He said three officials of the Inland Water Transport (IWT) Department were placed under suspension and the government would institute a high-level inquiry into the accident.

    He announced that the plying of all private ferries would be stopped forthwith as they were not equipped with a marine engine.

    “If the owners wish to convert the single-engine to marine engine, the state government would provide a grant of Rs 10 lakh with 75% subsidy,” Sarma said.

    He said while four IWT ferries would provide service between Kamalabari in Majuli and Neamatighat, two more would be sent to Majuli. Two Ro-Pax ferries would also be operationalised, he said.

    Sarma also visited Majuli and assured the leaders of various organisations that all necessary steps would be taken to ensure passenger safety. He said the government would fix the number of passengers per boat and ensure strict vigilance.

    The Congress slammed the government over the incident stating that no provisions of safety kits like life jackets, swimming tubes were seen. The presence of rescuers was also not visible, the party said.

    “Does the IWT Department have properly marked navigation routes or not? Do they have licensed boat/ferry drivers? Who is monitoring the load of ferries?” the Congress asked.

  • Criminal case, high-level probe in Brahmaputra boat capsize: Assam CM

    By PTI

    JORHAT (Assam): Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday ordered the police to file a criminal case in connection with the boat capsize in the Brahmaputra in Jorhat district that claimed one life while two persons are still missing.

    After visiting the accident site with senior officials, Sarma told reporters that as per the initial probe, mismanagement was found to be the prime reason for the accident, which happened on Wednesday evening.

    “I have asked the Jorhat Police to file a criminal case for the accident. By today evening, we will announce a high-level probe to find out the reasons behind the accident,” he said.

    The chief minister also said that there are 10 private machine boats with single engines that operate between Nimati Ghat in Jorhat on the southern bank of Brahmaputra to Majuli, the world’s largest river island.

    “From today, all single-engine boats will be banned from plying. Those engines are not marine engines. However, if an owner wants to transform them into marine engines, we will support them,” he added.

    Sarma said a marine engine costs around Rs 10 lakh, which will be provided to the willing private owners by the government immediately after their application.

    “Out of the total amount, 75 per cent will be government subsidy and 25 per cent will be given as loans. They can start applying from today at the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Majuli,” he said.

    Sarma also said a total of 90 persons were travelling on the ill-fated private boat. Out of them, one person died and two are still missing. Overnight search and rescue operations found 87 persons alive.