Contours of new Gogoi Ministry

GUWAHATI, May 16 : Hectic lobbying is going on among the new legislators, who are tipped to be included in the new Tarun Gogoi ministry -- which is likely to take oath on Friday -- for getting key or coveted departments of the Government. Mr Gogoi, who has flown to New Delhi this afternoon to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi along with AICC General Secretary Kamal Nath, is likely to discuss with her about the formation of the new Government and get approval of his council of ministers. [S]

Suspension of trains' night-running extended

GUWAHATI, May 16: The Northeast Fronteir Railway authorities have extended suspension of night running of all passenger trains over certain parts of A ssam til May 18 following advice of the State Govenrment to that affect, stated an NFR press release. This will be in continuation of the earlier notice issued on May 10. [S]

Half of MLAs are new faces

GUWAHATI, May 16 : The recently-concluded elections of the State have elected as many as 62 new faces as MLAs to the 11 th Assam Assembly of which the highest number of 36 belong to the Congress party while lowest one, belongs to the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).
The election was held in the 125 Legislative Assembly Constituencies of Assam out of 126. The Congress party bagged 71 seats where as many as 36 faces have been elected to the Assam Assembly for the first time, prominent of which includes former MP Bhubneswar Kalita, Pankaj Bora, Ripun Bora, Pradyut Bordoloi, Captain Robin Bordoloi, Jon Jonali Baruah, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Basanta Das, besides others. [S]

Vote polarisation cause of poll debacle: Promode

DEMOW (Sivasagar), May 16: CPI veteran and a member of Central Politburo Promode Gogoi, while talking to The Assam Tribune, ascribed his party's poor performance in the recent elections to the polarisation of votes into two camps -- Congress and the AGP-BJP combine. He said there was a 14 pc swing in favour of the Congress which virtually swept aside all others. Promode Gogoi with a record of four consecutive wins behind him from 108 Sivasagar LAC got a poor third position with only 12,697 votes this time, 259 votes less than Pranobjeet Chaliha, an Independents candidate.
Pranob Gogoi of the Congress won the seat with 30,921 votes. "People have high expectations with the new government," he said, "if they can perform well they will stay otherwise they will lose the confidence of the people." [AT]

Mafiosi back in battle over coal trade

GUWAHATI, May 16 : Assam is likely to witness a stiff rivalry very soon over the control of the much-talked-about coal trade of the State extending from Beltola (Guwahati) to Jogighopa following the change of guard at Dispur. With the coming of the Congress in power, the old figure of the trade and controversial businessman, Mr RS Gandhi is back in the State after a long gap. [S]

ABSU's calls Assam bandh on May 19

GUWAHATI, May 16: The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and the Bodo People's Action Committee (BPAC) have jointly called a 12-hour State-wide bandh on May 19. The bandh, to protest against the killing of two Bodo men, allegedly by the Santhals, will start from 5 am, ABSU president Rabiram Narzary said today. Narzary said that the two men, Jagadish Narzary and Dombru Daimary, were killed on May 10 when they had resisted attempts to rig the polls at Gossaigaon. The ABSU-BPAC-supported candidates have bagged ten Assembly seats. [AT]

Zoii Nath officially declared winner

MANGALDAI, May 16: The election result of the Sipajhar LAC, in which sitting MLA Dr Zoii Nath Sarma emerged the winner, was officially declared by the Election Commission today. Dr Sarma won the seat by a margin of 213 votes polling 45,978 votes, while his nearest rival Binanda Saikia of Congress polled 45,765 votes. [AT]

BJP to review poll debacle

GUWAHATI, May 16: The BJP general secretary Sunil Shastri today called for a proper introspection by the alliance partners to ascertain the real causes of the poll debacle. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, Sri Shastri said that the State unit president of the party would soon convene a meeting of all the candidates for a proper analysis of the poll debacle. The State executive of the party will then meet and put forward its views on the poll debacle to the central committee of the party. [AT]

Gogoi CLP leader, in Delhi to finalize list of ministers

GUWAHATI, May 16: Decks have been cleared for the inauguration of the Congress Ministry in Assam headed by Mr Tarun Gogoi after the Congress Legislature Party comprising all the 71 newly-elected members today "unanimously elected" Mr Gogoi as their leader. The "unanimous election" came after AICC supremo Sonia Gandhi told the two AICC observers, Mr Kamal Nath and Mr R.K. Dhawan over phone from New Delhi, even as the CLP meeting was in progress, that Mr Gogoi be made the leader. [S]

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Tarun Gogoi flashes the victory sign, as All India Congress Committee leaders R.K. Dhawan and Kamal Nath look on, after his election as the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader and (Right) a view of the CLP meeting in progress at the conference hall of New MLA Hostel at Dispur, Guwahati on May 16. The Sentinel photo.

AGP team in Delhi to call on BJP leaders

GUWAHATI, May 16: Outgoing Chief Minister and AGP president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta led a team of the party's leaders to New Delhi today to discuss with the BJP high command the reasons for the poor showing of the hastily drawn-up AGP-BJP alliance in the just-concluded Assam Assembly elections and the strategy to expand at broadbase the alliance to face up to the new political situation in the State. [S]

Cong 'revival'
[Editorial, The Assam Tribune, May 17, 2001]

The good performance of the Congress (I) in the just concluded Assembly polls has naturally given a boost to the party generating hope of its turn-around in national politics. Some of the party stalwarts discern in it a clear sign of the party's "revival" and the slide in the fortune of the BJP. Chhatisgarh Chief Minister and the party's leading spokesman has gone to the extent of saying that all the political parties from the DMK in the South to the AGP in the North East have lost because of their alliance with the BJP. [AT]

38 aspirants lose security deposits

NAGAON, May 16: Out of 55 candidates who had contested in the Assembly elections held on May 10 from seven LAC's of Nagaon subdivision, 38 candidates lost their security deposits for their poor performances. Similarly, out of 6,13,468 valid votes polled in these LAC's, 8,279 votes were cancelled by the poll officials. Among the candidates, Md. Idris Ali of Congress had secured highest numbers of votes i.e. 49,703 from 83 Dhing LAC while in the same LAC, dissident Congress candidate Mustafa Sahidul Islam got lowest number of votes, i.e. 23. [S]

Cartoon by Utpal Talukdar, Asomiya Pratidin, May 16.

Barkhetri groaning in agony
[Letters to the Editor, The Assam Tribune, May 17, 2001]

Sir,

The Barkhetri Legislative Assembly Constituency in Nalbari district is economically one of the most backward constituencies of the State. People of this constituency, particularly the people living in the east side of the Pagladia river falling under Barbhag Revenue Circle are economically worst affected.

Yours etc., SIBA NATH SARMA, Narikalbari, Guwahati. [AT]

Losers making way for victors

GUWAHATI, May 16: The Dispur Old MLA hostel complex is, at present, witnessing hectic activity. After the announcement of election results, several ministers and MLAs have started vacating their respective official quarters. On the other hand newly-elected legislators along with their supporters have thronged the complex with the hope of securing a place. All defeated candidates have been asked to vacate their quarters within five days in order to accommodate the new legislators. [AT]

No vindictive transfer of officials : Gogoi

GUWAHATI, May 17: A change in Government in the State is usually followed by a large-scale transfer of senior Government and police officials and the officers, who are known to be close to the ruling party, have to face the wrath of the new party in power. However, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Sri Tarun Gogoi, who is scheduled to take over as the Chief Minister tomorrow, said that they would not go for vindictive action against any officer. Talking to this correspondent, Sri Gogoi ruled out the possibility of large-scale transfer of officers and said that only a few transfers might be affected to give a boost to the administration. He asserted that any transfer would only be need based. However, the bureaucrats and police officers are apprehensive and are keeping their fingers crossed. [AT]

Change of Guard and Woes of Guwahati
[Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, May 18, 2001]

Whatever arguments are put forth by the outgoing Chief Minister for his party's poll debacle, it is largely due to criminal negligence of the administration and lack of political will to think of development and the basic needs of the common people of the State, as is evident from the total rout of the AGP's four city constituencies. More ...

Vox Populi, Guwahati - 7. [S]

The Tasks Ahead
[Editorial, The Sentinel, May 18, 2001]

While it is reassuring to learn that the new Chief Minister of Assam, Mr Tarun Gogoi, has put the economic development of the State and the task of controlling insurgency at the top of his agenda, he will do well to appreciate the herculean nature of both undertakings. It is axiomatic that withdrawal of entrepreneurs from industry and the flight of capital from the State are not overnight phenomena. And the reasons that have led to the shrinking of industrial activity in the State and the flight of capital are also the reasons that have made potential investors shy away from the State. [S]

She stands behind her successful man

GUWAHATI, May 17: She is unassuming and harbours no political ambition. Yet she is no ordinary housewife. She is Dolly , wife of Tarun Gogoi, who takes charge as Assam's new chief minister tomorrow.
"I was all along confident that my husband's hard work would pay off one day. I had kept him free of all domestic responsibilities," she said without an air of excitement. [S]

Calm reigns after the poll storm>

NAGAON, May 16: The tumultuous slogan shouting processions, hanging of banners, pasting of posters and placing cut-outs of party leaders and candidates are no more seen in the district of Nagaon. Even in the villages where loudspekers blared day-in-day-out during the election days have fallen silent. In 11 Assembly constituencies of the Nagaon district, innumerable election offices of different parties and candidates sprouted like mushrooms and many young boys and girls were engaged in election campaigning. These youths have once again become unemployed. From April 16, the date of election notification to May 10, the date of polls, hundreds of youths were engaged in the election offices. The candidates spent several lakhs of rupees before the election. According to two youths of a village they opened an election office of an independent candidate in their village who gave them Rs 1,000. The youths said that they were able to have good food during the election days. Further they informed that out of 300 votes in the village, their independent candidate got only 8 votes. The two youths said that they could not cast vote because they have not attained the qualifying age of 18 years. Some of the party candidates spent upto Rs 10,000 for each of such election office. [S]

Gogoi Govt inherits massive debt burden

GUWAHATI, May 17: The new Congress Government headed by Mr Tarun Gogoi is taking over charge of the State tomorrow with a huge debt burden to the tune of Rs 10,200 crore. For the new Congress Government, the debt burden is more than 91 per cent, over what the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta-led Government had inherited when it took over charge in 1996.
As a result of such a huge debt burden, the per capita loan of every individual of the State's 2.66 crore population stands at Rs 3,821. [S]

ABSU keen to work with Gogoi Govt

GUWAHATI, May 17: The All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and its associate organisations are ready to cooperate with the Congress Government to be headed by Mr Tarun Gogoi even while maintaining political ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Asom Gana Parishad. It is hopeful that the new Government would come forward to solve the genuine problems of the Bodos. [S]

Gogoi Ministry swearing-in today

GUWAHATI, May 17: Mr Tarun Gogoi will become the 15th Chief Minister of Assam after his swearing-in tomorrow. It is noteworthy that only five of the 14 Chief Ministers who have ruled the State, could complete the full five-year tenure, while Bimala Prasad Chaliha had established a record of sorts by remaining in office uninterruptedly for 17 years till his death. The remaining nine Chief Ministers were in office for varying periods ranging from just 22 days to hardly a year or two. [S]

Six candidates forfeit security money

NAZIRA, May 17: Out of total seven candidates in Nazira constituency, six candidates have lost their security money this time. It is worth mentioning that in 1991 late Hiteswar Saikia won the Assembly election receiving 36,000 votes. This time Dr Hema Prava Saikia, the wife of the late Hiteswar Saikia has been elected from Nazira constituency receiving 44,168 votes. She has broken the previous record of her husband. [S]

Don't repeat history of betrayal: ULFA warns Cong

GUWAHATI, May 17 (PTI): The banned ULFA has warned the Congress, set to form the new government in Assam tomorrow, not to repeat its "history of betrayal and fratricide" and chastised the outgoing AGP government and poll partner BJP.
In its first reaction after the just-concluded Assembly elections published in its mouthpiece Freedom, the ULFA describing the Congress as old wine in a new bottle "hoped the Congress reads the writing on the wall and does not repeat its past history of betrayal and fratricide". [S]

Challenges before Gogoi
[Editorial, The Assam Tribune, May 17, 2001]

The election of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Tarun Gogoi as the new Congress Legislature Party leader in the State Assembly has finally laid to rest the controversy surrounding the election of the CLP leader and in turn the question who will head the next Congress Government in the State. That all was not smooth in the CLP meeting is reflected in the decision of the CLP to allow the party supremo Sonia Gandhi to take the final decision on the leadership issue. [AT]

Education Ministry scares Cong aspirants

GUWAHATI, May 17: The section of the newly-elected Congress legislators who are aspiring to become ministers in the next cabinet to be headed by Tarun Gogoi, are scared of the Education Ministry being thrust upon them. A senior Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) leader and MLA who is likely to be sworn in as a cabinet minister tomorrow, told this scribe that the Education Department, mired in controversy and crippled by rampant corruption and gross irregularities in its functioning, had become too hot to handle anymore. [AT]

An imprudent move
[Letters to the Editor, The Assam Tribune, May 19, 2001]

Sir,

Within 24 hours of the resignation of Mahanta ministry bad news are flashed in the media. Firstly, the infamous coal mafia Rajinder Singh Gandhi already started terrorism in Jogighopa coal market with the help of a Congress leader. Another mafia Sambhu started mixing solvent in petrol for big business -- with the coming in of the Congress to power. The result is large-scale marketing of polluted/adulterated petrol in Assam. More ...

Yours etc., T K BARUA, D K DAS, ILLA TALUKDAR, Guwahati. [AT]

AGP's downfall
[Letters to the Editor, The Assam Tribune, May 19, 2001]

Sir,

For successful working of democracy any party which fails to keep its promises given to the people should be voted out of power. Otherwise the party indulges in corruption and bad governance. The Indian electorate retained the Congress party in power for more than forty years by ignoring its myriads of mistakes and this is one of the reasons for moral degradation of our country. More ...

Yours etc., NARAYAN GOSWAMI, Athgaon, Kamalpur. [AT]

Jiba Kanta Gogoi shocked at being left out

GUWAHATI, May 18: Former Speaker of State Assembly, senior Congressman and the newly-elected MLA from Khumtai constituency of Golaghat district, Sri Jiba KantaGogoi was surprised and shocked for being denied a berth in State Ministry which was sworn in today. Talking to The Assam Tribune after the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhawan, Sri Gogoi said, 'naturally being one of the senior most Congressman in the State, I expected that my name would be among the Cabinet Ministers inducted today.' A dejected, Sri Gogoi feared that his name would not be included when the ministrywould be expanded soon as told by the Chief Minister. When asked whether his name was being considered for the Speaker's post, Sri Gogoi said 'I am not interested in Speaker's post anymore as the responsibility of the Speaker confines to the four walls of the Assembly. I want to work in the field and therefore aspired to become a Cabinet Minister in the new Congress Government. [AT]

Twist of destiny brings Tarun Gogoi to political centre-stage
From Sanjay Barkataky

JORHAT, May 18: Cutting across party affiliations, the ambience here is of excitement. And why not! For the citizens of this tea city, also known as the last bastion of the mighty Ahom kingdom of yore, can definitely take pride as a worthy 'son of Jorhat' takes on the mantle of chief ministership at Dispur today. With Sri Tarun Gogoi becoming the first Chief Minister from this Upper Assam district, which is fondly termed as the cultural capital of the State, the aspirations of the people here are naturally high. [AT]

16-member Gogoi ministry sworn-in

GUWAHATI, May 18: a 17-member Congress ministry headed by Sri Tarun Gogoi as the Chief Minister was admisnistered the oath of office and secrecy by the Governor, Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha in a packed Darbar Hall of the Raj Bhawan here this afternoon. [AT]

State Governor Lt Gen (Retd) SK Sinha administering the oath of office to the new Chief Minister Sri Tarun Gogoi at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan on May 18. The Assam Tribune photo.

Gogoi to give top priority to State's finances

GUWAHATI, May 18: The new Chief Minister of the State, Sri Tarun Gogoi today said that it would be 'herculean task' for the New Congress Government to manage the finance of the State which was burdened with huge volume of debt. Talking to newsmen immediately after the swearing in ceremony at Raj Bhawan here this afternoon, the Chief Minister said, "My Government's priority would be to pay salaries to its employees regularly and I know it will be more difficult a task than tackling militancy and other problems dogging the State". Regarding the law and order and insurgency problem, Sri Gogoi who was slated to review the situation in the State in anemergent meeting with top police and Army officials this evening, said the Army operation in the State would continue. [AT]

The members of the new Gogoi ministry: Dr B. Barman, S. Barkotoky, Dr A. Dey, R. Dhanowar, D. Gowala, I. Hussain D. Konwar , G.C. Langthasa, B. Narah, H. Narayan, G. Roy, and Dr H. Saikia. The Sentinel photo.

AGP-BJP alliance has greater role to play now: Purakayastha

SILCHAR, May 18: "The AGP-BJP alliance in Assam is on the top of the agenda at the two-day meet of BJP office-bearers and observers of the four States and the Union territory of Pondicherry on the recently-concluded elections in four States and the Union Territory of Pondicherry beginning from May 19," said Kabindra Purkayastha, member of the national executive committee of the party and ex-Union minister.
Mr Purkayastha told this correspondent here this morning that in view of the debacle at the hustings, the entire gamut of the alliance would be critically reviewed at the conclave. When asked as an observer for Tripura what would be his views on the tie-up, he said, "I would favour its qualified continuation." [AT]

Trends, Anti-incumbency, Rewards and Reservations
[Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, May 20, 2001]

The entire contents of the editorial page of the May 16 issue of The Sentinel were indeed interestingly readable. In your first leader, you revealed some factual electoral trends. In the second leader, you indicated that it may not be fair on the bowlers, who have taken the wickets of the convicted match-fixing cricketers in countless matches, if they too lose credit for the wickets for no fault of theirs if the convicts' names were deleted from the cricket-lovers' Bible, Wisden.

Jyoti Buragohain, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara Campus, Guwahati-22. [S]

Endangered Species
[Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, May 20, 2001]

With the advent of the Congress Government in Assam, we can at least expect the following in the coming five years:

(1) The IM(DT) Act will be enforced permanently in Assam with more vigour.

Jugnoo, Guwahati-1. [S]

BJP Fails to Realize People's Sentiment
[Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, May 20, 2001]

Now that the euphoria of the general election and results is over, it is time to do some introspection. How and why the BJP, a growing popular national force, teamed up with the regional outfit AGP, whose image and popularity were on the wane by the time elections were announced, is beyond the imagination of lesser mortals like us. Why the BJP, having the cream of India's top political leaders, academicians, thinkers, scientists, humanists could not comprehend the simple writing on the wall is really unfortunate. And in the process, the BJP threw cold water to the wave of popularity, more particularly in the Assamese middle class-dominated Brahmaputra Valley. Even the role of Bijoya Chakravarty and Rajen Gohain could not match the common man's aspirations. The so-called alliance raises a lot of questions -- whether monetary transaction played its part? Agencies like the Tehelka Portal should find out this, if possible or appropriate.

Prasanna Kumar Phookan, Krishnanagar, Chandmari, Guwahati-3. [S]

Development must be Priority
[Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, May 20, 2001]

The first and foremost task of the new government is to repair the roads of Guwahati. The city attracts thousands of people from all over the north-eastern States, which calls for better roads and faster means of communication. Unfortunately, due to poor drainage system, the drain water spills all over the roads for hours causing lots of hardship to the commuters. People visiting the State for business and social activities are complaining of pollution and unhygienic conditions which prevail all over the city. The development work which is going on all over the city is moving at a snail's pace, rupturing the very spirit of development. People of the city are tired of the present road conditions. A number of accidents have taken place due to the poor condition of roads.

Ravi Ajitsariya, Fancy Bazar, Guwahati-1. [S]

Assam voters very mature: Tarun Gogoi

GUWAHATI, May 19: Chief Minister and APCC president Tarun Gogoi today said that the voters of Assam are politically much more mature and conscious than those of other States and cautioned Congressmen of Assam not to take the people's mandate for the party for granted. Replying to felicitations offered to him by the APCC at the Rajiv Bhavan here, Mr Gogoi said, Assam voters have repeatedly proved that unless the ruling party and the government work for them, they will not take things lying low in the next elections. [S]

Legs of Deepak Das amputated

BARPETA, May 19: Former AGP minister and candidate from Barpeta LAC in the recently-held Assembly elections, Kumar Deepak Das, who was seriously injured in a grenade attack by the ULFA at around 8.30 p.m. on April 19 while on the campaign trail, has lost both his legs and has thus become an invalid for life. [S]

Kalita rushes to Delhi with quit notice

GUWAHATI, May 19 : Senior Congress leader and three-time MP from Assam Bhubaneswar Kalita, who was denied a Cabinet berth in the Tarun Gogoi Ministry yesterday, rushed to New Delhi this morning reportedly to submit his resignation from the post of secretary, All India Congress Committee, as a mark of protest against not having been included in the Gogoi Cabinet. [S]

Appointments of 62 LDAs cancelled

GUWAHATI, May 19: In its first action since assuming office yesterday, the Tarun Gogoi government today cancelled the illegal appointments of 62 LD assistants in the Assam secretariat made by the previous government after announcement of the election schedule, winning fullsome praise from the Sadou Asom Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) which moved immediately to announce that it would felicitate Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and his two Cabinet colleagues, Mr Sarat Barkataki and Dr Bhumidhar Barman in its executive committee meeting tomorrow. [S]

Gogoi urges NRIs to invest in State

GUWAHATI, May 19: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has appealed to the NRIs belonging to Assam to exchange know-how in various fields and invest in the State to bring about its all-around development. Industrialisation of the State would reduce unemployment and help restore peace, Gogoi said during an interview with www.vedanti.com the web portal of the city-based SM Computer Consultants Pvt. Ltd. This was stated in a press release issued by the company this evening. The full interview is currently available on the portal. [AT]

Cartoon by Champak Borbora, The Assam Tribune, May 20.

'Gentleman Gogoi' -- A 3-decade-long journey from Rangamati TE

GUWAHATI, May 19: When he took oath of office and secrecy as the 16th Chief Minister of Assam on Friday, Sri Tarun Gogoi, the gentle representative of Ahom community from Eastern Assam and six-time Lok Sabha member from Assam, covered a long journey from Rangamati Tea Estate to Dispur in a political career spanning more than three decades. Popularly known as "gentleman Gogoi" in political circles of the State for his soft-spokenness and ever-smiling counterance, Sri Gogoi has long been regarded as a weak leader at the helm of affairs of a faction-ridden Congress Party in the State. [AT]

Power game!

JORHAT, May 19 : With power transmission playing hide-and-seek in several localities of the city since Friday forenoon, a large number of television viewers here were deprived of witnessing the swearing-in ceremony of the new Tarun Gogoi ministry at Dispur which was telecast live on Guwahati Doordarshan. The change of guard has a special significance for the citizens here as Tarun Gogoi hails from Nazir Ali (Suren Buragohain Path) in the heart of Jorhat. [AT]

ABSU-BPAC MLAs float new party

KOKRAJHAR, May 19: The ABSU-BPAC combine today in a major decision formed the Bodoland Demand Legislature Party (BDLP) as a pressure group in the Assembly with all the 10 Bodo MLAs. The party was launched at a general meeting here where all the MLAs were present. The main focus of BDLP would be to pave the path for the separate State of Bodoland besides finding solutions to the age-old problems faced by the community. [AT]

Assam Assembly session on May 30

GUWAHATI, May 19: State Governor Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha has summoned the newly-elected Assam Legislative Assembly on May 30 next. A notification in this regard was issued today by the Governor. This will be the first Assembly session for the newly-elected Tarun Gogoi - led Congress government in the State. [AT]

Panchayat polls by year-end : CM

GUWAHATI, May 19: The newly elected State Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, today announced that his Government would hold the long overdue panchayat polls in the State towards the end of this year to devolution of power to the grassroots level. Talking to newsmen after a felicitation function at the APCC headquarter, Rajiv Bhawan, Gogoi informed that the panchayat election would be held either in November or December this year as Congress believed that economic development could be expedited only through decentralisation of power to the Panchayat level. The panchayat election is due in the State since 1997 and the previous AGP Government failed to hold the election though it had, on several occasion, announced that it was being scheduled. [AT]

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi addressing Congress party workers at Rajiv Bhavan, Guwahati on May 19. Asomiya Pratidin photo.

CPI meet on poll debacle

GUWAHATI, May 19: A two-day meeting of the state unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) began here today to examine the reasons for its poll debacle. The party had to bite dust in the recently-concluded Assembly elections as neither the CPI nor the CPM won any seat.
The CPI and the CPM had won two and three seats respectively in the 1996 Assembly elections. The defeat of flood control minister Pramode Gogoi from Sivasagar came as a major shock to the party. [TT]

Assam in the grip of a crisis (II)
[Letters to the Editor, The Assam Tribune, May 21, 2001]

Sir,

With a new political party coming to power the people of Assam have cherished new hopes. Of course the people have desired a change as the outgoing Governemnt has failed to deliver the goods and betrayed lack of honesty. The new Government should think that they are given a chance to fulfil the people's expectations. More ...

Yours etc., A CONCERNED CITIZEN. [AT]

Assam in the grip of a crisis
[Letters to the Editor, The Assam Tribune, May 21, 2001]

Sir,

As the saying goes -- today there is neither Ram nor Ayodhya. Once there was a time when the patriotic politicians like the first Chief Minister of Assam, Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi, Bishnuram Medhi, Bimala Prasad Chaliha, Kuladhar Chaliha, Debeswar Sarma, Mahendra Mohan Choudhury to name a few, thought deeply about the State and its people. More ...

Yours etc., REKHA BARUAH, Chandmari, Guwahati. [AT]

Dibrugarh Cong body dismantled

DIBRUGARH, May 20: Following serious inner-party squabbling, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee on Saturday evening dismantled the Dibrugarh District Congress Committee with immediate effect. The letter, signed by the APCC chief and State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, was numbered APCC/DCC/23/2001/6795-7. The same letter has installed former DCC chief here, Firoz Ahmed Khan as the ad-hoc district president. He shall officiate until a new formal committee, is in place. [AT]

Salaries on time: Gogoi

GUWAHATI, May 20: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today assured state government employees that his government would take all possible measures to ensure that they receive their salaries regularly and on time. "Employees are an important part of the government and it is my priority to ensure that they are able to discharge their duties without any difficulties," Gogoi said at a meeting organised by the Sadou Asom Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) to felicitate him. He said that everybody from the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary to the peon have duties to perform and unless all of them do not function sincerely, the State cannot prosper. He urged the employees to evolve a work-culture that will benefit the State and discharge their duties with the commitment it calls for. The meeting was also attended by three other ministers, Dr Bhumidhar Barman, Sarat Borkotoky and Dr Ardhendu Dey. [AT]

TC MLA extends support to Gogoi govt

GUWAHATI, May 20: The lone Trinamool Congress MLA in the new Assam Assembly, Jamaluddin Ahmed, today extended his support to the Congress government led by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Ahmed, elected from the Badarpur Assembly constituency in Karimganj district, in a letter to the Chief Minister extended his support to the new government in the State. His decision to extend support to the new ministry was in conformity with his party high command's direction, he said in his letter. He said this support will be both inside and outside the house. [AT]

Govt hailed

GUWAHATI, May 20: The Beltola Paribahan Shramik Union has hailed the new government formed in the State under the leadership of Sri Tarun Gogoi. In a statement to the press, the Union wished the new government a full term in office and expressed the hope that it would solve the long standing problems of the masses as well as those of the workers. The Union also urged the new government to make rice available at Rs 2 a kilo for the workers. [AT]

AGP programme

GUWAHATI, May 20: All the AGP candidates who got elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly in the recent polls, will be felicitated at the party's head-office at Ambari on May 22 at 11 am. In another programme slated for May 24 at 11 am, the party's central executive committee will meet to specially review the recent Assembly polls in the State, a release said. [AT]

BJP action

GUWAHATI, May 20: The Bharatiya Janata Party's Guwahati City district Committee has relieved its general secretary Dip Baruah of his post for defying the party's code of conduct, a release here informed. The Committee also had an urgent meeting where it discussed in detail the party's post-poll position. Representatives from nine mandals under its jurisdiction attended the meeting. [AT]

NE girls' body hails new govt

GUWAHATI, May 20: The Northeast Girls' Students Co-ordination Committee has welcomed the new State Government under the leadership of Sri Tarun Gogoi. The organisation hoped that the new Government will make an all-out effort to rebuild the shattered economy of the State and also take positive steps to solve the insurgency problem. The organisation has decided to extend full co-operation in all constructive activities of the State Government. [AT]

Malpractices in Posting of Polling Personnel
[Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, May 21, 2001]

The elections in Assam are over. Politicians, bureaucrats, etc. are congratulating people for a free, fair and peaceful election. But how many know the behind-the-curtain corruption and malpractices in the Election office that takes place during appointment of polling personnel? More ...

Girish Ch. Choudhury, Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati - 6. [S]

Bad Taste
[Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, May 21, 2001]

The recently-concluded State Assembly elections drew our attention to very catchy wall writings put up by all contesting political parties of the State to the great amusement of the electorate. But unfortunately some wall writings, though they appeared to be catchy, were not in good taste as they hurt the sentiments of some people. More ...

Jugnoo, Guwahati-1. [S]

Development will get top priority: Gogoi

GUWAHATI, May 20: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the first priority of the newly-installed Government led by him would be on development of the State, said an official press release. [S]

Gogoi asks ministers, bureaucrats to curb expenditure

GUWAHATI, May 20: Sending a clear message of enforcing strict financial discipline Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has asked his Council of Ministers and State bureaucrats to put a bar on their lavish expenditures. Mr Gogoi, who took charge on Friday last, is a worried man over the financial crisis faced by Assam. He said, "before becoming the Chief Minister I never knew that the State Government's coffer is so empty." [S]

Gogoi announces portfolios

GUWAHATI, May 20: Ending all speculations Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has finally been able to allocate portfolios of his Council of Ministers after getting approval from Governor Lt. Gen (retd) S K Sinha, who is now camping at Kolkata. [S]