Aajkaal distorted my comments, says Debojit    

‘Voice of India’ Debojit Saha, said that the Bangla newspaper, Aajkal, distorted his comments made in an interview, which caused much pain to the people of Assam and the North-East. “I had never uttered that my victory was the victory of Bangla or the Bengalis, as mentioned in Aajkal. Rather, I had dedicated my win to the people of Assam and the North East, and I am totally confused why such a distorted version of my comment was published,” Debojit said and added that he would seek a clarification from the newspaper on the issue. Reiterating his love, respect and gratitude for the people of Assam and North-East, Debojit said that for him this was much more precious than the Sa- Re-Ga-Ma-Pa recognition. “My success is entirely due to the love and blessings of the people of the North-east, and besides, it had also created a situation of bonhomie and integration between the people of Brahmaputra Valley and Barak Valley in Assam. I can never repay the debt of the people,”  he said. 

Elephant tramples four of family

A woman and her three      young children were       trampled to death by a           herd of wild Asiatic       elephants in Assam. A forest official said the elephant        herd entered village Dikrom        in Karbi Anglong district,    about 320 km east of Assam’s main city of Guwahati. The elephants went berserk     forcing many villagers to flee their homes. But a woman and her three little children came in the way of the rampaging herd and were trampled to death.

“Destroy militant camps in Bangladesh”  

Concerned over continuous presence of North-East militants in Bangladesh, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has demanded urgent steps to demolish the camps in the neighbouring country and bring back ultras taking shelter there. “The support which militant groups get in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh should end. The camps of Indian militants in Bangladesh should be demolished and the militants should be handed over to India,” Sarkar said. The BSF has recently said that Bangladesh still remains a major hub for the ultras with as many as 172 insurgent camps operating in that country. However, Bangladesh has been maintaining that there was no camp of Indian insurgents in that country. “Bank accounts of Indian insurgent groups should be frozen,” Mr. Sarkar said and also favoured speedy completion of border fencing and effective patrolling along the Indo-Bangla border.

Ibobi eye on  Naga dialogue

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said that the Centre had assured him of taking the State’s view into consideration before deciding on the issue of Naga unification. Announcing this in the Assembly, Ibobi Singh said his government was monitoring the progress of peace talks between the NSCN (IM) and the Centre. “Union Ministers Oscar Fernandez and Prithviraj Chauhan, who are part of the negotiating team, repeatedly assured me that the views of the Manipur Government and the people of the State would be taken in   to consideration .

ULFA says no to ceasefire  before talks    

The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) rejected the idea of a ceasefire with New Delhi before beginning direct talks with the Central Government’s peace emissaries. “The question of a ceasefire before talks does not arise. The government of India should immediately begin talks to bring about a political solution to the problem instead of waiting for us to sign a ceasefire agreement,” the ULFA said. “We are committed to finding a political solution to our problem despite the army unleashing a reign of terror in different parts of the state and stepping up operations against us which is against the spirit of the ongoing talks,” the rebel statement said. Both the Assam and the central government have been reiterating that the ULFA must agree for a ceasefire before direct talks with the rebel leadership. “Our guns will automatically fall silent once the government tries to resolve the problem politically,” the ULFA said.

Mizoram to have IT industry soon      

Zoram Nationalist Party Chief Lalduhoma said: “With good connectivity and infrastructure, Mizoram will shortly have an IT industry. I’m optimistic that there will surely come a time when we will be able to export our agricultural products through E-commerce.” “To have good connectivity and infrastructure we need a government with a know-how”, he added. “Our frustrated youths, who are being     ravaged by joblessness,       need a government who     would when they cry, to   achieve their dream land.

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