Category: NORTH EAST

• ASSAM
• MANIPUR
• MEGHALAYA
• MIZORAM
• NAGALAND
• ARUNACHAL PRADESH

Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets will conduct air combat exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and other northeastern states amid the tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the eastern sector with China.

Three years before Indias Independence, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the nationalist iconic leader of the freedom movement against British rule, not only set foot in northeast India but also boosted the struggle against the British Raj.

Election officials said on Friday that to conduct the election, freely, fairly, fearlessly and inducement free, six types of observers have been appointed from among the in-service and retired IAS, IPS, IRS and other Central government officials.

Mahanta said: "Based on a tip off, we intercepted a vehicle in Khanapara as it was entering the city. The consignment was cleverly hidden in a chamber along the driver's cabin. We had to cut through the body of the truck to recover the drugs."

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday that it is big news that Jiban Singha Koch, the self-styled chief of militant outfit Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), has returned to the mainstream.

The Konyak Union, a key group of Konyak tribe in Mon district in Eastern Nagaland, on Wednesday threatened to "permanently expel" those individuals filing nominations to participate in the ensuing assembly elections.

While Sawkmie would be inducted into the HSPDP at a later date, but the four others joined the United Democratic Party (UDP) in the presence of their supporters during a function held at the party office here on Wednesday.

The weeklong 'Iconic Events' being organised across the country began on Tuesday at the Indian National Army (INA) memorial in Manipur's Moirang to pay tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whose 126th birth anniversary would be celebrated on January 23.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday said that his government would not allow any constitutional crisis caused due to the civil society being adamant on not participating in the forthcoming Assembly election in the event that the Naga political issue remained unresolved.

The schedule for the assembly election in three northeastern states -- Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya -- is likely to be announced by January 19 by the Election Commission in Delhi, officials said on Monday.

Despite the non settlement of many issues including the Naga political imbroglio and demand for a separate state besides anti-incumbency, the ruling parties might not face a major challenge in the upcoming assembly polls due to the absence of a strong political opposition.

India during its one-year tenure of G20 presidency will showcase the North-East part of the country. North-East India has remained unexplored by many despite its breathtaking beauty and rich cultural heritage.

Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who is also the president of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), talking to IANS about the political situation in his state said that the assembly elections are about one year away, and the situation may change in the next several months.

When in the Congress, he was the key manager for the party in the Rajya Sabha polls, where many leaders from the BJP, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) switched sides overnight to vote for the Congress candidate.

They chose Tripura as their target as the state has a large number of Bengali-speaking people and also, politically, Tripura and Bengal have many similar characteristics with both the states witnessing a very long Left rule.

This election in two of the three northeastern states - Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland will prove to be a litmus test for Trinamool Congress (TMC), headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

According to political pundits, a huge trust deficit between Ravi, the state government and the Naga groups specially the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) led to the former IPS officer's exit from the state.

Central agencies and the district administration in Mizoram are probing the reported bombing by Myanmar military jet fighters along the Tiau river, which divides the two countries, officials said on Saturday.

Voters living in the areas along the disputed border with Assam will be allowed to cast their votes in the upcoming Assembly elections in Meghalaya, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said here on Friday.

Under the Centre's flagship Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) initiative, the Assam government has approved more than three lakh houses, an official said on Thursday.

In poll-bound Meghalaya, the Trinamool Congress has already earned the negative sobriquet of being called a 'Bengali party'. This could possibly have a negative connotation in a state that witnesses frequent riots and anti-outsiders violence over parochial issues.

Assam Police have cracked down on terror modules in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). According to Special Director General of Police, G.P. Singh, the police have information of an armed militant group forming in the BTR over the past month.

Weeks before the announcement of the Assembly election schedule by the Election Commission, central armed police forces (CAPF) have started arriving in three poll-bound states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, officials said on Monday.

The Assam Police arrested an ex-MLA, Hitesh Basumatary, and two others after recovering arms and ammunition from Basumatarys house in Kokrajhar district, the police said on Saturday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Central government has achieved success in its goal of establishing the three P's of Peace, Progress and Prosperity in Nagaland and other northeastern states.