Explore Business Standard
Assam
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to consider listing another plea filed by four people seeking a direction against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over a series of alleged hate speeches targeting Muslims in the state. On Tuesday, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant had agreed to list for hearing a separate plea of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and CPI leader Annie Raja seeking action against the chief minister over a viral video allegedly showing him taking aim and firing with a rifle at members of the Muslim community. On Wednesday, the bench was urged to list the fresh plea along with the one filed by Left leaders. "We will see," the CJI said. The fresh petition was filed by former professor Hiren Gohain, former DGP of Assam Harekrishna Deka, senior journalist Paresh Chandra Malakar and senior advocate Santanu Borthakur. The plea alleged that the chief minister has repeatedly made statements that incite discrimination, social and economic boycott and ..
Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia on Thursday said the ruling NDA will contest all 126 constituencies in the assembly elections, but the seat-sharing understanding with its allies has not been finalised yet. During an interaction with journalists, Saikia said the party will be in the fray, riding on the plank of making a "safe, developed and self-reliant" Assam. "The NDA will contest all the 126 seats, it is confirmed from us. However, our seat-sharing agreement is not complete as of now," he said. Saikia said the NDA alliance is not for "show-off" and all parties in it are serious about the state's development. "I have personally spoken to AGP president Atul Bora, minister Keshab Mahanta and MPs Birendra Prasad Baishya and Phani Bhusan Choudhury regarding the seat arrangements," he said. Saikia accepted that there are some issues regarding a few seats, and both parties are in talks to hammer out a solution. "After delimitation, some seats were abolished, and a few were changed. T
Leading drug maker Sun Pharmaceutical will invest Rs 500 crore to set up a manufacturing plant in Assam, generating direct employment for over 500 people, Chief Secretary Ravi Kota said. Senior officials of the pharma company held a meeting with the chief secretary on Wednesday and discussed various aspects of implementing the project. "Held a meeting with representatives of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited... to review the company's proposal for setting up pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Assam," Kota said in an X post on Wednesday night. From the company, senior vice president Rahul Awasthi and associate vice president Ranjit Mohapatra met Kota. "The proposal involves establishing drug formulation manufacturing units in the state to cater to the Indian market, with a planned investment of over Rs 500 crore to be implemented in two phases," the chief secretary said. The project is expected to generate direct employment for more than 500 people in a phased manner af
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday launched projects worth Rs 1,715 crore, including the second legislative assembly complex, in Assam's Dibrugarh. Shah unveiled the projects in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, MPs and MLAs of the upper Assam constituencies, several state cabinet ministers and senior government officials. He laid the foundation stone for the Rs 284 crore second legislative assembly complex and MLA hostel as a part of the government's efforts to establish Dibrugarh as the second administrative hub. The project will include a three-storey assembly building, a nine-storey hostel for MLAs, an 800-seat capacity auditorium and a barrack for security personnel. Shah inaugurated the first phase of the modern multi-disciplinary sports complex worth Rs 238 crore and laid the foundation stone for its second phase, which will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 209 crore. The first phase of the project includes
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that the time has come for people to think and make a choice whether they want 'vote bank politics' or take forward the development journey launched by his government during the last five years. The state will go to the polls in the next few months, and people must decide whether they want to ''surrender to Bangladeshi Muslims'' or be part of progress and development, the chief minister said in his address after unfurling the national flag at the Republic Day function here. He said that earlier, Republic and Independence Days in the state were marked by violence and insurgency, but now ''we are among the fastest growing states in the country''. ''We have decided not to surrender to the Bangladeshi Muslims who have encroached upon huge areas of land and threatened our identity, culture and traditions. We have started the process of reclaiming our land by evicting the encroachers,'' he said. Sarma said that his government was ..
Attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here for the first time in its history, Assam has secured investment commitments worth Rs 1 lakh crore already, and it is only a base for the state in the global arena, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday. Speaking to PTI here, Sarma said Assam, or for that matter any state from the northeastern region, has come to Davos for the first time, and it has been an enlightening experience, and it will help us in framing policy and bringing more investment to our state. Citing RBI data, he said Assam is now the fastest-growing state in the country, and in the last five years, we have consistently achieved 13 per cent plus growth, while next year our growth projection will be around 15 per cent. "We are a small economy, but now we are growing at a faster pace. The Prime Minister is championing the cause of Assam, championing the cause of the northeastern region," he said. Sarma said the Prime Minister has laid the foundatio
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of handing over Assam's land to infiltrators for votes during its rule in the northeastern state. Modi, while addressing a rally here, alleged that infiltration kept increasing during the Congress rule in Assam for decades, with illegal immigrants encroaching upon forests, animal corridors and traditional institutions. 'The BJP government is protecting Assam's identity and culture by evicting infiltrators who encroached land,' he said. Modi said the Congress has lost the trust of people as it gives a 'message of negative politics', and now, the BJP is the 'first choice of voters in the country. 'Voters trust BJP for good governance and development. In the Bihar polls, people gave the party record votes and seats even after 20 years in power, he said. In the Maharashtra civic polls, too, people voted for the BJP and even in Kerala, 'we now have a mayor from the party', Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday lay the foundation stone for the Kaziranga elevated corridor, flag off two Amrit Bharat Express trains and address a public rally during the second day of his Assam visit. Modi said he was looking forward to the Bhoomi Poojan' of key development projects at Kaliabor in Nagaon district. 'Looking forward to being in Kaliabor, Assam today for the Bhoomi Poojan of key development works, including the 35 km elevated corridor across Kaziranga. This will go a long way in safeguarding animals, particularly in the monsoon season,' the PM said in a post on X. During the programme, Amrit Bharat trains will be flagged off, which will improve connectivity for the people of Assam, he said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, replying to Modi's post, said the elevated corridor across Kaziranga is a landmark step towards protecting wildlife, while strengthening connectivity. The Bhoomi Poojan and flagging off of Amrit Bharat trains will further accelera
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Assam from Saturday for two days, during which he is scheduled to flag off two Amrit Bharat trains and lay the foundation stone for the Kaziranga elevated corridor, an official said. Modi's visit to the northeastern state, where assembly elections are due in the first half of 2026, will be his second tour in less than a month. Soon after his arrival here on the evening of January 17, the PM is set to witness the Bodo folk dance 'Bagurumba' by 10,000 performers at the Arjun Bhogeswar Barua Sports stadium in the city, the official said on Friday. Modi will leave for Kaliabor the next day to lay the foundation stone for the Rs 6,957 crore Kaziranga elevated corridor, he said. The prime minister is expected to flag off virtually two Amrit Bharat Express trains, Dibrugarh-Gomti Nagar (Lucknow) and Kamakhya-Rohtak, and address a public meeting at Kaliabor, he said. Modi had come to Assam on a two-day visit from December 20 to inaugurate the
The Assam Congress on Saturday announced that it has constituted a committee of advocates to closely monitor the investigation and the judicial proceedings into the death case of singer Zubeen Garg. The opposition party made the decision, which was taken on Thursday, public a day after the state Cabinet approved a five-member team of special public prosecutors (PPs). "Hon'ble President, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) Shri Gaurav Gogoi has constituted a committee comprising the following senior Advocates to closely monitor the progress of the investigation and judicial proceedings in the death case of Late Zubeen Garg," the party's general secretary (organisation) Bipul Gogoi said in a statement. The members of the committee are Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, Ram Prasad Sarmah, Dilip Choudhury, Hamidur Rahman, Hemanta Kalita and Rubi Gogoi. The state government has named Brojendra Mohan Chaudhuri as additional public prosecutor, and Kishor Dutta, Pranjal Dutta and Vikash Jam
The Congress will launch its Save MGNREGA Movement' in Assam on Saturday as part of a nationwide agitation against the VB-G RAM G Act, the new rural employment scheme, a party leader said. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Assam Manoj Chauhan said the party will continue its agitation until the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission Gramin Act (VBG RAM G), which has replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), is withdrawn. "The new Act has effectively removed the guaranteed employment that workers earlier enjoyed under MGNREGA and is an attempt to snatch away several constitutional rights. In this context, the Congress has intensified its agitation against the move across the country," Chauhan said here on Thursday. As part of the nationwide protest, the Save MGNREGA Movement' will be launched in Assam from January 10 with press conferences at district headquarters, he said. "District Congress ...
Tea companies have urged the Assam government to address financial and legal implications for estate owners for the implementation of the amended Land Ceiling Act, under which land rights will be granted to workers to build houses within the garden areas, planters said. The tea garden owners welcomed the government initiative but sought discussion to "iron out difficulties that may arise in granting land ownership to labourers within estates", an industry source told PTI. The garden owners are not opposed to transferring the labour quarters' land to the workers, but the apprehensions and legal challenges have to be addressed, he said. "The government should discuss the issues that have been brought to the fore by tea companies for implementing the new law. That is our only request," the planter said. The Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), an umbrella body of tea producers' organisations, has already written to the state government over the challenges in ...
An earthquake of 5.1 magnitude jolted the central part of Assam on Monday morning, an official bulletin said. There is no immediate report of any injury to anyone or damage to any property, officials said. A National Centre for Seismology report said the quake was recorded at 4.17 am in Morigaon district on the southern bank of Brahmaputra, at a depth of 50 km. The epicentre of the earthquake was located at a latitude 26.37 N and longitude of 92.29 E in central Assam, it added. People in the neighbouring Kamrup Metropolitan, Nagaon, East Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Hojai, Dima Hasao, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Dhubri, South Salmara-Mankachar and Goalpara districts also felt the jolt. Darrang, Tamulpur, Sonitpur, Kamrup, Biswanath, Udalguri, Nalbari, Bajali, Barpeta, Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Lakhimpur on the northern bank of Brahmaputra too felt the tremor. The earthquake could be felt in some areas of central-wes