Page 33 - Assam

Assam Congress leader Rana Goswami resigns, likely to meet BJP's Nadda

Congress leader Rana Goswami resigned from the party on Wednesday, and headed to New Delhi where he is likely to join BJP. Goswami, who resigned as the working president of the state Congress recently, is the former MLA of Jorhat. Soon after sending the resignation letter to Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, he went to New Delhi where he is likely to meet BJP president JP Nadda and join the party. Asked about the speculations of Goswami switching sides, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he had no information about it, but "he is a powerful leader of the Congress and if he joins the BJP, I will welcome it". Earlier this month, Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha resigned as state Congress working president and along with another party legislator, Basanta Das, expressed support for the BJP-led government's "development agenda".

Sarma distributes land pattas to 11K families under Mission Basundhara 2.0

A total of 20,419 applicants from Lakhimpur district were found to be eligible for land pattas under Mission Basundhara 2.0 that was concluded recently

Repeal of Muslim Marriage Act to distance Muslims from their religion: Min

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday claimed that the Assam Cabinet's decision to repeal the Muslim Marriages Act is aimed at distancing Muslims from their religion and religious practices. "In Assam, the BJP government has done away with the law that was 90 years old. According to that law, the marriage of Assam Muslims used to happen through 'qazi' or registrar, and they used to get the 'nikahnama' certificate," he told reporters here. The government has removed that system,he said and asked is there a provision of 'nikah' in the special marriage act. The wedding should happen as per one's religion, he said. There is no religion in the special marriage act which is a neutral, secular law, he said. Observing that 'Mehr' which is given to bride in Muslim marriage has been removed, he asked whether it is a loss to women or not. "If marriage is registered under special marriage act, inheritance will not be available under Muslim personal law. The purpose is to distance Muslim

WATCH | 'Hear me carefully': Assam CM's angry outburst on child marriages

The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam, led by Himanta Sarma, has been cracking down on child marriages since February last year

PM Modi launches microbiology lab, 17 food testing vehicles for Assam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday virtually unveiled a new microbiology laboratory and 17 Food Safety on Wheels (FSW) vehicles in Assam, collectively valued at Rs 13.11 crore. In a major step towards enhancing food testing infrastructure across Assam, the laboratory was set up by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in Guwahati. In addition, 17 mobile food testing laboratories, known as FSWs, have been provided to Assam in a stride towards ensuring food safety to the last mile. All these facilities were inaugurated by Modi through virtual mode from an event at Rajkot in Gujarat, an official release said. "The microbiology laboratory will play a pivotal role in safeguarding food safety by detecting various microorganisms, including pathogens in food products," it added. The FSWs, equipped with cutting-edge facilities and expert staff, will not only enhance testing capabilities but also deliver essential training to strengthen food safety practices, the release

Assam Cabinet's nod to repeal Muslim Marriage Act welcomed by BJP

The Assam cabinet's decision to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935 has been welcomed by the ruling BJP, while opposition parties claimed that the move, which was 'discriminatory against Muslims', was made to polarise voters in the election year. The state cabinet on Friday night approved the decision to repeal the Act in a bid to end the social menace of child marriage as it contained provisions allowing registration of marriages even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21 respectively, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal claimed that the repeal of the Act was the first step to bring in the Unified Civil Code (UCC) in Assam, but it will sound the death knell of the BJP government in the state. 'They are trying to provoke the Muslims and polarise voters in their favour,' Ajmal told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here. Congress MLA Abdul Rashid Mandal claimed that the decision i

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Assam to create blocks, belts to protect satra land from encroachment

Sarma added that land pattas (deeds) would be provided to religious institutions, educational institutions and Anganwadi centres under the state's Mission Basundhara 3.0

Assam to recognise Manipuri as associate official language in 4 districts

The Assam Cabinet has given its nod to recognise Manipuri as an associate official language in four districts of the state. It approved the Assam Official Language (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which seeks to recognise Manipuri as an associate official language in Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Hojai districts. The Bill seeks to amend the Assam Official Languages Act, 1960 by inserting a new section 5B. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the decision taken at a late-night cabinet meeting chaired by him was in the interest of protecting, preserving and promoting the cultural, social, and linguistic identity and heritage of the Manipuri people living in Assam. To protect the interests of the tribal communities, and in line with the provisions of the National Education Policy, 2020, the council of ministers also decided to introduce Mising, Rabha, Karbi, Tiwa, Deori and Dimasa languages as mediums of instruction in the foundational stage of school education. The decision will .

Assam to introduce 6 tribal languages as medium of instruction in schools

The other decisions of the state cabinet are - for the protection of land rights of indigenous communities

Assam Cabinet repeals Muslim Marriages & Divorces Registration Act

One-time compensation of Rs 2 lakh will be provided to Muslim Marriage Registrars for their rehabilitation after the Act is repealed

Assam Forest dept conducts GPS training for elephant population estimation

Apart from imparting the GPS training, the Aaranyak experts also prepared Block Maps which will be helpful for elephant population estimation

Assam Min lashes out at Cong, AIUDF for walking out together from Assembly

'My question is whether both parties are against each other or in alliance,' Assam's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said

Assam tables bill aimed at eradicating non-scientific healing practices

The Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024 has been framed to stop the propagation of the evil practices of magical healing in the name of treatment, the Bill says

Higher wage costs, lower price realisation add to tea companies' woes

Both West Bengal and Assam hiked wage rates from June and October 2023, respectively

Assam's electorate registers 11% jump to 24.3 mn from 21.8 mn in 2019

Assam's electorate has risen to 24.3 mn which is a jump of 11 per cent from 21.8 mn in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls

Rs 25K cr semiconductor packaging plant in Assam soon: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

In December last year, Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma had revealed Tata group's investment plans for a semiconductor facility in the state

Mizoram, Assam CMs agree to stop violence along disputed inter-state border

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Tuesday said that he and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma have agreed not to allow any more violence along the disputed inter-state border. Lalduhoma also said that Assam Border Area Development Minister Atul Bora will visit Mizoram next month. Addressing a press conference in Aizawl, the chief minister said that he recently met Sarma in Guwahati and both discussed the border issue. He said that the two neighbouring states agreed to maintain peace along the border and resolve the long-standing dispute. "We agreed that no more violence will be allowed along the border. We have been making efforts to resolve the dispute," Lalduhoma said. The border dispute between Mizoram and Assam had taken an ugly turn in July 2021 when police forces of the two states exchanged fire at the inter-state boundary, leading to the death of six policemen and a civilian from Assam. More than 60 people were also injured in the violent clash that took place in

Assam Budget: Incentive for girl students to eliminate under age marriage

'Apart from punitive and regulatory measures, we need to empower girl child to decide about when to marry,' the finance minister said

Over 159,000 declared as 'foreigners' in Assam so far, says CM Himanta

More than 1.59 lakh people have been declared as 'foreigners' in Assam so far, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday. He said that another 96,000 have been marked as 'Doubtful' (D) voters. Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio, said 100 Foreigners' Tribunals (FTs), which deal with the citizenship issue of D-voters in the state, are currently functional in the state. He was responding to a question by opposition AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam in the assembly. The chief minister said that 1,59,353 people have been declared as foreigners by these tribunals till December 31, 2023. The FTs have disposed of 3,37,186 cases till the end of last year and 96,149 cases are pending before various FTs, he added. In reply to another question from Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed, Sarma said as per data, there are 96,987 D-voters in the state as of date. He said a total of 41,275 D-voters are yet to receive FT notice as it is served after following due procedure and it takes time t