AGARTALA, July 31: The ruling CPI(M) and Opposition Congress and BJP began the process of selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Tripura, . The Congress's main ally Tripura Upajati Juba Samity's meeting with the Nationalist Congress Party leader PA Sangma has been causing concern to the former. The TUJS had asked the Congress to allot the Tripura East (ST) seat to the tribal party. Its general secretary Rabindra Debbarma told newsmen here today that a delegation would soon visit New Delhi and meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi to stake a claim to the seat, reserved for tribals. Congress sources said the TUJS demand had already been communicated to the high command. Meanwhile, the CPI(M) has decided to field two members of the dissolved Lok Sabha for the two seats. Party sources said its two-day state committee meeting which began here today would formally select its candidates. Congress sources said there were seven aspirants for the two seats. They include former chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Mazumder, former minister Ratan Chakraborty, senior lawyer Pijush Biswas, former MP Maharani Bibhu Kumari Devi, Maharaja Kirit Bikram Kishore Debbarma and veteran tribal leader Jadu Mohan Tripura. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 1, 1999)

SHILLONG, July 31: The ruling coalition government in Meghalaya received another jolt yesterday with the United Democratic Party (UDP) central executive committee authorising the party's legislature party to take a "final decision" on the continuance of the coalition. The decision was taken by the UDP body at a meeting here yesterday which was presided over by party president and state Speaker, EK Mawlong. Mawlong told newsmen at the end of the marathon six hour-long meeting that "we have set no timeframe On the turnaround made by the UDP barely 24 hours after the Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum (MPF) reiterated its commitment to the coalition, Mawlong said many party members from the Garo Hills and Jaintia Hills districts were in favour of severing ties with the Congress. The UDP committee dealt another blow to the coalition by resolving to support the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate PA Sangma for the Tura parliamentary seat on condition that the NCP would reciprocate by supporting the UDP candidate SD Khongwyr from Shillong. The UDP committee also decided to move the government to "roll back" the age of superannuation of state government employees to 58 years from the recently enhanced 60 years, apparently bowing to pressures from the powerful Khasi Students' Union (KSU). The Meghalaya Students' Federation (MSF), of which the KSU is a constituent has given a call for a 24-hour statewide bandh on August 3 demanding a reduction of the retirement age of 58 years among others. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 1, 1999)

IMPHAL, July 31: The future of the four Indian nationals undergoing rigorous imprisonment in Myanmar on charges of violating the narcotics act of that country is still uncertain. There is also no record or any first information report (FIR) on the arrest of the four people with Moreh Police station or the district administration so far, according to sources. A social worker of Manipur, M Indrasen, recently visited Myanmar in connection with the arrests. The four Indians were convicted by a divisional court of Myanmar on June 6 in 1996 to 70 years rigorous imprisonment for reportedly violating the narcotics act of Myanmar. The four prisoners are S Gandhi, T. Mani. K. Mani and Y Baite. All of them are from Manipur. The social worker said following an appeal, their jail term had been reduced to 10 years RI. He said that they are now serving their jail term in Mandalay Central Jail. Indrasen said one Boji Khin Maung Myint who holds the post of chairman of the development council of Tamu in Myanmar reportedly told him that the Myanmar government had made no inquiry into the arrest of the four Indians and their conviction. He also alleged that the prolonged silence in this matter by Indian authorities was a gross violation of basic human rights as the voices of the four persons had not reached India. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 1, 1999)

AGARTALA, July 31: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is trying to rope in the Tripura Upajati Juba Samity (TUJS), an alliance partner of the Congress for the past two decades, for an electoral alliance. The TUJS executive committee met here last night and discussed the latest political developments. A senior TUJS leader said the NCP was a new force and did not carry any weight in the state. (HT Correspondent; The Hindustan Times; New Delhi; August 1, 1999)

KOHIMA, August 2: The Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court has directed Nagaland government to implement the agreement between it and an apex employees' association, giving effect to disbursal of salary to them as recommended by the Fifth Central Pay panel by September 30 next. Disposing a public interest litigation in the wake of the prolonged non-cooperation by government employees in June, the bench comprising Justice N C Jain and Justice W A Shishak directed the state government to make sincere efforts to implement the five-clause pact reached between it and Confederation of All Nagaland State Services Employees Association (CANSSEA) on October 5 last year. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 2, 1999)

I, August 1: The Manipur government has moved the Supreme Court detailing the differences between Bishnupriyas and Manipuris over the recognition of Bishnupriyas as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by the states of Assam and Tripura. The Manipur government has challenged the decision of the Guwahati High Court to include Bishnupriya Manipuris in the State list of OBCs saying the court has given the direction without going into the question whether such a community existed at all. The petitioner said the decision of the states of Assam and Tripura allowing prefixing or suffixing of the word 'Manipuri' with Bishnupriyas would create a confusion and pose danger to the distinct identity of Manipuri language and the culture of their community. It said the Meiteis were of Mongoloid origin and their language Manipuri was of the Kuki-Chin group belonging to Tibeto-Burmese family. However, Bishnupriyas were of Aryan origin and had settled in Assam and Tripura after migrating to the northeastern region, the petitioner said. While some experts believe that they came from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (now Bangladesh), others believe they came from Rangapatras area in Assam, the government said in its petition moved through advocate K Nobin Singh. The petitioner, however, said the experts were unanimous that "linguistically, historically, ethnically and culturally, the Manipuris are quite different and distinct from the community called Bishnupriya, the former belonging to Mongoloid stock while the latter to Aryan." "The recognition of the Bishnupriya community and the language spoken by them by the states of Assam and Tripura as 'Manipuri Bishnupriya' or 'Bishnupriya Manipuri' at the instigation of Bishnupriya community is nothing but infringement of the fundamental rights of the Manipuri community guaranteed under Article 29 of the Constitution as it creates confusion in the distinct identity of the Manipuri language and culture of the community," the petitioner said. It said the state of Assam had in its 1975 notification on OBCs had included Manipuris clarifying "Manipuri including Manipuri Brahmin and Manipuri Muslim." The petitioner said even in the 1991 census, Manipuris and Bishnupriyas continued to be shown as different languages but in 1996 the Assam Government issued a corrigendum notifying that "Manipuri including Bishnupriya Manipuri, Manipuri Brahmin and Manipuri Muslims." When this was challenged in the High Court, the latter said it was ill-equipped to decide the dispute which required a study into the origin, history and culture of the two communities but directed inclusion of Bishnupriya Manipuris in the list of OBCs. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 2, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 3: The United People's Party of Assam (UPPA), a constituent of the ruling four-party alliance, has decided to contest from Silchar in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party president, Abdul Muhib Mazumdar, said UPPA had demanded two seats, Kaliabor and Dhubri, of which it was assured only one. Mazumdar said the alliance will field candidates in 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies. On the recent controversy over Jamiat-ul-Ulema, he said, "We cannot allow Jamiat to be a 'B team of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi." He also warned political parties not to drag the Jamiat into politics. Criticising the Army and the police for their alleged harassment of Muslims in the name of ISI, Mazumdar said this was nothing but a conspiracy to create confusion among Muslims before the polls. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 4, 1999)

SHILLONG, August 3: Meghalaya Students Federation activists today trooped into the state Assembly shouting anti-government slogans forcing the one-day special session of House to be deferred by 30 minutes in which the Opposition candidate was elected as the deputy speaker. Ten members of the ruling Congress cross-voted in favour of the Opposition nominee Martin M Danggo of the Peoples' Democratic Movement who defeated the ruling Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum candidate, Tonsin N Marak (Congress) by 34 votes to 24. The MPF which comprises the Congress and United Democratic Party (UDP) enjoys a comfortable majority of 36 members against 24 in the Opposition. As soon as the House assembled this morning, Opposition members were up on their feet demanding the resignation of the home minister, A H Scott Lyngdoh, for his alleged failure to protect the sanctity of the House. Clifford R Marak of the Garo National Council accused the minister of not taking adequate measures "despite knowing what is going to happen." The Speaker later bowed to Opposition demands to extend the session by 90 minutes to enable a special discussion on the MSF demands. The MSF had called a statewide bandh from 4 am today demanding solution of the long-pending border dispute with Assam and reduction of superannuation age to 58 years among other issues. There were reports that the MSF would stage a dharna at the gates of the Assembly in a bid to prevent elected representatives from entering the House. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 4, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 4: The People's Democratic Front (PDF) has decided to field Gangadhar Ramchiary, the party general secretary, as its candidate for the Kokrajhar seat in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Sitting MLA, Dr Devakanta Ramchiary, has been made the party candidate for the Mangaldoi constituency. The PDF publicity secretary, Sujit Basumatary, said in a press release yesterday that the names of the two candidates, chosen by the selection committee, was endorsed by the party central working committee which met at the Bodoland Guest House, Khanapara, on Tuesday. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 5, 1999)

ITANAGAR, August 3: Former director of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Aravind Dave, was sworn in as the Arunachal Pradesh Governor here yesterday. The Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Justice Brijesh Kumar had administered the oath of office and secrecy to Dave at a simple function at Raj Bhawan. The chief minister, Mukut Mithi, his Cabinet colleagues, former chief minister Gegong Apang, besides high civil and police officials, were present on the occasion. Dave succeeded Lt Gen (Retd) SK Sinha, the Governor of Assam, who was holding the additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh after the retirement of Mata Prasad. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 5, 1999)

SHILLONG, August 4: The United Democratic Party legislature party will meet on August 10 to take a "final decision" on the future of the one-year-old UDP-Congress coalition government in Meghalaya. The UDP central executive committee in its meeting on July 21 had authorised the party's legislature party to take a decision on the issue. The meeting has assumed significance in view of the defeat of the ruling Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum candidate in the election to the post of deputy speaker yesterday. The common Opposition candidate, Martin M Danggo, was elected as 10 ruling coalition members cross-voted in his favour. The Speaker, EK Mawlong, also the UDP president, today told newspersons that the defeat of the MPF candidate did not imply instability in the coalition government. "Anyway, a decision will be taken on August 10," he said. Regarding his stand on not accepting the deputy chief minister's post, he said, "We don't need two deputy chief ministers in a small state like ours specially in view of the resource crunch faced by the hill state." He blamed the district administration and the police for yesterday's incident of storming of the well of the House by activists of the Meghalaya Students' Federation (MSF). "The administration erred by not imposing 144 CrPC like it was usually done in earlier Assembly sessions", he said. "We have learnt our lesson from the incident. Enough precautionary measures need to be taken henceforth to prevent any recurrence of such unfortunate incidents", the Speaker observed. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 5, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 5: All the political parties in Assam are having to face severe criticism from the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) for failing to raise the demand for scrapping of the Clause 3 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986. The AASU advisor, Samujjal Bhattacharyya, said, "If the state electoral rolls are to be revised next year in accordance with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986 in the present form, the political fate of the indigenous people of the state will be controlled by migrants who have infiltrated into the state. According to the Clause 3 of this Act the words of illegal by Bangladeshi migrants coming to the state between 1971 and 1986 will be eligible for Indian citizenship". The AASU leader criticised the political parties for "ignoring" the issue as they are scared to fall from the grace of Bangladeshi voters in the State. He said it is duty of the political parties and the state government to raise the demand for scrapping of the Clause 3 with the government of India in the interest of the state as well as the country. According to the Clause 3 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986 "every person shall be a citizen of India by birth who is born in India on or after 26.1.1950, but before 1.7.1987 or either of whose parents is a citizen of India on 1.7.1987 or after 1.7.1987". The AASU leader said the Clause 3 of the Act had diluted the main clause of the Assam Accord signed in 1985 as per which all the illegal foreign nationals migrating to the State after March 25, 1971 would be identified, names would be deleted from voters' list and they would be deported from the State. Now as per the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986 which came into force in July, 1997, wards of the illegal migrants who were born in the state during 1971 and 1986 would be eligible for Indian citizenship. Bhattacharyya said the AASU would never accept the Clause 3 of the Act and warned of another spell of agitation, if required, to lodge a strong protest against the clause. He said political parties all over the country should realise that the said clause was against the interest of not only of Assam but also against the interest of national integrity. He observed that Parliament had committed a blunder in incorporating the Clause 3 in the Citizenship Act. The AASU was trying to evolve a 'concrete strategy' to fight the problem and called upon the state government to take immediate initiative to lodge a strong protest against the Clause 3 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986 overcoming the narrow political interest. On the basis of objections filed by the AASU about five lakh names of illegal migrants were deleted from the state electoral rolls in 1985 while names of another 6 lakh such illegal migrants were deleted from the voters' list in 1990. Bhattacharyya said it would be not possible for the AASU with its limited resources and manpower to continue to file objections against lakhs of illegal migrants who have swamped the state over the years. "Political parties must take an initiative in this regard," he said. About the Election Commission's decision to mark 3.75 lakhs 'D' voters in the present state electoral rolls, he said it was a temporary respite and that the AASU wanted a permanent solution to the vexed problem. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 6, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 6: With election fever building up, the Congress in Assam has appointed former chief minister Syeda Anowara Taimur as the "officiating president" of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee with an eye to woo religious minorities. However, the move has not gone down well with a section of the state leaders who feel that if at all an "officiating president" was needed, the post should go to Bhumidhar Burman, another former CM, not Taimur. (Samudra Gupta Kashyap; The Indian Express; August 7, 1999)