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Lok Sabha adjourned as Assam violence triggers uproar |
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The violent incidents at the Tribal rally on Nov. 24 in Guwahati rocked New Delhi on Nov. 27 when the issue figured in the Lower House of Parliament, forcing its adjournment for an hour. A verbal duel broke out between BJP Member Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs B.K. Handique, who hails from Assam, in the wake of Home Minister Shivraj Patils suo motu statement. Even as uproar continued, Rijiju was proŽtesting vociferously against certain sentences in the statement, alleging these were anti-tribal.
BJP deputy leader V.K. Malhotra also expressed his unhappiŽness over the statement, saying several details about the incidŽent were missing. As the noisy exchanges continued and as Rijiju trooped into the well, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the House.
Earlier, when several members who had given notices wanted to speak on the subject, Speaker Chatterjee said he would allow a discussion depending on the availability of the Home Minister.
Opposition demands resignation of Congress-led government
The Opposition Asom Gana Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party have demanded dissolution of the Congress-led coalition government and institution of a judicial probe. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) held the government responsible for Beltola violence.
Bandhs in Jharkhand
Normal life was disrupted in Jharkhand on Nov. 26 following incidents of violence and road blockades across the state during a 12-hour bandh called by several tribal outfits in protest against the deaths and injury of adivasis in clashes in Assam.
All the major political parties, barring the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), had supported the bandh.
State Chief Minister Madhu Koda has urged his counterpart in Assam to ensure the safety of tribal migrants from the state. Koda said a delegation comprising Jharkhand Mukti Morcha presiŽdent Sibu Soren, three other ministers and a police official, would also visit Guwahati.
Eight workers killed in Assam
Suspected militants of Black Widow, an anti-talk faction of Dima Halam Daogah, gunned down eight workers of a saw mill and injured two others at Umransghu in North Cachar Hill district in Assam on Nov. 27 night. The militants also torched the saw mill. Police sources said the militants had earlier served a ransom notice to the saw mill owner.
The attack came a day after peaceful holding of first phase of polling for the election to the NC Hills District Autonomous Council on Nov. 26. More than 80 per cent voters had exercised their franchise during the first phase of polling in 12 constiŽtuencies. The second phase of polling is scheduled for Dec 1.
Two killed in Guwahati bomb blasts
In another violent incident, two persons were killed and 18 injured in four bomb blasts in Assam on Nov. 25. The blasts - two in Guwahati, and one each in Tinsukia district and Dhubri disŽtrict - are suspected to have been triggered by the United LiberŽation Front of Asom (ULFA)
Reacting to the blasts, Inspector-General of Police (Special Branch) Khagen Sharma said the ULFA was trying to prove its presence by carrying out blasts in public places and attacking soft targets ahead of its annual protest day on November 27.
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