A section of the media on Saturday alleged that UDP is a divided camp after its coalition partner NCP has taken plum portfolios. Also that Independents and smaller parties have made political capital. Speculations that a section of disgruntled UDP MLAs is making overtures to Congress have received strong reaction from no less a person than UDP president and Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy.

Reacting strongly to media reports about Finance being his forte but taken away by the NCP now, Dr Roy said, "As Chief Minister it is my prerogative to distribute portfolios with the understanding of all coalition partners. Since I am handling Planning it is only fair that Finance be given to some other MLA. In this case we have allotted Finance to Conrad Sangma since he is an MBA with a flair for financial matters."

Asked if it was true that NCP strongman PA Sangma has virtually controlled the government, Dr Roy said, "It is absolutely untrue. Mr Sangma never dictated anything." "This is merely an attempt by the opposition to create misunderstandings where none exist. MPA has taken a firm decision to stick together as a team and work in tandem for the next five years. This may be hard for Congress to believe, but we will prove that exceptions make the rule", Roy added.

KHNAM MLA and Minister for Urban Affairs, Paul Lyngdoh also dismissed the report as 'flights of fancy' and highly speculative. "We are committed to making the coalition work. It depends on the bigger parties like UDP and NCP to remain united", Mr Lyngdoh reiterated.

Meanwhile, both the Congress and NCP camps are keenly awaiting the results of the election to Baghmara seat held on Saturday last. Results of the polling will be out on March 26.

This is a crucial test for both the parties since the government is resting on a wafer-thin majority. So serious is Congress about wresting the seat that its political heavyweights from Garo Hills preferred to stay away from the Speaker's election and instead concentrated on parking themselves at Baghmara to campaign for party candidate Arjun Momin.

The vehicle met with the accident on its way to Sohra. The dead were identified as Forum Sohtun and Geeta Diengdoh, husband and wife from Diewlieh Lad Mawphlang near Sohra, and Shemphang Lyngdoh from Lad Mawphlang.

The husband-wife duo died on the spot, while the other passed away at Shillong Civil Hospital.

The injured was identified as Kedarning Dohling of Lad Mawphlang.

This was the fourth road mishap in Mawkdok in the past few months.

SHILLONG/TURA: Commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day of his crucifixion on the cross, Easter was celebrated across the State with special church services as thousands of Christian faithful attended Easter Vigil on Saturday night and sunrise service at dawn on Sunday.

The celebrations were held in various churches, irrespective of denominations, where the faithful gathered in large numbers on Holy Saturday night to participate in the Easter Vigil and attend the Mass during which the blessing of the fire and water, symbolising a new life, and piercing of the Easter candle at five different places to show the five wounds of Christ inflicted at his crucifixion took place.

In Shillong where the early morning air was filled with the melody of Easter hymns, special services were organised at Mary Help of Christians Cathedral, Laitumkhrah. A large number of Christian faithful turned up for the sunrise, morning and afternoon services at Jaiaw Presbyterian Church, Mawkhar Presbyterian Church, Baptist Church, All Saints Church and many other churches in the city.

At Tura Baptist Church also, hundreds of faithful participated in the sunrise service at dawn with special hymns and offered prayers to welcome Easter.

Rev Fr Charles Sangma, in his sermon at Sacred Heart Church, spoke about the importance of Easter, saying Jesus Christ proved by his resurrection that there is life after death in the kingdom of God.

The day was also marked by brisk shopping as families got together and invited friends and neighbours for Easter meal. The Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday and concludes with Easter, is the most important event in the Christian calendar.

SHILLONG: Rebel outfits LAEF and NSCN (I-M) have stepped up extortion drive through their joint camps in coal-rich Borsora and Shahlang areas of West Khasi Hills, forcing coal exporters from Shillong and outside Meghalaya to stop their business activities and return home.

Police sources on Sunday said LAEF and NSCN (I-M) had jointly established camps

in coal belt of West Khasi Hills to extort money from coal traders.

"We have also found that the two militant groups have set up camps at Rongjeng, East Garo Hills," the police sources said.

Security concerns apart, intensive extortion drive by both LAEF and NSCN (I-M) has reportedly compelled many coal exporters from Shillong and even outside the State to flee the coal belt areas of West Khasi Hills.

Police sources also said East Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills police were carrying out a joint operation to dismantle the militant camps and thwart any attempt by LAEF and NSCN (I-M) to set up more camps in Ronjeng, Borsora and Shahlang.

"We are also trying to identify the businessmen contributing money to militants. Once we finalise the list of these businessmen, strong legal action would be taken against them," the police sources added.

On March 18 last, police arrested two persons -- Silin N Sangma and Hiruth A Sangma from Cherragoan, Borsora -- on suspicion of helping NSCN (I-M) in its extortion drive in West Khasi Hills.

Interrogation was on to establish their links, if nay, with militant groups.

According to police, the miscreants tried to forcibly enter the house of Mr Karka Bahadur. "On seeing them, Mr Bahadur screamed for help. The villagers in large number rushed to the place and in the process caught hold of the three while one managed to give them a slip," police said.

One pistol, a machete and other sharp equipment were seized from their possession. Police are on the look out for the other.

Just days after the United Progressive Alliance launched what looked like a determined last-ditch or "one final push" effort to ram through the United States-India nuclear deal in the teeth of vigorous opposition from its own supporters, the agreement seems ready to go into cold storage, if not into oblivion. It’s almost certain to miss the US domestic political timetable, which requires that the deal be sent to the Senate by the end of May for ratification by the July recess. After that, it would be near-impossible to pass the deal before the November presidential election.

This is a major victory for the Left parties and the peace movement, which have opposed the deal right since it was inked in July 2005. It’s a morale-booster for all those who were skeptical about the wisdom of getting into such a special collaborative arrangement with the US. And it’s a slap in the face of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who zealously tried to push the deal through. This development is likely to alter power equations in the Congress and the UPA.

Irrespective of how long the UPA-Left joint committee on the deal takes to discuss it, and independently of the conditions it imposes, the deal cannot be resuscitated unless the government has a showdown with the Left. Withdrawal of the Left’s support will reduce the UPA to a minority. As Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee explicitly told Outlook magazine, "a minority government cannot, need not and should not sign a major agreement like this." For the UPA, Mr Mukherjee said, the government’s survival takes priority over the deal.

As we see below, there are powerful, convincing arguments against the deal, apart from the defensive political rationale related to the survival of the UPA government. The deal militates against the cause of peace and nuclear disarmament. It will further distort the already skewed global nuclear order and encourage other countries to cross the nuclear threshold, and demand that a similar exception be made in their favour.

Yet, the government was preparing for a showdown with the Left ever since it extended the tenure of Ambassador Ronen Sen in Washington by a year, thus indicating that this key supporter of the deal would be around to push it. President Pratibha Patil’s mention of the deal in her address to Parliament, and the "populist" railway and general budgets, strengthened that impression. As did Dr Singh’s statement in Parliament and his undignified plea to "Bhishma Pitamah" (grand patriarch) Atal Behari Vajpayee to support it.

Above all, there was hectic lobbying by US officials, Senators and Big Business, who constantly hectored the UPA and reminded it that "time is of the essence", the deal wouldn’t go through without President Bush’s personal intervention, available only during a certain time-frame: "it’s now (the next few weeks), or never." A long line of US officials hard-sold the deal, including Defence Secretary Robert Gates, and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher.

They also carried another message: the Bush administration has done its very best to facilitate the deal in the US. India should expect nothing more. Equally, India must be clear that the first commercial contracts from the deal should go to US companies. That explains part of the hurry to push the deal through.

A section of the Congress leadership, including Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, and Minister of state in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan, all enthusiastically planted stories in the media about how the present moment is uniquely favourable to India. If it’s lost, the chance of a lifetime to have the post-1974 sanctions against nuclear trade with India neutralised would never return; India would continue to be outside the international nuclear commerce "community".

It’s to counter this lobby that Mr. Mukherjee gave two interviews clarifying that the government doesn’t want a confrontation with the Left, and the Congress and its allies wouldn’t like an early Lok Sabha election. It’s highly unlikely that Mr. Mukherjee would have done this without Ms Sonia Gandhi’s nod. Ms Gandhi has since herself said the election would only be held next year. She’s evidently loath to sever the Congress’s ties with the Left, not least because she knows it may again need the Left’s support after the elections.

In the event, then, the more sober leaders of the Congress prevailed over its pro-American enthusiasts, who thought that the budget, with its Rs 60,000-crore write-off of farmers’ loans, would create goodwill for the Congress among the underprivileged and tilt the scales decisively in its favour in a confrontation with the Left.

They also reckoned, wrongly, that the big income-tax breaks for the upper middle-class, and reduced duties on cars, air-conditioners and two-wheelers would neutralise the Left. That’s why they upped the ante.

They were aided by Mr. Boucher who tried to allay fears about the Henry J Hyde Act, passed by Congress in 2006, which enables the deal on certain conditions despite the fact that India hasn’t signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and is a de facto nuclear weapons-state. The Act mandates the US government to cease nuclear cooperation with India if India conducts a nuclear test. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently affirmed the supremacy of the Hyde Act and said the US government would work strictly within its four corners.

Yet, the Indian government maintains that it’s not bound by the Hyde Act, only by the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement reached last July between India and the U.S., called the "123 agreement" because it pertains to Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act, 1954. The two, it claims, are "parallel" agreements/laws and don’t impinge on each other. Mr. Boucher also said that "we can move forward" with the Act and the 123 agreement "in a consistent manner"; the Act is nothing to worry about.

It’s true that some sections of the Act are recommendatory and non-binding, and some only convey the "sense of the house". But it’s absurd to pretend that the Act won’t affect US-India nuclear dealings. When it comes to the crunch, that is, if India conducts a nuclear blast, the Act will prevail. The US will be compelled to suspend nuclear cooperation with India—albeit after "consultations" on the rationale for the test, etc. But the US won’t be bound by such consultations.

The government will find it impossible to satisfy the opposition on this issue, as also on the draft reportedly prepared after the recently concluded fifth round of talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency on a special safeguards (inspections) agreement.

It’s not clear if the draft fully resolves the two contentious issues on which the Vienna talks were stuck: guarantees of uninterrupted fuel supplies, and the right to take "corrective action" in case these are disrupted. The problem is, the IAEA does not supply nuclear fuel, and hence can’t guarantee its uninterrupted flow. Secondly, granting India the right of "corrective action" would set a controversial precedent, which the IAEA board of governors may not approve.

To get around these problems, the IAEA secretariat proposed that these rights/guarantees be included in the preamble to the safeguards agreement, not the main text, or in a separate document. But neither the preamble nor the separate document will have operative significance or legal value. The UPA won’t find it easy to neutralise the opposition, in particular the Left, with this formula.

It’ll find it even more difficult to answer the critics who argue, as does the peace movement, that the deal will draw India into an unequal strategic partnership with the US at a time when the US is playing a disastrous global role by spreading instability and insecurity, by upgrading its nuclear weapons, and by launching a space-based arms race. Entering into an alliance with Washington will narrow India’s foreign policy options—as the case of Iran so vividly showed.

The deal will no doubt admit India into the global Nuclear Club—on the side of those who run a system that India long condemned as "Atomic Apartheid". It’ll do nothing to reform the unequal global nuclear order. Once it joins the Club, India will have to bid goodbye to its commitment, reiterated in the UPA’s National Common Minimum Programme, to fight for global nuclear disarmament and a nuclear weapons-free world. You don’t join an exclusive club, and then demand its dissolution!

The deal will do nothing to promote energy security in India. On the contrary, it will promote nuclear power—an inappropriate, extremely hazardous, environmentally unsound and expensive form of energy.

Nuclear power is an obsolete and disaster-prone technology. Two-thirds of the world’s nuclear reactors are in the rich OECD countries. Most of them will soon be phased out—and only a few new reactors are being ordered. India too must reject the nuclear option while seriously promoting renewable sources like wind and solar, and energy conservation. That’s the way ahead! (IPA Service)

The CPM will continue to be the chief policy obstructionist at the Centre. The draft political resolution for the 19th party Congress acknowledged that anti-BJPism will continue to be the glue that will hold the CPM close to the Congress, but the Centre would have to pay a heavy price. This would mean a heightened attempt on the part of the CPM to get the government tailor economic and foreign policies to suit the whims and fancies of the Left.

The CPM, which holds the BJP as its enemy number one, considers the Congress as an ally in the immediate run. However, it said the situation could change if the non-Congress parties manage to float a credible alternative to the two poles in the national politics. This alternative, the CPM said, should have an agenda compatible with that of the Left. "It should be consistently anti-communal. We cannot have any party which has any softness towards the BJP. It should share our views on development and foreign policy. It should not be a mere electoral alliance." The CPM also acknowledged that the BSP’s victory highlighted the challenges posed by Ms. Mayawati’s mobilisational techniques.

The mobilisation based on caste identities posed a major threat to other political formations. The BSP, by utilising its Dalit base, has sought to build wider caste alliances for electoral purposes. More and more rightist parties are banking on caste identities, and trying to build caste combinations. Such caste mobilisation poses serious problems for Indian democracy.

Surprisingly the CPM blamed the Congress party, the BJP and the BSP that these parties don’t have leaders of quality who could inspire people to fight for their legitimate rights. These political formations are serving sectarian interests to rule the country in Adolf Hitler style.

There is the tortuous relationship between the leader and the led. This happens largely because big ideas like the larger truth, morph with time, which leaders are often unable to fully fathom. In the current context, the leadership of the Congress, BJP, Left and emerging regional parties would do well to pay attention to lessons from history. Some of the greatest and most celebrated leaders in history have had to grapple with the constantly evolving nature of the very idea and vision that brought them and their followers together in the first place.

Alexander had seized his people’s imagination as one who wanted to create a global empire by conquering Asia. After years of expansionist campaign when Alexander crossed over to the Asian sub-continent, nearly half his army had virtually rebelled against his big vision of combining Europe and Asia into a single zone. Alexander was forced to retreat. Another greater leader, Julius Ceasar, fell out with his followers as he, and later Mark Antony were seen as having given too many concessions to Egypt and Cleopatra. Both had to face the fury of their followers.

The post nation-state phase of history is also replete with examples of how the original idea or vision that bound people to their leaders began to change and eventually caused serious differences between the people and the leadership. This dissonance develops in society when there is inadequate appreciation of the well known Hegelian dictum of history as ideas in motion. So the central idea that drives a polity or society constantly changes. But leaders are often unable to keep track. As witnessed both in the erstwhile Soviet Union and China through the decades after World War II, the Communist leadership did not show adequate understanding of what the people might have desired over a period of time. Typically, the leadership got stuck with a single and stagnant vision of collectivisation as a panacea for society. This may have had some relevance in its time, but progressively fell into a straitjacket of top down ideological governance framework that eventually caused a serious lack of compatibility between the people and the leadership.

Of course, more democratic polities create an institutionalised opportunity for the leadership to understand what sort of modifications are required in the big vision that the people might have endorsed in the initial phase of national development. However, despite such bottom up signalling mechanisms that democracies afford, leaderships often fail to grasp the subtler, more nuanced messages coming from below. This is particularly true of Indian polity in the way it has evolved in the recent decades. The fragmentation of politics and the emergence of competing groups staking their claim on the state’s resources have caused immense anxiety. Particularly contested has been the notion of secularism in recent decades. Consequently, some of the big ideas embraced in the post-Independence period and broadly endorsed by much of the political class are now being increasingly debated and questioned, whether it is fresh reservations for non-upper caste groups, preemptive claim by other disadvantaged sections over the state’s resources or the nature of socialism and secularism practised from Indira Gandhi’s time to the present.

The sheer confusion among the political class has been most evident in the past two decades, particularly on the question of what sort of development model should India adopt, which would appeal to the disempowered at large. The Congress party appears to be mindlessly repackaging old slogans which find little resonance with the people. There is yet no clear consensus over the nature of the state-market mix in powering broader economic development. Most politicians, whether ruling at the Centre or states, are implementing market-based reforms but find it difficult to openly talk about it before the people. All talk of reform ends once elections are announced.

The BJP too is trying hard to pull out of its hat some new vision for India, which might be acceptable across different castes and communities. Successive election results at the Centre have clearly made BJP aware of the limitations of its core ideology. After Modi’s stunning victory in Gujarat, the BJP appears to be showing signs of wanting to repackage national security concerns with development and good governance at the central level. How sincere this attempt will be, without slipping back to minority bashing, remains to be seen. (INAV)

Sir,

After falling short of a majority in the election to the Meghalaya Assembly, the Congress found itself friendless among the other political players in the State. Governor SS Sidhu should have invited the post-poll coalition, 31-strong Meghalaya Progressive Alliance to form a government. Nothing in the Constitution bestows on the 'single largest party' an automatic right to form the government.

The Constitution makes no distinction between a pre-election alliance and a post-election alliance, what matters is the ability to secure the confidence of the House. Thus, the Governor had no concern to priviledge Mr Lapang's claim to form the government over that of the newly-formed MPA. In this regard, the Governor has not only erred but also kept the doors open for horse trading.

The governors are appointed on the recommendation of the party in power at the Centre. Since they are either party men or party favourites, their allegiance rests with the party rather than the Constitution. They protect party interests even at the cost of propriety of the constitutional office they hold. The situation cannot change unless the process of appointing governors is changed.

The decision of the 10 days given to Chief Minister DD Lapang to bow down gracefully before the day of the floor test and the appointment of Donkupar Roy as the new Chief Minister of the State is a good move on the part of the Governor, who, I would say have lost the credibility of being a non-political partisan, bringing his image down before the nation.

It is nothing but action replay in politics. The saddest story is that the so-called protectors of the Constitution were the actual breakers of it. The Congress, with a string of losses, is further losing sympathy among the people. The fear is for how long this coalition government will continue? How long the people of Meghalaya have to wait to cast their next vote?

The people of Meghalaya trusted you, the elected members, as the judges have observed, 'elected members are honourable men and should be trusted'. Do not let down the trust that the people have placed on you. Work for the progress of the State and not for your self glorification.

Yours etc.,
Bivan Rodriques Mukhim
Via e-mail

Talking to reporters here, Dr Sharma said, ''The Congress will definitely regain power in Meghalaya. We will stake claim once we have the majority legislators.

''The present government is likely to collapse at any moment,'' he added.

Taking a dig at former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma, who returned to State politics with the recent Assembly polls, Dr Sharma said, ''Mr Sangma claims to be the leader of North-East. But with the type of family politics he is patronising, he has lost the little respect he commanded.''

Mr Sangma had fielded his two sons for the just concluded Assembly polls, with the father-son trio winning their respective seats.

Dr Sharma said, ''The family politics Mr Sangma is promoting is not seen anywhere in the region. Helping one son enter politics is understood, but trying to bring the entire family is not appreciated.''

He said the party was focusing on next year's general elections and added, ''The Congress will sweep the Lok Sabha polls in North-East and the people’s confidence on us will be proved again.''

Dr Sharma, however, stressed that Assam Congress leaders did not interfere in the functioning of the party in the neighbouring state and the party had its mechanism to resolve any issue that may arise.

''No state Congress meddles in the affairs of the other state. We have our central leaders to resolve conflicts and issues,'' he said. (UNI)

The AGP which was formed 1985 after the signing of Assam Accord by the them All Assam Students Union (AASU) leaders who had spearheaded Assam agitation against illegal Bangladeshi migrants, has nothing common with the AUDF that is seen as a party floated by perfume mogul Badaruddin Ajmol to protect the interests of 'suspected illegal migrants' in the name of detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the state.

The AUDF came into the being in the political horizon of Assam after the Supreme Court of India declared null and void the controversial Illegal Migrants (Detection by Tribunal) Act, 1983 in response to a petition filed by AGP Lok Sabha member Sarbananda Sonowal on the ground that the Act in question was aimed at protecting the interests of illegal Bangladeshi migrants staying in Assam.

The apex court verdict of August 2005 prompted at least 12 minority political groups in Assam to come together under one banner to float the AUIDF to champion the cause of minorities in Assam and safeguard their interests.

The AUDF was vocal against the abrogation of the IMDT Act that was scrapped because of the case filed by AGP leader and former AASU president Sarbananda Sonowal.

The AUDF believes that there was no longer any illegal migration from Bangladesh as there is no more land left in Assam for fresh settlement of migrants contrary to the AGP's long standing demand for detection and deportation of illegal migrants from Assam.

However, notwithstanding their contrasting stand regarding the burning problem of illegal migrants in Assam, the AGP has inched closer to the AUDF to disrupt Congress bastion among minorities in Assam.

Both the parties struck tacit understanding in recent panchayat election and subsequent formation of several Zila Parishads bodies in minorities dominated districts in Mangaldoi, Dhubri and Barpeta in Assam to keep Congress at bay, but in vain.

The ruling Congress which had lost at least ten of its seats to the AUDF in minority bastion in the state during the last Assembly election in 2006, has maintained a safe distance from the AUDF.

Regarding the AGP's increasing proximity with the AUDF, Congress spokesman and state's cabinet minister Himanta Bishwa Sharma said, "With these parties with contrasting ideologies coming closer to each other will lead to confusion among their rank and file as well as common voters. In such a situation Congress only stands to gain."

State Government spokesperson Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma, taking to reporters here, said, ''We will never support any step that will harm the region or create hurdle in its development. However, we can not react to the media reports without studying the original report.''

He, however, underscored that there was a need to reform the DoNER functioning and said, ''The DoNER should operate from NE rather than from New Delhi for the ministry to deliver its objective of growth and development of the region.''

Dr Sharma added that the UPA government won't initiate any step against the interest of NE and the state governments of the region would also stand up if any injustice is meted to the region.

The Reforms Commission report is quoted to have stated that the DoNER ministry may be abolished and the responsibilities relegated to separate ministries, with the Union ministry of Home Affairs acting as the nodal ministry. (UNI)

He said the list of unlicensed nursing homes and laboratories in the State, upto last year, has already been compiled and an offensive against these would be launched in April and May this year.

Dr Sharma informed that unlicensed and illegal laboratories ran into hundreds, while over 50 nursing homes in the State were found flouting rules and regulations .

''Two nursing homes in Dibrugarh and one in Dhemaji were already shut down,'' he pointed.

He, however, stressed the need to improve Government-run health services before cracking the whip on the erring private health institutions.

''The Government health service is on the right path now and hence we are encouraged to take action against the illegal health service providers as we have the infrastructure to meet the patients’ requirement,'' Dr Sharma said.

He also urged the public to approach the local police wherever they found any discrepancy in nursing homes, laboratories or medical practitioners.

''The law will deal firmly with those found erring if the people bring it to our notice,'' the minister added. (UNI)

Talking to mediapersons, Mr Choudhury said that the financial status of the ruling Left Front can be a model before the country, as the Government has neither taken a single overdraft since 1998 nor took any advance to pay the salaries to its employees for the past 44 months.

On clearing doubts over the supplementary demands for grants of Rs 548.71 crore, that was placed in the Assembly on March 17, Mr Choudhury advocated that it was placed to ensure continuation of the development activities in the State.

He, however, stated that the Planning Commission had sanctioned Rs 1266.28 crore against its approved allocation of Rs 1370.15 crore, besides, the State Government had received less allocation in different Central schemes and added that even the allocation under the externally aided scheme was not satisfactory.

In Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) project, Rs eight crore has been sanctioned against its approved outlay of Rs 120 crore for next fiscal, he said, adding this has prompted the State government to seek supplementary demands for grants.

Pointing out the developmental projects of the State, Mr Choudhury asserted that altogether 15.49 lakh people had been covered by pure drinking water facilities through pipelines. (UNI)

Guwahati: The Assam Government has ordered a high-level inquiry into a Rs 100-crore Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) scam after farmers found anomalies in it through the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Official sources said here on Sunday Chief Secretary PC Sharma has ordered the inquiry and asked the Deputy Commissioners to submit a report on this within one year.

The Government was forced to order an inquiry after the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), a farmers association in the State, found large scale anomalies in the distribution of rice and wheat through RTI.

The co-operative department has suspended the managing committees of 11 co-operatives and removed the secretaries in Golaghat district.

In an urgent directive, Mr Sharma has directed the Deputy Commissioners to conduct in-depth inspection, inquiry and examination into the present state of affairs in the PDS and submit the findings within one-and-a-half-months.

''We have revealed shocking information about the scam through RTI with the help of media. However, it is estimated that the scam is of Rs 150 crore in Jorhat, Golaghat and Sivsagar district alone,'' KMSS general secretary Akhil Gogoi has said.

The Deputy Commissioners have been asked to investigate the happenings from March 2006 to October 2007 by constituting an investigative committee to be headed by an executive magistrate.

The series of scams unearthed by KMSS has drawn the attention of even the Centre. The state government had handed over the inquiry to the Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences (BIEO). (UNI)

Haflong: A Kuki National Front (Military Council) militant was killed and four were injured in a clash with another militant outfit Dima Halam Daoga (Jewel) in Assam's North Cachar Hills district, police said on Sunday. The two militant outfits clashed at Senkhor area under Maibong police station Saturday night. The body of the slain militant was brought to Maibong and the injured were admitted to the hospitl there.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of DHD(J) Frankie Dimasa was arrested by the police in Guwahati on Sunday. Dimasa, who was appointed by the outfit as its 'Foreign Secretary' recently, was arrested from a house in Fatashil Ambari area of the city where he had taken shelter. Dimasa along with another leader of the outfit D Gorlosa, who was arrested on March 20 from Guwahati Railway station, had planned to go to Kolkata enroute to Nepal for buying arms, according to police sources in Guwahati. (PTI)