Skip to content Skip to navigation

High voltage drama: Khandu Arunachal CM

By AT News |

The high voltage political drama in Arunachal Pradesh takes a strange development in the just concluded Congress Legislative Party meeting much to a major disappointment for BJP. Kalikho Pul and long his supporters dramatically came back to Congress and attended the CLP meeting in Itanagar where Pema Khandu was elected the Chief Ministerial candidate. The floor test is slated for 1 in the afternoon. All Congress legislatures resolved to work unitedly to keep the party vibrant where both Kalikho Pul and Namab Tuki agreed to end the differences.

Author info

AT News's picture

Assam Times Staff. editor@assamtimes.org
  • 6448 reads

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Capacity-Building Workshop Empowers Assam and Meghalaya Communities for Sustainable Development

Guwahati: – A transformative capacity-building workshop, “Learning from the Land: Participatory Knowledge Harvest from Assam and Meghalaya,” was held at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Guwahati Off-Campus, on Friday, June 27, 2025. Organized by TISS in collaboration with UNDP-SGP, the event brought together over 50 NGOs from Assam and Meghalaya to exchange grassroots knowledge and strategies for sustainable land use, agroecological practices, and environmental conservation. The workshop aimed to empower local communities by enhancing skills in biodiversity conservation, land restoration, rural development, sustainability, and climate change adaptation. Prof. Jagannath Ambagudia...

Assam's Tea Workers’ Health Crisis, with Average Body Weight Below 50 kg

Guwahati: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has accused the BJP-led state government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of driving tea garden workers into a severe health crisis, with the average worker’s body weight dropping below 50 kg due to malnutrition and anemia. In a press conference on Wednesday at Rajiv Bhawan, APCC Working President Roselina Tirkey, joined by tea tribe leaders Raju Sahu, Etowa Munda, and Pranjal Ghatowar, condemned the government for neglecting workers’ welfare and plotting to dismantle Assam’s tea industry. Raju Sahu emphasized the alarming health decline, stating that malnutrition and anemia have rendered many tea workers unfit to donate blood...

Stolen Lands, Broken Lives: How Assam’s Khilonjiya Pay the Price for Corporate Development

In Assam, the land of the Brahmaputra, tea gardens, and vibrant indigenous cultures, a troubling pattern has emerged. The state’s push for development—solar plants, thermal power stations, cement factories, and urban restoration—has come at a devastating cost to its original inhabitants, the Khilonjiya. These indigenous communities, including Karbi, Bodo, Dimasa, and Adivasi, are being displaced from their ancestral lands to make way for wealthy industrialists and corporate giants like Adani. While rich outsiders are welcomed with open arms, the Khilonjiya bear the burden of uprooted lives, lost livelihoods, and erased heritage. This blog chronicles few recent land disputes, exposing the...

AAEA demands accountability for mishaps in 'abandoned' oil/gas wells

Guwahati: Expressing concern over the Sivasagar crude-oil well gas leakage in the last few days, a northeast India based forum of graduate engineers have urged both Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) to come clear about the so-called ‘abandoned’ wells, which have the potential to harm human life, property and environment, as the concerned private parties operating such wells often do not come forward to take responsibility.  All Assam Engineers Association (AAEA), in a statement, also appealed to the Union government in New Delhi to hold the concerned ONGC/OIL  officials accountable for any disaster at an oil or gas well after having declared it '...

Gaurav Gogoi and the Politics of Dependency: A Challenge to Assam’s Debt-Driven Welfare Model

On May 26, 2025, Gaurav Gogoi, a three-time MP and son of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, was appointed President of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). His appointment marked a generational shift in Assam’s Congress leadership and was seen as a strategic move to reinvigorate the party ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Gogoi’s clean image, recent Lok Sabha victory from Jorhat by a margin of 1.44 lakh votes, and appeal among youth positioned him as a serious contender against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Gogoi's appointment replaces Bhupen Kumar Borah and is backed by a team of working presidents including Jakir Hussain Sikdar, Roselina Tirkey, and Pradip Sarkar....

The Human Toll of Gas Leaks in Assam: Comparing the Baghjan Disaster (2020) and the Ongoing ONGC Sivasagar Crisis (2025)

Assam, a state rich in natural resources, has faced recurring nightmares from its oil and gas industry, with devastating impacts on its people and environment. The Baghjan gas leak of 2020, operated by Oil India Limited (OIL), and the ongoing ONGC gas leak in Sivasagar (June 2025), operated by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), are stark reminders of the human cost of industrial mishaps. This blog post delves into the profound effects on common people in both incidents, compares their timelines for containment, and highlights the urgency of addressing systemic issues to prevent future tragedies. The Baghjan Gas Leak (2020): A 173-Day Ordeal On May 27, 2020, a catastrophic blowout...

Tai Ahom Indigenous Rights Forum Holds Executive Committee Meeting in Dibrugarh

The Tai Ahom Indigenous Rights Forum convened its Executive Committee Meeting today at the Tai Educational and Cultural Centre in Boiragimoth, Dibrugarh. The meeting was presided over by Chow Sanjib Rajkonwar, President of the Forum, and saw the active participation of executive members, advisors, and regional representatives from across Assam. The gathering served as a vital platform to deliberate on the strategic direction of the Forum, with a special focus on aligning the movement for Tai Ahom rights with the principles enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) 2007. The Forum reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to advocating for the...

SC junks PIL opposes 'indiscriminate' deportations

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to accept a plea by All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU) raising concerns over the state’s “indiscriminate” move to detain and deport suspected foreigners. A Bench of the top court comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma asked ABMSU to move the the Gauhati High Court. In writ petition, the organisation questioned the growing pattern of deportations by the Assam Government through informal “push back” mechanisms, without any judicial oversight or adherence to the safeguards envisaged by the Constitution.

Flood situation still critical in Assam

Guwahati: Rains in Assam have stopped. But the water level of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have yet to recede rendering over 4 lakh people homeless in as many as 17 districts of the state. In Cachar district alone over 1 lakh been have been rendered homeless because of the 4 day long incessant rains. Sribhumi district also witnessed no less misery of 90,000 people to be followed by Nagaon district where over 65,000 people have been affected. A huge area of Lakhimpur district has come under the surging water after the Ranganadi dam released its excess water pushing thousands of families in brimful misery. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is on a stock taking visit to the...

Sudden Dam Water Release Submerges 243 Villages in Lakhimpur, Thousands Displaced Overnight

Lakhimpur: In the early hours of Saturday, around 1 a.m., the water level of the Ranganadi River began to overflow following the release of dam water from the Panyor Hydroelectric Project by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), located upstream at Yazali in Arunachal Pradesh. The sudden release of water, without any prior warning, submerged vast areas of Assam’s Lakhimpur district, leaving thousands of people in distress. Many residents were caught unaware in their sleep as the floodwaters entered their homes. People fled with only the clothes they were wearing, leaving behind all belongings. The floodwaters swept through 243 villages across the Ranganadi and Naoboicha...