Ajmal vows to end Santosh-dynasty rule in Barak Valley

29 Mar 2009, 0331 hrs IST, TNN

Assam Lok Sabha Election 2009

This election in Barak Valley will be interesting with the entry of AUDF chief Badaruddin Ajmal. As usual minorities may vote for Ajmal and if that happens then Santosh will be in danger of loosing the election for the second time in silchar LS constituency. In this high-profile and prestigeous silchar lok sabha seat, BJP 's kabindra may be the untimate gainer as this time Santosh will have to face the voters with many unsolved problems of barak valley. Anti-incumbancy and non-performance will be one of the key factor in this election. On 16th April people of Barak Valley will decide their fate.

SILCHAR: Ensuring a three-cornered contest for the prestigious Silchar Lok Sabha seat, Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) chief Badaruddin Ajmal on Saturday filed his nomination for the south Assam constituency with an aim to bring an end to the Devs' dynastic rule.

With this came an end to speculation if the perfume baron would at all field himself against his long-time Congress friend and Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev.

Ajmal said, "Our party is fighting with the aim to oust the corrupt Congress and give the country a transparent and vibrant government. In Silchar, the AUDF is committed to bringing an end to the Devs' dynastic-rule. People of this part of Assam are fed up with them as the area continues to be one of the most underdeveloped ones."

After filing his nomination, a visibly confident Ajmal said he would fight from both the Silchar and Dhubri seats only to make it sure that "people get rid of the Congress misrule". He added, "If AUDF wins, there will be a sea-change in the Barak Valley in the next five years. Something that Congress could not ensure in the past 60 years." THE TIMES OF INDIA

Ajmal advises AGP to rethink on its alliance with BJP

SILCHAR, Feb 10: "Since the National Executive Committee of BJP in it’s recently concluded session at Nagpur has again raked up the issue of Ram Mandir just on the eve of LS polls, AGP should rethink its alliance with the saffron party", pointed out AUDF supremo Badaruddin Ajmal while talking to The Sentinel here.

His advice to AGP leadership is to come out of the saffron fold in order to maintain its secular credential and join AUDF led four party alliances. "It would be a pragmatic approach for AGP to join hands with secular and democratic forces. We would be rather glad to welcome AGP", said Ajmal.

He made it clear, "there is no dispute or disagreement in the alliance over my decision to contest from Silchar" and dismissed media reports about CPM staking its claim for this seat as speculative and an exercise to create confusion among the electorates.

He said, other than Congress and BJP, no other party has that base or organizational strength in Silchar Parliamentary Constituency to take on the opposition.

The growing acceptability of AUDF in Barak Valley has made his party a viable alternative, he claimed and added to say it has now definite edge.

CPM, CPI and NCP, the alliance partners, he reminded, have failed to bag even a single seat in the last assembly polls. NCP is yet to make any dent here.

His party would also contest from Karimganj also for which alliance partners would be taken into confidence. He was aware of the fact that this border Parliamentary Constituency is also a stronghold of both Congress and BJP.

Presently, Congress holds both the LS seats. He ruled out any dissension in the alliance and was confident "everything would be sorted out and settled on give and take basis".

His assessment was that people of Barak Valley want change in both the seats. He dubbed the 30 years of Heavy Industries and Public enterprises Union Minister Sontosh Mohan Dev as MP and Central Minister as "a tale of dismal failure on all fronts".

He said all this is reflected among others the progress of work so far made in the construction of Silchar- Lumding BG and East West Corridor.

Corruption would be the main poll plank of AUDF, revealed Badaruddin Ajmal.

"It is not terrorism but unbridled corruption that has stalled development and stood in the implementation of centrally sponsored schemes and projects properly", he said. NREGS implementation, according to him, is a glaring example of it.

Health services in urban and rural areas, he pointed out are in doldrums despite all the tall official claims of better services.

Badaruddin Ajmal saw good prospect of his party and alliance at the hustings as he was confident besides gaining large chunk of Muslim votes, his party leading the alliance would also win over substantial percentage of votes of Hindus and other communities, tribals and-non-tribals.

Along with Congress and BJP, AUDF from all reckoning has sounded bugle for the LS polls. source: the sentinel assam

AUDF may contest Karimganj Lok Sabha seat

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AUDF may contest Karimganj Lok Sabha seat

Guwahati: Yesterday in late evening development the recently formed Assam United Democratic Front(AUDF)led third front coalition had its marathon meeting in the official residence of party president Badruddin Ajmal, to formulate the strategy for the forth coming Parliamentary election.

Meeting was attended by all the partner of coalitions except Samajwadi Party(SP).Though SP was not present either in the first or second round of its meeting, but as per the sources its still very much part of the coalition.

Speaking to TwoCircles.net, AUDF working president Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury said that, in this round of meeting all the involved political parties submitted their list of constituencies for which they want their candidates to fight.

Final decision will be taken once the joint committee reviews this list. However decision for three seats has been taken as if now on which there is no contest. In this meeting it has been decided that Constituency of Karimganj will go to AUDF, Diphu to Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) and Jorhat to Communist Party of India(CPI)

As of now this coalition has not adopted any name and deliberation on it along with other details is expected to have on 4th of February, in which SP as a coalition partner is also expected to participate. source: http://www.indianmuslims.info

No poll pact with Cong: Ajmal

Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Jan 7– Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) today made it clear that it had no plan to forge any electoral alliance with the ruling Congress, let alone its merging with the ruling party. The party has also decided to field its candidates in the nine Lok Sabha constituencies of Dhubri, Barpeta, Guwahati, Mangaldoi, Kaliabor, Nagaon, Tezpur, Silchar and Karimganj in the ensuing elections to the Lower House of the country’s Parliament.

Addressing a press conference here, AUDF president and leader of its Legislature Party Badruddin Ajmal alleged that the Congress was making a false propaganda campaign suggesting the likelihood of an electoral tie up with his party only to confuse the common people and thus to derive political benefits.

On the other hand, some Congress Ministers belonging to the minority community are panicked at the prospect of such a tie up and they are now making feverish pleas that the AUDF should merge with the Congress. In fact, they are indicating their willingness to join the AUDF. They are most welcome and doors of the AUDF are always open for them, Ajmal said.

He clarified that none of the AUDF leader had met Congress leader Ahmad Patel on the issue, nor the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Amar Singh has made any such overture to facilitate an electoral tie-up between the AUDF and the Congress.

He informed the media persons that the AUDF had been holding discussions with the State units of the CPI, CPI-M and the NCP for the purpose of fighting the Lok Sabha polls unitedly. The next round of discussion with these parties is scheduled at 9pm of January 11.

Though the AUDF is for fielding its own candidates in the above nine Lok Sabha constituencies and going for adjustment for the rest five constituencies of the State’s 14 Lok Sabha constituencies, there may be some changes in this stance of the party. The party is not rigid in its stand, Ajmal said.

For, the party is ready to go for seat adjustment with the like-minded parties wherever they have the winning prospects, he said.

He also informed that he was willing to contest from Dhubri and Silchar Lok Sabha constituencies. But the party is yet to take any decision on it. For the Tezpur constituency, the party is fielding Lakshmi Orang, the girl who was disrobed during the November 2007 Beltola clash between the local residents and the agitating Adivasi youths on the issue of vandalism.

Though the party is close to the Samajwadi Party (SP), it is yet to become a member of the third front. Besides, the SP so far does not have its state committee in Assam, Ajmal said.
source: assam tribune

CPI for alliance with AUDF

: Special Correspondent
SILCHAR, Jan 10: The Asom State Council of the Communist Party has approved the process of dialogue with CPM, CPI (ML), RSP, AUDF and NCP in order to form a viable alternative to Congress and AGP-BJP to combine in the state.

President of the Cachar District Committee of CPI Rafique Ahmed said that his party is of the opinion that the alternative alliance should have a common minimum programme to project the issues before the electorate.

The constituents of the proposed third alliance would contest all the 14 Lok Sabha seats, he pointed out. The Asom State Council of the party, he further said, has directed the local units of the party to intensify mass agitation against the anti–people policies and activities of the Government of Asom and India.

He revealed that the state council has adopted a resolution urging upon the government to pass a bill to include Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Moran, Mattak, Chutia and tea communities in the list of ST (P) in the state. source: sentinel assam

Karimganj News

Golden jubilee of Sonakhira high school, Karimganj
GUWAHATI, Nov 30 – The golden jubilee celebration of Sonakhira Shriprasad Roy High School of Karimganj district, held recently, was marked by rally, sports, cultural programmes and giving away Janadaradi Dr Gopesh Chandra Bhattacharjee memorial award (Rs 3000) to Rukhshana Parveen of Class X and Rajlakshmi Bhattacharjee memorial award (Rs 2000) to Anamika Das of Class IX of the School by Sukesh Ranjan Bhattacharjee, on behalf of the family members who have instituted the annual awards from the golden jubilee year in memory of their ancestors’ noble deeds.

The president of the school and the well known academician Arun Kumar Roy unveiled the portraits of land donor late Shriprasad Roy and founder of the school Janadaradi Dr. Gopesh Chandra Bhattacharjee who was a legendary medical practitioner Licentiate from Dibrugarh Berry White Medical School in 1929 and rendered yeoman service to the vast rural and tea garden populace of Patharkandi – Chandkhira area, irrespective of caste, religion and language for more than 40 years, with innovative mobile dispensary and with sportsmanship spirit.
His wife late Rajlakshmi Bhattacharjee also helped to establish the school by providing free lodging and boarding to qualified teachers appointed from outside for more than a decade.
Roy in his address remembered the contribution of Janadaradi late Dr Gopesh Chandra Bhattacharjee, late Rajlakshmi Bhattacharjee, late Jatindra Acharjee, late Suresh Kanoo and other teachers and well wishers in establishment of the school.

He also blessed internationally famed scientist Dr Iresh Ranjan Bhattacharjee, proponent of biological self-gravitation theory, a son of Janadaradi Dr Bhattacharjee and asked students to follow the example.

Dr IR Bhattacharjee, Prof Manash Sengupta, TL Chakraborty, Sukesh Ranjan Bhattacharjee and headmaster of the school Shri Shital Kumar Bhattacharjee, also spoke on the occasion.
Swami Mrinmoy Moharaj of Karimganj Ramkrishna Mission delivered the keynote address. He called for imbibing in the children the spirit of selfless service for betterment of the family and society at large. The cultural programmes presented by Choturongo Club led by Salil Paul Choudhury, Nayan Kishore Chakraborty and others enthralled the audiences.source: assam tribune

Vaccination week gets under way in Hailakandi
CORRESPONDENT
Hailakandi, Dec 1 – To immunize and vaccinate all the children below one year in Hailakandi district during the special immunization week of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) from December 1to 6 next, the Health Department and the district administration have started a massive campaign and preparation.

The extensive media campaign has already been started one week before the starting of immunization week. The Deputy Commissioner of Hailakandi district, Tapan Chandra Goswami said the district-level task force meeting has already been held on November 24 and it decided to organise block level awareness meeting among the nurses, Anganwadi Workers, president of Gaon Panchayat and the heads of all the educational institutions.

In the awareness meeting at Nazrul Sadan in Hailakandi, large number of nurses, teachers, AWWs and Panchayat members attended and it was addressed by the additional deputy commissioner of Hailakandi, Debashis Chakraborty, joint director of Health services, Dr. Samir Kumar Das, deputy inspector of schools, Ishaque Ali Barbhuiya, district elementary education officer (DEEO), Abdul Matin Choudhury and other officials of Health Department. It was presided over by the deputy commissioner of Hailakandi, Tapan Chandra Goswami. Teachers were requested in the meeting to motivate the people for immunisation in the greater interest of society. The teachers and AWWs also interacted with the resource persons and pledged to help during the immunization week. Similar meetings were also organised in all the blocks of the district. source: assam tribune

Massive protest rally against scribe’s murder at Karimganj
A Correspondent
NILAMBAZAR, Dec 2 – Karimganj Press Club brought out a massive silent protest rally on Friday against the killing of Jagajit Saikia a Correspondent of Amar Asom by unidentified gunmen on November 22.

The procession started from the Sambu Sagar Park, passed through the town and later the processionists submitted a memorandum to the President of India through the Deputy Commissioner. The memorandum demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident and protection to the scribes of the State.

All political leaders of the district, social organisations, several students unions, institutions and intellectuals attended the protest rally.

The Working Journalist Guild, Karimganj also observed a stir programme on November 27 before the DC Office against the killing of Jagajit Saikia.

Prior to it, a protest meeting was held at Karimganj Patrika House. Addressing media persons, senior journalist Nirmal Das and Masuk Ahmed spoke on the serious issue of inhuman killing of scribes including that of Jagajit Saikia which is posing a serious threat to the media fraternity.

AUDF body: AUDF Karimganj district committee was reconstituted on November 26. In this connection a general meeting of the party was held at Kanishail under the chairmanship of Brajalal Rabidas, central executive member of the party. The meeting elected Abdul Malik Choudhury and M Najmuddin as president and general secretary of the district committee, and four others vice-president and secretary.
source: assam tribune

Army provides solar lights to Harinagar residents of Cachar
Correspondent
KARIMGANJ, Dec 5 – Besides being engaged in counter-insurgency operations in trouble-torn areas of Cachar and maintaining law-and-order in close coordination with the civil administration, the Army has also been carrying out humanitarian works for the welfare of the common people in isolated areas deprived of basic facilities.

The 72 Field Regiment with its camp at Labac has on priority basis been interacting with local population of the insurgency-hit areas in order to understand their problems and difficulties and to meet their minimum needs.

The people of Harinagar after several strikes by insurgent groups are heaving a sigh of relief due to surveillance maintained by the jawans of the regiment.

Harinagar, with a population of Bengalis, Nepalese and other minority groups is located in close proximity to North Cachar Hills and Manipur, and therefore vulnerable to militancy due to geophysical factors. The 72 Field Regiment on being approached by the residents came forward to help them with three sets of solar lights under the military - civic action project at a cost of Rs 1.6 lakh.
Major Manish of the regiment on the occasion of handing over ceremony advised the people to make best use of the light sets and maintain them properly in the interest of all.
source: assam tribune

AUDF to contest 8 Lok Sabha seats in Assam

By TwoCircles.net correspondent,

New Delhi: Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) lead by Maulana Badruddin Ajmal is planning to contest eight of the fourteen Lok Sabha seats of Assam. Party insiders suggest that at least five seats are winnable.

Talking to TwoCircles.net, party General Secretary Dr. Baharul Islam said that candidates for some of the seats have been decided already and short lists made for other seats. Maulana Badruddin Ajmal will contest from Silchar and will face Union Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Dev. Dev has represented Silchar in Lok Sabha seven times, losing to BJP in 1998. Maulana Ajmal is currently the MLA representing Salmara South that falls under Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.

The Lok Sabha seats that AUDF will be contesting are – Dhubri, Barpeta, Silchar, Karimganj, Nagaon, Kaliabor, Tezpur, and Mangaldoi.

Party spokesman Dr. Baharul Islam said that they are in the process of making the third front in the state which will include Trinamul Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Nationalist Congress Party. Apart from AUDF which has 10 MLAs in the state assembly, other three parties have minimal presence.

Meanwhile in an important development a tribal girl who was stripped naked in Guwahati a year ago has joined the AUDF. Lakshmi Oraon was abused while participating in a demonstration by All Assam Adivasi Students Association demanding ST status for tribals in the state capital last November. She joined the party along with her family members last week. This is expected to broaden the vote base of the
party.

Formed just few weeks before Assam assembly elections of 2006, AUDF shocked everyone by winning 10 assembly seats.

Assam election 2009 Assam Election lok sabha election assam guwahati silchar lok sabha election

AUDF’s Ajmal as the party candidate in Silchar Lok Sabha

Is Ajmal’s move to contest from Silchar a pressure tactic?
By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Oct 23: The AUDF’s proposed move to put its president Badruddin Ajmal as the party candidate in Silchar Lok Sabha Constituency against Congress stalwart and Union Minister Santosh Mohon Dev has stirred up a hornet’s nest, as the Cachar unit of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has vehemently opposed the move.
Ajmal, who is also the president of the Asom State Jamiat, is currently visiting the Barak Valley for an on-the-spot assessment of the organizational strength of his party, keeping an eye on the forthcoming parliamentary polls. According to the sources, Ajmal, in a meeting held at the Topkhana Madrassa in Silchar on October 21, himself placed the proposal of his candidature from Silchar LS seat by saying that a section of party functionaries has been putting pressure on him in this regard.

However, head of the Madrasa and president of the Cachar Jamiat Moulana Mahmud Hassan has vehemently opposed the proposal. His contention is that Ajmal’s presence as the AUDF candidate in the constituency will lead to the division of Muslim votes which will ultimately benefit the BJP. The acceptability of Santosh Mohon Dev among the Muslim voters of the constituency should be taken into consideration, he reportedly said.

The Cachar Jamiat is considered to have maintained close relation with Dev, and during the last parliamentary election it had appealed to the Muslim community of the constituency to vote for the Congress stalwart as a ‘good person.’ It has been presumed that the Jamiat will be in a fix if Ajmal goes for a direct electoral battle with Dev.

According to the sources, AUDF leaders loyal to the Naduat-ut-Tamir, a powerful organization in the Barak Valley, are putting pressure to showcase Ajmal as a candidate for the Silchar LS seat to increase the AUDF’s influence in the valley. Though Ajmal asked his Jamiat colleagues to consider his proposal, the Jamiat is still opposing the proposal, added the sources. Ajmal is scheduled to attend a meeting at Baskandi and a worker meet at Silchar tomorrow.

Meanwhile, AUDF working president Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, while talking to The Sentinel, said: “Jamiat is an apolitical organization and AUDF is not concerned about the Jamiat’s internal differences over the proposed candidature of the AUDF president.” He said the party wants to put a strong candidate, whoever he is, against both Dev and the BJP.

However, another school of thought suggests that Ajmal and Dev, both known to be arch-rivals of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, may ultimately enter into a secret understanding to fulfil their mutual political interests. Ajmal is likely to withdraw his move for contesting from the Silchar LS constituency to ensure easy passage for Dev, in exchange of an appointment with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the school of thought suggests. The current proposal for contesting the election from Silchar is presumed to be a ‘pressure tactic’ on the part of the AUDF chief to achieve his goal of meeting the Congress president with the help of Dev. source: sentinel assam

Misuse of Cachar dist NREGA funds alleged

CORRESPONDENT KARIMGANJ, Oct 3 – Rampant corruption at various panchayat bodies has been reported at the Kalain development block. Ataur Rahman Mazarbhuiyan, AUDF MLA from Katigorah has sought the intervention of the DC, Cachar to enquire into the functioning of 13 development blocks under Kalain and Katigorah.Mazarbhuiyan alleged that the GP secretaries in connivance with government officials are siphoning off lakhs of rupees under the NREGA scheme. Welcoming the steps taken by the district administration against four officials, inducting the BDO and two junior engineers of Kalain block, the AUDF, MLA demanded further investigation against other officials and GP-level representatives. Claiming that he has personally enquired into various cases and found rampant corruption, Mazarbhuiyan said inspite of demands from various quarters, the district administration has failed to hold a single meeting of the vigilance and monitoring committee.It is to be noted that the Katigorah circle officer Debasis Baisya being directed by the commissioner, DRDA lodged an FIR against the BDO of Kalain block Narayan Das and two junior engineers Nuruddin and Ajjal Hussain and an upper division clerk Sirajul Hoque Laskar for misappropriation of Rs 1.67 crore under NREGA. source: assam tribune