IMPHAL THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER 2014 Rijiju flayed Contd from page 1 Minister Narendra Modi, appended by seven signatories including TA Ngullie (Former Minister), Bendangangshi ( Ex MLA), DK Zeliang (Rural Economist & Environmentalist), Rev L Bizo (President Council of Rtd Senior Admn Officer), NA Kasar (Ex Lecturer International Naga Baptist Churches), Rev Dr Sumpi John (Theological College, Dimapur) and Rev L Suohie Mhasi (Ex MLA) mentioned that the statement of the Union Minister of State for Home would jeopardize the peace talk between the two entities as there is no meeting point for solution of the longest revolutionary movement in the world without bringing all the Naga inhabited territories under one single administrative umbrella which is also a Constitutional commitment of the Government of India under the Sixteen Points Agreement of 1960 while naming Nagaland as the 16th State of the Indian Union. The memorandum appealed to the Prime Minister to take a fresh look at the entire issue and come to a logical conclusion expeditiously by respecting the “Unique history and situation” of the Nagas which has been recognised as per the Amsterdam Joint Communiqué, July 11, 2002, during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime. Meanwhile, the senior citizens also lauded the historic landslide victory recorded by the BJP party in the last Lok Sabha election under Modi’s leadership. “Seeing this victorious achievement of your party, the entire country is looking forward to bringing radical changes towards the upliftment of the people at the grass root level up to their expectation,” the Naga senior citizens said, according to Eastern Mirror report. General strike hits normal life Contd from page 1 in Government offices was also sparse. However, some four-wheeler and two-wheeler vehicles, mostly related with essential service matters and security personnel, were seen on the roads in Imphal streets. Security was tightened during the day with the State Government deploying a large number of security personnel at various corners of Imphal to stop unwanted incidents. It may be mentioned that Manipur's ‘annexation’ by the Indian Union was announced to the people on October 15, 1949, after the then King of Manipur, Maharaja Bodhachandra signed the Manipur Merger Agreement on September 29, 1949 in Shillong. ‘Juices’ siezed at Ukhrul Contd from page 1 this warning notice through Tangkhul Trade Council and local dailies on behalf of the civil society. Most of the items were found sold in pan shops mostly by local traders of Wino, Viewland and Phungreitang areas of Ukhrul town. The seized items were later disposed at TKS Office near Mini secretariat in front of the public. The body also warned the shop keepers not to sell the banned items again, failing which stringent action will be taken up. NSCN (IM) cadre held IMPHAL, Oct 15: A team of Imphal West district police commandos arrested one NSCN (IM) cadre from Dingku road today. He has been identified as self styled captain Phungshok Thanmi (45) s/o (L) Phungshok Phunkhayei of Tora Changtha, Longchong Maiphei, Ukhrul district. Investigation revealed that he was involved in extortion of money from public, Government offices and businessmen. ‘BJP does not have regional leadership in Maharashtra’ MUMBAI/PUNE, Oct 15: Congress leader Milind Deora, who cast his vote for the Maharashtra Assembly polls here on Wednesday, lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the latter’s aggressive campaigning clearly shows that the BJP does not have regional leadership in the state. “The way Modiji campaigned for the Maharashtra Assembly polls clearly shows the BJP does not have regional leadership,” he told the media in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, expressing confidence that BJP would perform splendidly in the assembly polls, compared it to the success of Bollywood film 'Dhoom'. “See, today the people have voted with tremendous enthusiasm, even more enthusiasm than the Lok Sabha (election). It’s an unparalleled scene as far as the state assembly elections are concerned. If the Lok Sabha election was 'Dhoom', this is 'Dhoom 2',” Javadekar told the media in Pune. “People are voting for good governance, people are voting for change, people are voting for the decisive minded, in favour of BJP. And let me tell you that Maharashtra will have a single party rule, a single party majority rule for the first time,” he added. The BJP, which is contesting the Maharashtra Assembly polls alone this time after dumping its ally the Shiv Sena, expects that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity will enable it to emerge victorious in the state with a thumping majority. There are 4,119 candidates in the electoral fray in Maharashtra. The prominent candidates include former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and former ministers R R Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP, Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde and Pankaja Munde of the BJP, Subhash Desai, Suresh Jain and Deepak Kesarkar of the Shiv Sena, former ministers Patangrao Kadam, Shivajirao Moghe and Rajendra Darda of the Congress and Bala Nandgaonkar of the MNS. The voting, which began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements, will end at 6 pm. The counting of votes will take place on October 19. —ANI Google uncovers technology WASHINGTON, Oct 15: Three Google researchers have reportedly discovered a security bug in widely used web encryption technology that can be used by hackers to take over email accounts, banking accounts and other services. The bug has been named Poodle and stands for Padding Oracle On Downloaded Legacy Encryption. The revelation has prompted browsers to issue advises asking users to disable use of the source of the security bug: an 18-year old encryption standard known as SSL 3.0, reported The Huffington Post. This is the third time in a year that researchers have uncovered a bug in the web technology following April's "Heartbleed" bug in OpenSSL and last month's "Shellshock" bug in a piece of Unix software known as Bash. However, the report said that the vulnerability is not as complicated and dangerous as the last two. —ANI NPO lashes out at State Govt Newmai News Network SENAPATI, Oct 15: Naga Peoples' Organisation (NPO) has lashed out at Manipur Government for signing the 95 MW Khongnem Chakha hydroelectric project with North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO) without consulting the land owners and the tribal bodies. In a statement, NPO on Wednesday said that it strongly condemns the signing of the agreement to construct the Khongnem Chakha hydroelectric project without the consent of the tribal organisations and the land owners. ‘The dam will render thousands of people homeless and will snatch away our means of livelihood,’ it said. Apart from the district headquarters Senapati and Karong area which are already at stake, more than 25 villages will lose their ancestral agricultural land and age old habitat in the area from Khongnem to Chakha when the planned project comes into existence, mentioned the press release. The Government of Manipur signed a pre-implementation agreement for four hydroelectric projects in Manipur with NEEPCO on August 28, 2014 at Hotel Imphal. The projects include Tuivai electric project, Irang hydroelectric project, Khongnem Chakha hydroelectric project and the Pabram hydroelectric project. The agreement was signed between Joint Secretary (Power) Th Kirankumar and Manipur State Power Corporation Ltd, Managing Director A Sarat representing NEEPCO in the presence of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam assuring both the State Government and the people that NEEPCO would try its level best to complete the project within 15 months. NPO said it would not compromise the agricultural land for electricity because it is not right to lose agricultural land for the project which will render many homeless. It said, ‘Our history and identity cannot be submerged; it is our right to preserve the best interest of the people of Senapati district.’ The anti-dam crusade by the NPO has confirmed that the agreement between Manipur Government and NEEPCO on the Khongnem Chakha hydroelectric project to be taken up at a height of 52 meters (about 160 ft) where two Francis turbines will be installed with the objective to generate 95 MW at the cost of Rs 439.7 crore would be a waste, the press release said and pledged that no co-operation would be extended to it. Lashing out at NEEPCO which has promised to provide toilet facilities to the schools nearby and also scholarships to the poor students in the area, NPO said such policies can never compensate the loss to be incurred by the poor villagers. Fadnavis confident of BJP forming Govt NAGPUR, Oct 15 Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday expressed confidence of his party’s victory in the assembly polls, saying the people have immense faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Fadnavis said it is good that all the exit polls have given his party a victory, and added that the BJP will form the government in Maharashtra with a clear majority. “We have been saying that the people are with the BJP. The kind of campaign which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done here, people trust him and they feel that the government which rules at the Centre should rule in the state as well. That’s why, we will get full majority,” he told the media in Nagpur. Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel expressed doubt over any single party getting clear majority in Maharashtra and said that there will certainly be a coalition government in the state. “I don’t think that any one party is going to get majority and there is a possibility that a coalition government might be formed in Maharashtra. Now, it’s difficult to say which kind of government will be formed and it would not be correct to comment based on the exit polls. But in their results also there is a possibility of major changes to happen,” said Patel in New Delhi. “I don’t think that the largest party would get more than 110 seats. Along with the NCP and the statistics shown by the rest of the parties, we believe that we will definitely get more seats,” he added. The voting, that began in Maharashtra at 7 am amid tight security arrangements, ended at 6 pm. The voter Modi extends congratulations to new Afghan President NEW DELHI, Oct 15 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday extended his congratulations to Afghanistan President Dr Ashraf Ghani, who was elected to the office on September 21. In a telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Modi lauded President Ghani's wisdom and statesmanship, and his commitment to unity, peace and progress in Afghanistan, which had enabled the formation of a broad-based an inclusive government and a peaceful political transition. He paid tribute to the people and the political leaders of Afghanistan for their faith in democracy and will to prevail over violence and terrorism. Prime Minister Modi also expressed confidence that President Ghani's expertise, global experience and grassroots knowledge, borne out of travel to every district of Afghanistan, will help him implement his bold agenda of economic reforms and development in Afghanistan. He also mentioned that President Ghani's experience will be beneficial for India and the region. Conveying India’s support as a friend and a partner, Prime Minister Modi also assured President Ghani that India would be with Afghanistan at every step on the way, as his government moves forward in its efforts to build a strong, stable, peaceful, democratic, inclusive and prosperous nation. Prime Minister Modi also noted that India's relations with Afghanistan have been forged by ancient cultural links and timeless bonds of mutual affection and admiration, which had grown deeper in recent years as the Afghan people have strived to rebuild their lives and their nation. President Ghani conveyed his deep sense of appreciation for Prime Minister Modi’s congratulations. He described India as the foundation of Afghani- stan's diplomacy and economic strategy and complimented Prime Minister on his electoral success and his development vision, which would be beneficial for Afghanistan and the entire region. President Ghani also accepted Prime Minister Modi's invitation to visit India at the earliest opportunities and also suggested immediate commencement of dialogue between the two governments, including between their national security advisors and economic advisors. Bilaterally, India has played a significant role in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan. India's extensive developmental assistance programme, which now stands at around USD 2 billion, is a strong signal of its abiding commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan during this critical period of security and governance transition. —ANI turnout percentage was lower in Maharashtra as compared to Haryana with only 54.5 percent of the eligible voters in the state voting till 5 pm. “Across the 288 constituencies in Maharashtra, the number of polling stations were 91,376, with 4,119 candidates standing for elections. The voter turnout till 5 pm was 54.5 percent. However, since polling went on till 6 pm, it is likely to be around 62 percent,” Deputy Election Commissioner Sudhir Tripathi said. Counting of the votes will take place on October 19. —ANI Sidhu’s security withdrawn AMRITSAR, Oct 15: The Punjab police yesterday withdrew the security cover to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, which caused his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu to term the incumbent Punjab state government as a ‘dictatorship’. Navjot Kaur, who is the chief parliamentary secretary in the Parkash Singh Badalled government, confirmed that the security cover that Sidhu was provided as an MP was earlier reduced after the completion of his term but the four police constables provided to him were also taken back on Tuesday. “There is no democracy left in Punjab. This is the beginning of dictatorship,” she told ANI via telephone, stating that she was surprised by the move. Sidhu, who had been critical of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) (SAD) party, and whom he accuses of denying him the ticket to contest from Amritsar in the recent Lok Sabha elections, had opened a front against SAD during the run up to the upcoming Haryana legislative assembly elections. PM to attend prog on Pt Deendayal Upadhyay NEW DELHI, Oct 15 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate programmes in memory of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay tomorrow. The programme will be known Shramev Jayate Karyakram. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is organizing the programme during a day-long conference of Labour and Employment Ministers, Health Ministers and Vocational Training Ministers of State Governments at Vigyan Bhawan here. Union Minister of Labour and Employment, Steel and Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar, and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Steel and Mines, Vishnu Deo Sai, will be participating. Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Kalraj Mishra, the Minister of Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSME), Nirmala Sitaraman, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry, and Sarbananda Sonowal, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports will be present to take forward the initiatives of Union Labour Ministry, in tandem with the vision of “Make in India”. The Secretaries from different ministries and departments of the Central Government will be participating in the conference. The conference will be centered on five themes of Ministry of Labour and Employment: Unified Labour Portal (named as Shram Suvidha) and a Transparent & Accountable Labour Inspection Scheme (http:// efilelabourreturn.gov.in) to facilitate ease of compliance for four Central Government Organizations i.e. ESIC, EPFO, DGMS and CLC; portability through Universal Account Number (UAN) for Employees Provident Fund; Demand Responsive Vocational Training; Apprentice Protsahan Yojana and implementation of revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) for the workers in the unorganized sector. About 35 state government, Labour, Health, Vocational Training Ministers and 60 state government secretaries of these departments are also likely to attend the conference. Apart from this, 64 CEOs of various PSUs and 20 Heads of Insurance Companies will also participate. The programme will be telecast live on Doordarshan’s DD National and DD News Channels. Arrangements have also been made for live streaming or webcasting of the programme on websites of Ministry of Labour, DD News, DD/ youtube channel etc. It is estimated that the programme will be viewed on television by more than 10.00 crores people across India. A host of mass SMSs will be sent across India along with this programme. About 1.00 crore EPFO subscribers will get SMSs regarding portability through Universal Account Number (UAN). About 6.50 lakh establishments and 1800 Inspecting Officers will get SMSs about Unified Labour Portal which will help in a transparent and accountable Labour Inspection Scheme. Around 4.00 lakhs SMSs will be sent to ITIs trainees regarding the brand Ambassadors who are pass-outs of ITIs and are very successful in their respective fields. Similar numbers of emails will also be sent simultaneously. —ANI Chaoba fires last salvo at Cong Contd from page 1 campaigns, Th Chaoba said that these artistes turned up on their own understanding the Congress ‘misrule’. BJP had neither requested nor forced the artistes to join electioneering of the party, he added. Th Chaoba queried whether the State Government had taken up any welfare scheme for the artistes who have been constantly bringing laurels to the State. Although, Meghalaya Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to open the National Film Institution in their State soon after the Centre announced the project, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi did nothing in this regard. Maintaining that the State Government can seek projects from Central Government agencies like Railways and Airports Authority of India etc, Th Chaoba said that the Ibobi led Congress Government is unaware of such projects but is only interested in waiting for Central funds. Construction of City Convention Centre has already been completed in Tripura, he said and added that the same project is moving in the State at snail’s pace. Expressing confidence that BJP candidate would emerge victorious in the Hiyanglam by-poll by a margin of not less than 2000 votes, he said that former MLA M Kunjo guided his son M Dhanabir to join BJP. Dhanabir became a member of BJP on March 7, 2014 and the party high command alloted the party's ticket to him as Dhanabir took active part in the election campaign of the Lok Sabha polls. Regarding, Yambem Laba’s allegation levelled against him, Chaoba said that he had filed a defamation suit worth Rs 50 crore against Laba. Saying that the matter is being investigated by CBI, Chaoba said that anybody who is convicted has to spend life in jail. NPF reprimands Gaikhangam Contd from page 1 Dy CM was making the statement. Pointing out that Gaikhangam had been made the Minister of Power, Forest, Health, Works, Horticulture, Education, IFCD, and TA&H, the NPF wanted to know what he had done for the people of his AC. It asked why Bishnupur-Khoupum road remains the worst of all in the State today; why the Khangsinlung Hr Sec School remains closed for one whole year; why the Khoupum Dam has failed to supply water to the farmers and why there is no power supply in Nungba AC till today. It also demanded to know why daily wages under MGNREGS are not available to the poor families; why PDS rice and other items are not distributed to the deserving households; where have the monthly sanctioned K-oil gone; where the food security is; why dispensaries and health centres in Nungba AC are not functional and how and where those MLADs are spent. The NPF also said that the public of Longpi are frustrated because all the village chiefs of the area have been bought by the Dy CM. All the chiefs are building houses and buying properties at CCpur and Imphal. The general public of the area thus are always put at the receiving ends. The NPF further derided the Dy CM saying he spoke as if he had discharged his responsibility sincerely and successfully in the public arena. It further reminded him of a saying, 'Clean your house before you go to clean others' houses.' Manipuri student attacked Contd from page 1 Describing the terrifying mob attack, he said, “A friend from my community, Letmang Haokip, 35, was passing by on his motorbike at the same time. I jumped onto the bike and we started racing towards the police station. But the mob followed us on their bikes and one of them crashed into us. We fell down and I started running for my life towards the police station. Just then a police patrol car arrived and the mob scattered.” Letmang, who could not leave his motorbike behind and escape, said, “I was surrounded by the gang when Michael ran away. They snatched my valuables and my bike’s documents. They would have probably killed me but Michael returned with the police.” Obed Haokip, 46, one of Michael’s friends, who arrived with the police patrol, claimed people close to a local politician helped some of the attackers escape. “This man pretended he was helping us but he actually allowed some of the attackers to escape.” Additional commissioner of police Alok Kumar said, “Three persons have been arrested and investigations are on to ascertain if this was a hate crime.” Michael said trouble started when they were at a roadside eatery. “Suddenly, three men came and started giving us orders in Kannada. All we could understand (through their gestures) is that they wanted us to move. But they started asking us all sorts of things and when we could not answer, they started raising the Kannada issue.” Bangalore is home to around 240,000 people from the North-East. In 2012, a rumour that they will be attacked had led to a mass exodus before things were brought under control by the State Government. Decks cleared for by poll Contd from page 1 be set up at each polling station besides providing adequate drinking water. Voters without voter slip would be allowed to exercise their franchise by producing any of the eleven identity proof documents authorised by the EC, O Nabakishore said. He added that the EVMs would be kept under guard by Central paramilitary personnel after the voting is over. AITC candidate seeks... Contd from page 1 and the one (him) supported by the people of Hiyanglam AC. Dr Radheshyam said that the level of development in Hiyanglam AC is distressing. He said that the growth and development of the Assembly segment is retarded since no previous people's representatives took up any development activities in the area. Dr Radheshyam asserted that he jumped into the poll fray, after serving the people as a medical practitioner, with a clear calling to bring in development in the Assembly segment which has been remaining underdeveloped since a long time back. DESAM condemns Contd from page 1 Harassments, physical and sexual assaults against North East people are regularly happening in different parts of mainland India although the Centre has assured to check such crimes in the past, he added. It is a serious crime to beat up a person for not speaking Kannada, Angamba said. Angamba said that Michael was beaten up by a group of local youth as he did not speak Kannada. Although, the youth hit him with a stone on the head and other parts of the body, Michael managed to escape from the their clutches, Angamba said. Saying that they however chased Michael for some distance, Angamba urged Chief Minister O Ibobi to take serious note of the incident. He demanded that a State Government representative be immediately sent to Bangalore to investigate the incident. Ravages of time hits Bunning Contd from page 1 There are around 51 households with a population of around 320 in the village. The main produces of the village are Kanglayen and Uyen. It further said that the Dy CM is a good talker but not a good doer.