TBSE withdraws book branding BJP communal party
Agartala: Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) on Wednesday decided to withdraw a text book which branded BJP as a communal party. “It has been decided to withdraw the book, because it was a mistake. We are going for a new syllabus, where the book will not be incorporated,” Amitava Debroy, president of TBSE told reporters here.
A chapter on “India’s party system” in the text book of political science for class XI, said one of the important characteristics of this system was the existence of communal parties.
“Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and Shiv Sena are among such parties, besides the BJP. Parties like the BJP, though not based on religion, succeeded in capturing power through communalisation of politics,” the book said.
Prasenjit Chakraborty, convener of BJP’s Intellectual Cell here, complained to Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath on March 16 that on the basis of the book, a school here recently set a question for students to identify the communal party from four parties — the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The party demanded immediate action against the guilty. (PTI)
Mizoram Cong condemns Assam’s high-handedness
Aizawl: The Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee has strongly condemned the “violence” unleashed by Assam officials, even as situation at the interstate boundary remained tense with police personnel of both sides being deployed on the disputed land. Mizoram home minister R Lalzirliana, accompanied by environment & forest minister Lalrinmawia Ralte and other officials today visited Buhchangphai village near the Assam border where the Assam officials allegedly dismantled farmhouses of Mizo farmers and snatched away sawn timbers. A resolution of the MPCC stated that the area where Assam forest and police officials demolished the farmhouses is within the territorial confine of Mizoram state. The MPCC in an unequivocal term condemned the actions of Assam officials and called for immediate intervention of the Central government to settle Mizoram-Assam boundary dispute or it will be compelled to reciprocate the Assam government’s action, the resolution said. Three platoons of Mizoram police are being deployed at the disputed land. (UNI)
Rhino killed by poachers in Kaziranga
Jorhat: A male adult rhino was killed and its horn taken away by poachers in Kaziranga National Park in Assam, taking the number of pachyderms killed this year to nine. Park personnel recovered the carcass of the rhino from near Borgung Camp on the western side of the Burapahar Range of the World Heritage Site, Forest department officials said on Wednesday. Used cartridges of an AK-47 rifle and .303 rifle were recovered from near the carcass, they said. (PTI)
Manipur govt to take steps to deal with water shortage
Imphal: Manipur government has decided to take all possible measures to supply water to the people in view of its acute shortage in the state due to no rainfall. The decision to take all possible measures was taken during a Cabinet meeting on Monday evening presided over by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, official sources said.Public Health and Engineering Department Minister Ngamthang Haokip said water at government tanks would last for next 20 days. Manipur government spokesman and Education Minister M Okendro said the state government would try to pass a legislation to solve the water crisis for forever and initiate steps to plant more trees around water sources, catchment areas, dredging of the river course to allow proper deposition of water and to punish anyone who cut trees at the catchment areas. “As for the moment, the first step would be to acquire water from sources where there is still water and supply it to the public,” he said. Water from big ponds at various localities and from Singda dam in Churachandpur district would be collected and supplied to public, the sources said. Private water suppliers in Imphal, who normally charge Rs 200 for one kilolitre, are now reportedly charging Rs 700 to Rs 800. (PTI)