Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal expands ministry; disgruntled BJP MLAs register protest, supporters launch silent march, bandhThis past April 24, nearly two years after he took over the reins of the state, Assam chief minister Sarbanada Sonowal expanded his ministry. The long awaited expansion move has, however, triggered instant discontent among some BJP hopefuls, with at least three of them protesting against their non-inclusion publicly by resigning from various posts, with supporters of one of them even going to the extent of calling a state-wide shutdown.Following the expansion of the Sonowal ministry, the existing number of eight Cabinet ministers has risen to 12, while the ministers of state with independent charge have gone up from two to five – taking the total strength from 11 to 18. The new cabinet ministers who took the oath of office at the Raj Bhavan included one MLA each from the BJP’s allies – the Asom Gana Parishad (Phani Bhushan Choudhury), and the Bodo People’s Front (Chandan Brahma) – and two from the BJP (Siddhartha Bhattacharya and Sum Rongphang). All the three MoS sworn in along with them were from the BJP (Pijush Hazarika, Bhabesh Kalita and Tapan Kumar Gogoi).However, hours after the swearing-in ceremony, a few BJP MLAs spoke to local media expressing their displeasure at denial of a ministerial berth. Veteran BJP MLA from Dibrugarh, Prasanta Phukan, was one of them. In protest, Phukan resigned from the party’s steering committee for the coming Panchayat elections, which he headed. He also resigned from the governing body of Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh. Speaking to reporters, he said, “Since I am not fit to be a minister, I should also not head these two committees. May be, I am not good enough; may be there are better people for these jobs too.” His supporters took out a silent march in Dibrugarh a day later. One of the protesters told a local news channel, “Since 2006, Phukan has been holding on to the Dibrugarh seat for the BJP and yet he was overlooked. Dibrugarh hasn’t had a minister for the last 25 years.”Aminul Haque Laskar, the BJP’s only Muslim MLA (from the Sonari constituency), also resigned from the state’s Haj Committee in protest. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks of sab ka saath sab ka vikas but this is the first ministry in the history of Assam which has no Muslim minister. Muslims in the state are unhappy about it,” he told local media.In Silchar, his supporters burnt tyres, raised slogans against Sonowal and senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, for ignoring MLAs of East Bengal origin in the ministry expansion. Sarbananda Sonowal. Credit: PTISupporters of BJP MLA from the Morigaon constituency, Rama Kanta Deuri, declared a state-wide bandh on April to protest against their leader’s non-inclusion in the Sonowal ministry. This was perhaps the first such bandh in the state. While the effect of the bandh was negligible in the rest of the state, in Deuri’s constituency, there was near shutdown, with supporters blocking vehicles, raising slogans and burning effigies of Sonowal, Sarma and the union minister of state for railways, Rajen Gohain, for not including a minister from the Tiwa community. BPF minister Pramila Rani Brahma also expressed her displeasure at removing her from the post of forest minister and being given social welfare instead. Prior to the expansion, Sonowal reportedly picked the names in consultation with BJP national president Amit Shah in New Delhi. While the chief minister hasn’t yet commented on the discontent of some of his MLAs over it, Sarma told the media, “Some senior MLAs were ignored in order to fulfil regional aspirations.”With 126-member in the assembly, the state government can have 19 ministers at the most.Sikkim: Former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia announces new regional partyConfirming speculations in the media circulating since the last year about him plunging into active politics, former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia has announced formation of a new regional party in his home state Sikkim which will contest the 2019 assembly polls.Bhaichung Bhutia. Credit: TwitterMaking the announcement at a press meet in New Delhi on April 26, Bhutia, who hails from South Sikkim, called the party Hamro Sikkim (Our Sikkim). Going live on Facebook from the press meet venue, Bhutia said, “Hamro Sikkim is dedicated to people of Sikkim. There are lot of policies that young generation like us feel isn’t going right. We want to make sure everybody is included in decision making.” He said it is not just his party alone but belonged to the people of Sikkim, comprising several eminent Sikkimese individuals, and he was just a part of it.“The anti-incumbency factor is strong in Sikkim. We have had the same government for the last 25 years. So there is lack of leaders in Sikkim. Through football, I have created young leaders and talents, so I will try to do now in politics, and if the people want, I will contest the 2019 polls,” he told reporters.The party would be formally launched in about two weeks’ time in Gangtok where the party president and a chief ministerial candidate for the assembly polls would be declared. Prior to announcing the party, Bhutia took out a Yuva Yatra from his native village Tinkitam and toured through all the four districts of the state. Calling the coming elections a “fight between black and clean money”, Bhutia urged the state chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling to lift his government’s ban on the entry of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the state, stating, “There are many allegations of corruption. If one is innocent and honest, one need not worry about investigations.”Talking about growing unemployment and suicide rates in the state, he also questioned the development model being followed by the Chamling government, in power since 1994. “Ours is a fragile ecosystem. So development has to be of sustainable model. What is the need for 39-40 hydel power projects? Even with those projects, there is no uninterrupted power supply. While we vouch for organic farming, the agricultural land is being taken away from the farmers by the pharmaceutical companies.”In a press note, the party said, “The state government gave huge subsidies and land to pharmaceutical companies to set shop. Today, they pollute most of our beautiful rivers with toxic waste. The dream that was sold (to people of Sikkim) was that these companies would provide jobs to local people, but these companies have preferred to import ‘skilled’ labour from outside. Our youth was left jobless.” This is Bhutia’s second stint in politics. Two years after he retired from active football, in 2013, he took up the offer of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to join Trinamool Congress. He contested from the state twice – in the 2014 parliamentary elections from Darjeeling and in the 2016 assembly elections from Siliguri – but failed to win either of the seats. Referring to those eelctoral losses, he told reporters in Delhi that in Bengal, he “was more of a star, dropped from the top, an outsider to the voters” and understood why they didn’t want to choose someone from outside the state. “But it is not the case in Sikkim; it is my home state,” he added. With the announcement of Bhutia’s party, there is an addition of three new regional parties to the political space of Sikkim since the last year. While Sikkim Republican Party was formed in February 2017, Sikkim Rajya Manch, started by Chamling’s brother R.N. Chamling, was announced in December 2017.Manipur: Government employees strike demanding implementation of the 7th pay commission recommendations enters 38th dayThe cease-work strike, being carried out by the employees of the Manipur government since March 22 demanding implementation of the seventh pay commission recommendations, entered the 38th day this April 28. Though its implementation was an electoral promise of the BJP, chief minister N. Biren Singh has expressed his government’s inability to adhere to it as it would need an allocation of Rs 1400 crores, a sum his treasury couldn’t afford without central help. As per a report in the local daily Sangai Express, the government’s current salary bill comes to Rs 200 crores. There are presently 98,845 regular employees and 45,523 pensioners. The pensioners also benefit if the recommendations are implemented.Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh. Credit: PTISoon after the Biren Singh government came to power, it formed a fitment committee under the state chief secretary to look into the matter. Even though the committee submitted its report, its non-implementation irked the employees, leading the two powerful employees union, All Manipur Trade Union’s Council and All Manipur Government Employees Organisation to, first, call a one-day strike in October 2017 before resorting to the ongoing indefinite strike. Though their representatives have met the chief minister a couple of times and submitted a charter of demands, no solution has been arrived at yet. The employees have been attending office regularly, but have refused to take up work as a mark of protest. To build pressure on the striking employees, the government had brought in retired employees on contract basis to complete the work before the financial year ended. Local media reports said since some employees on strike tried to disrupt work at some offices, the chief minister, in a meeting on March 25, decided to clamp various sections of IPC and Essential Services Maintenance Act including issuing warrants against some of the members of the Joint Action Committee of the two unions. Though N. Biren recently said he was open to have a re-look at the demands, the JAC has also included the demand of withdrawal of the warrants against the leaders. Meanwhile, the employees of various departments have been doing sit-in protests on a rotation basis to press on their demands.