Bangladesh's military intelligence DGFI will continue to play a "pivotal role" in that country :::: "Jamaat may play spoiler and Awami League is not dead"

The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), Bangladesh's premier military intelligence, will continue to play a "pivotal role" in Bangladesh in perhaps all sectors of governance - social and political, a keen Bangladesh watcher has said.

New Bangladesh PM : Tarique Rahman 

Addressing a seminar on 'Security Challenges to the North East : Assessment and Way Forward' -- the expert said - understanding the complex dynamics of Bangladesh army becomes crucial while trying to get a grasp of the security situations and the role that nation will play as India's eastern neighbour.  

"The ISI of Pakistan and DGFI are structured similarly... This started in 1975 when Bangabandhu (Sheik Mujib) was assassinated and therefore the nexus between the ISI and DGFI will continue". 

But he hastened to add that this nexus will continue to happen till Bangladesh army chief and the 'people in power' in Dhaka keep giving green signals. He also said few appointments and changes made in the Bangladesh army after the installation of Tarique Rahman-led BNP government in Dhaka give "enough positive signals vis-a-vis India".  

Another area that needs to be "monitored" is the growing influence of Turkish NGOs in Bangladesh. He said the growing influence of Jamaat as a political force cannot be ignored or underestimated. 

He Jamaat has got 31 per cent of votes making 68 seats has been a good show. The Jamaat has consolidated its position in Bangladesh politics over the last 15 years when Sheikh Hasina was in power and there was no effective opposition.  

Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir remains a very influential body, he said.

The Students' body Chhatra Shibir is a major Islamic student organization in Bangladesh that was established in 1977. It is considered as the de facto 'male student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami'. 

The organization traces its origins to the East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha, which has been the subject of controversy for its alleged involvement with the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.   

There are a few other aspects related to Bangladesh which are vital, he said. These include taking note of the fact that the Awami League is "not dead" but anti-Sheikh Hasina polity will sustain. This is also linked to pursuing anti-India politics in that country.  

Moreover, he cautioned that a section of Bangladeshi people and political elements have tasted the 'power of mobocracy' and this aspect needs to be kept in mind when policymakers would sit to deliberate on matters concerning that country. 

Importantly, Jamaat may play spoiler at times and it would have "disruptive power" too.  

ends 

One Likes it or not; Border fencing has to come, says Manipur Chief Minister's new advisor Lt Gen Nishikanta Singh (Retd)

"Assam Rifles is deeply ingrained in the social fabric of far east"

The BJP-led Manipur Govt asserted on Tuesday yet again that "Border fencing" is a must for northeastern India's point of view. 

"Border fencing has to be done whether people like it or not ... And also ... people like it or not, the Free Movement Regime (FMR) in new form has to be enforced because we cannot continue saying that during the time of Aurangzeb we used to crossover from north India to Myanmar," Manipur Chief Minister's new advisor Lt Gen Nishikanta Singh (Retd) said in Delhi. 

Addressing a seminar on 'Security Challenges to the North East : Assessment and Way Forward'; Lt Gen Nishikanta (advisor-coordination to new Manipur CM, Yumnam Khemchand Singh) said - " .... every tribe, every group will want more number of seats (in state assembly) because India being democracy; power lies in the number of seats".

On this backdrop he said " ... so everyone will say, we want delimitation; we want more seats. Today, we have a lot of debate on immigration. We also have environmental challenges posed by people clearing jungles and other things. Millions of trees have been planted in Manipur; but I do not know how many have really surprised".  

File snap: Lt Gen Nishikanta (Retd) 

 

He as of now there are a few serious challenges those ought to be handled carefully in states such as Manipur. They are - NRC, effective implementation of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), census. 

On this backdrop he went onto add: "People do not want Census till NRC is done.. and demand for delimitation". 

He also said forces like Assam Rifles are doing exemplary job in the north east.  

The central government move “to fence the India-Myanmar border” and “reconsider the Free Movement Regime (FMR)” was first made public by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Jan 20, 2024 in Guwahati.  

The FMR as a mechanism was decided India and Myanmar first in 1950 to allow 'natives' to move freely into each other's territories without passports or visas.

India and Myanmar share 1,643 kilometers of land border covering four Indian states – Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. The 1950 agreement underwent several changes over the years, and in 2004, India limited the free movement to 16 kilometers into India from the earlier 40 kilometers.

In 2018, India and Myanmar had signed the Agreement on Land Border Crossing to “facilitate regulation and harmonization of already existing free movement rights for people ordinarily residing in the border areas of both countries". 

Speaking on the occasion, DG Assam Rifles Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera said - "The Assam Rifles will keep on taking the initiative like this seminar (for outreach at the national level to understand complex dynamics of north east India)". 

"We have reached out to every students unions of north east communities in Delhi. Every year since last year we have Unity Utsav in which more than 3000 to 4000 students participate. Our liaison officer in Delhi can be contacted by students for any problem they face," he said. 

General Lakhera also said that - "We (Assam Rifles) is not the only para military force of India. We are deeply ingrained in the social fabric of far east of the country. Our troops speak every local dialect ... We believe battle cannot be won by gun battle has to be won by many other things. Gun is to protect". 

DGAR - Lt Gen Lakhera 

Security dynamics vis-a-vis India's eastern front and countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh were also discussed at the day long seminar. 

It was also addressed among others by Lt Gen P C Nair (Retd), former DG Assam Rifles.  

ends 

Priyanka Gandhi should have been LoP : Govt

 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju takes a jibe at Congress, 

says Priyanka Gandhi should have been LoP

Union Minister claimed that atleast 50 MPs from Opposition have personally met me and said that they dont agree with the no confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Till now no one ever questioned the Lok Sabha Speaker, he said. 

Launching an attack on the opposition, Union Minister said, "Why is this no-confidence motion being brought against Lok Sabha Spaker, till now no one has questioned the position of the Speaker. 

Now, it seems that the opposition's major intention is to attack the democracy by attacking the position of the Speaker."

One should be thankful to Om Birla for his contributions, he said

He said that the highest number of matters were raised during Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's time. Parliamentary democracy has been raised by Om Birla. He also worked to materialise 64 parliamentary friendship groups of different countries that have been formed under Om Birla, under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi. 

"One should not forget to be thankful to him for his good works".

Kiran Rijiju quotes Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s opening remarks during a no-confidence motion against the Speaker in 1954.

“I would beg honourable members sitting opposite, those who have signed it and those in duty-bound have supported it to read the thing which they have signed. Its a vicious thing, they have signed. I doubt whether the persons have read it before they have signed it.

If they have read it, they would have hesitated a hundred times before they sign that document... and yet seeing the manner in which this has been brought forward, and the wording used here, I say, it is a gross abuse of one’s intelligence and to ask anybody in this House to support this is to consider that...,” he said.

Gaurav Gogoi of Congress says that the LoP microphone was turned off, and Rahul Gandhi was continuously interrupted during his speech. He further says that the leadership of the country is weak.

One call from India and 'war' can be stopped !!!! :::: "We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough" ::: Global concern; How high could the oil price go?

Fears over the global economy have been stoked by the oil price soaring past $100 a barrel as a result on the US-Israel war with Iran.

More than 5,000 Iranian targets have been struck so far, Donald Trump says, adding that the US could take out all its remaining targets “in one day”.

Oil prices passed $119 a barrel on Monday, the highest level since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Continued closure of the strait of Hormuz could drive the price close to $150 a barrel, above the record high of $145.29 set in July 2008.

Economists say the increasing likelihood of a prolonged conflict in the vital energy exporting region could have serious consequences for living standards around the world amid the threat of a renewed inflation shock.

Against a highly uncertain backdrop, financial markets are under heavy selling pressure, consumers are facing rising prices, banks could be forced to increase borrowing costs and governments will come under pressure to support households and businesses. 

US Prez Donald Trump says Iran war will be over 'pretty quickly' but US hasn't 'won enough' yet, as Israel launches strikes on Tehran. 

He told CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, that the US is "ahead of schedule" - though he has previously said the war could last several weeks. Meanwhile, Israel says it has launched its second wave of strikes today against Tehran

Turkey, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar all say they have intercepted Iranian missiles today, while Israel says it has detected more attacks

Meanwhile, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the war in the Middle East is likely to put "upward pressure on inflation". 

In an interview with India Today TV, Hussain Hassan Mirza, the first UAE Ambassador to India, spoke about how India, which has good relations with both Israel and Iran, can help de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East.  

“India is a great country. The profile of India... the mere fact that one telephone call from Mr Modi to both Israel and Iran to stop, it will stop. One phone call,” Mirza said.

Air New Zealand, has increased flight fares and suspended its earnings guidance due to “unprecedented volatility in global jet fuel markets”.

"Within a week they were going to attack us 100%. They were ready. They had all these missiles far more than anyone thought, and they were going to attack us, but they were going to attack all of the Middle East and Israel.

"And if they had a nuclear weapon, they would have used it on Israel. And this was going to be a major attack. I know they had all of those missile sites and all those launchers that we got rid of," - Trump said.

Election Commission rebukes West Bengal DG (Law and Order) :::: Questions 'absence' of a Narcotics Advisory Committee

The EC questioned the absence of a Narcotics Advisory Committee in West Bengal, directing immediate corrective action.

The Poll panel has clearly told all enforcement agencies that there will be zero tolerance for lapses in election-related law and order or monitoring of illegal activities, a source said.  

When Director General of Police (DGP-law and order) Vineet Goyal attempted to respond, he was asked to ensure immediate corrective steps. Goyal was also told the poll body knew about his conduct pretty well

Gyanesh Kumar also questioned the role of the RBI, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Income Tax Department (I-T) during the meeting. The Commission had expected these agencies to play a more proactive role in preventing illegal financial transactions and the misuse of technology ahead of the elections.

Officials from around 24 state and central agencies attended the meeting. The Commission warned that assuming its monitoring would last only a month and a half during the election period would be a serious mistake. 

The CEC made it clear that proven deliberate irregularities or negligence would result in strict action.

Vineet Goyal has courted controversy earlier too. As the then Kolkata Police Commissioner he had apologised (in 2025) to the Calcutta High Court for unintentionally revealing the RG Kar rape-murder victim's name. 

The court accepted the apology but stressed the need for caution in sensitive cases. The bench reiterated that such conduct by a senior cop was/is inappropriate, and it emphasised the need for institutional caution moving forward.

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The West Bengal excise department has been instructed to prevent increased production and distribution of intoxicants and illegal liquor production.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been directed to monitor financial transactions to prevent the use of black money to influence voters.

District election officers presented preparedness plans, highlighting challenges in border districts.  

Stepping up antagonism with the West Bengal Govt; Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday (March 9) warned that any lapse in maintaining law and order in the run up to assembly elections would not be tolerated. 

 

The issues Narcotics Advisory Committee came up at the meeting of the full bench of the Election Commission with senior state administrative and police and law enforcement officials to assess preparedness for the assembly elections scheduled to be held in April.

The EC cautioned state authorities that any negligence in maintaining law and order or ensuring free and fair elections would invite strict action.  

According to the officials, the CEC sought an explanation from the state police on why West Bengal does not have a Narcotics Advisory Committee like other states. The full EC panel is on a visit to the state where polls are due along with Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.  

During Monday's meeting in Kolkata, the district election officers and superintendents of police from various districts also made presentations on the preparedness in their respective jurisdictions.

They gave detailed presentations on the challenges they face and the measures being taken to address them, particularly in districts that share borders with other states and Bangladesh.

The SIR issue remains a major bone of contention between the EC and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. 

Nand Kishore Yadav as Nagaland Governor; What PM Modi is telling Nagas ??? ----- Courtesy The Raisina Hills

Whether that constitutional role extends to nudging a peace process — or simply managing the status quo — remains to be seen."

Courtesy - The Raisina Hills 

 By NIRENDRA DEV

The appointment of Nand Kishore Yadav as the new Governor of Nagaland was formally announced on March 5, 2026, following approval from President Droupadi Murmu, as part of a wider administrative reshuffle across nine states and Union Territories.

The move has surprised many political observers — and satisfied few of them. A low-profile Bihar politician has been entrusted with one of the country’s most politically sensitive constitutional posts. 

While Bihar’s ruling establishment has celebrated warmly, those watching the long-stalled Naga peace process are asking a harder question: what does this appointment say about New Delhi’s strategic seriousness toward Nagaland?

Who Is Nand Kishore Yadav?

Yadav is a senior BJP leader with deep roots in the RSS, having begun his ideological journey with the organisation in 1969 and joining the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in 1971. 

He entered electoral politics as a councillor in the Patna Municipal Corporation in 1978, and was elected Deputy Mayor of Patna in 1982.

He represented the Patna Sahib constituency in the Bihar Legislative Assembly for more than three decades, serving across successive NDA governments with portfolios including Road Construction, Urban Development, Tourism, and Health. Most recently, he served as the 17th Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 2024 to 2025.

However, Yadav was denied a ticket in the November 2025 Bihar assembly elections — after which his trajectory pointed, quite clearly, toward a constitutional posting rather than continued electoral politics.

A Smart Bihar Move — But What About Nagaland?

The political logic from Bihar’s perspective is easy enough to decode. With the BJP set to claim the chief ministership of Bihar for the first time after decades of ceding the top post to Nitish Kumar's JD (U), the party’s central leadership needed to gracefully transition senior Bihar figures out of direct electoral competition. 

Elevating Yadav to a gubernatorial role achieves precisely that — with dignity, and without creating internal friction.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary summarised the mood in the BJP camp: “Nand Kishore Yadav has been a senior leader of Bihar and worked for the BJP-Jan Sangh for a long time. For this appointment, I thank Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi.”

From the standpoint of Bihar’s political arithmetic, this is a shrewd move. But when the lens shifts to Nagaland, the calculus changes entirely.

The Naga Peace Process: Still Waiting for a Signal

The Naga political issue has defied resolution for decades. 

A Governor, however experienced or well-connected, cannot by themselves unlock a peace settlement — particularly when the principal armed stakeholder, the NSCN-IM, continues to insist on two foundational demands: 

-- a separate Naga constitution and a distinct Naga flag. 

These are demands the Government of India has consistently declined to accept, and no gubernatorial appointment changes that fundamental deadlock.

What the appointment of Yadav does signal — to those watching closely — is that the Centre does not appear to have a fresh or urgent strategy on the Naga issue ahead of the 2028 Nagaland assembly elections. The impression of adhocism is difficult to avoid.

The “Status Quo club” among overground political elements in Nagaland has long been seen as a force that effectively stalls any final solution pact — an arrangement that suits multiple parties, including those currently in power. The question this appointment prompts is whether New Delhi has, at least tacitly, decided to let the NPF-BJP government in Kohima continue its run through to 2028 — stable, safe, and largely performance-free — rather than push for a breakthrough that no one is quite ready to absorb.

The Bihar-Nagaland Parallel: Patience, Sacrifice — and a Lesson

There is a striking structural parallel between how the BJP has managed Bihar and how it is managing Nagaland.

In Bihar, the party held more Legislative Assembly seats than Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) after the 2020 elections — yet continued to cede the chief ministership to Kumar as a matter of coalition necessity. 

In Nagaland, the BJP has similarly allowed its partner NDPP, led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, to contest 40 of the 60 assembly seats, accepting a secondary role in the coalition despite its own organisational ambitions in the state.

Rio’s political longevity also mirrors Kumar’s — both have governed their respective states for over two decades. Yadav replaces Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who had been holding the additional charge of Nagaland since the death of Governor La. Ganesan on August 15 last year. 

The prolonged vacancy itself speaks to how much bandwidth the Centre has devoted to the Nagaland question.

The BJP’s strategic patience in such alliance arrangements is notable. 

But Bihar has now shown what that patience eventually yields: when the moment comes, the party moves decisively and takes what it has earned. Regional allies of the BJP — in Nagaland, and elsewhere — would do well to understand the pattern.

The R N Ravi Factor: What His Appointment Tells Us

One piece of political intelligence that has circulated in Nagaland circles deserves a corrective. 

For months, some political figures in Kohima had fed the narrative that former Nagaland Governor R N Ravi — who was notably outspoken on extortion networks operating in the state — had fallen out of favour with the Centre, and particularly with Home Minister Amit Shah.

The latest gubernatorial reshuffle, which included the appointment of R N Ravi as the Governor of West Bengal, effectively puts that narrative to rest. 

Ravi’s elevation to one of the country’s most politically significant and high-profile Raj/Lok Bhavans is an unmistakable signal that he retains the confidence of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. 

His earlier transfer from Nagaland to Tamil Nadu — and now to West Bengal — was career progression, not punishment.

Those in Nagaland’s political class who built their calculations on Ravi’s perceived marginalisation may wish to revise their reading of New Delhi’s intentions.

The Decline of the NPF and the BJP’s Long Game

The Naga People’s Front (NPF) — once the dominant regional force in Nagaland under leaders like  Shurhozelie, and Vamuzo — is a significantly diminished political entity today. 

It has increasingly become a home for defectors and political survivors rather than an organisation with a distinct ideological identity or grassroots energy.

The formation of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation-backed FNTA (Frontier Nagaland Territory Accord) framework has added a new dimension to the state's internal political geography — one that reflects both the desire for greater autonomy among eastern Naga tribes and the fragmentation of the post-NDPP political landscape.

Against this backdrop, the BJP’s strategic patience in Nagaland begins to look like something more calculated. By 2028, or at the latest by 2033, the party’s groundwork — built steadily through alliance management, organisational expansion, and the caste arithmetic of its “Yadav” governor appointment, which carries its own symbolic messaging — could position the BJP as the natural political choice for a new generation of Nagaland voters, much as it has become the dominant force across the Hindi heartland.

A Note on the New Governor’s Profile

Like his predecessor La. Ganesan, Nand Kishore Yadav carries strong RSS roots — but the two men are markedly different in temperament and political background.

Ganesan was, in many respects, a product of the idealist old guard of Tamil Nadu’s RSS tradition: principled, somewhat removed from the rough-and-tumble of coalition management, and not particularly equipped for the political complexities of Nagaland.

Yadav, by contrast, is a Bihari neta forged in the competitive politics of one of India’s most politically intense states. 

He has managed coalitions, survived Bihar’s volatile caste arithmetic, and spent three decades navigating the corridors of the Patna Secretariat. If nothing else, he brings a sharpness to the Raj Bhavan that has been absent for some time.

In his first public statement following the appointment, 

Yadav said: “I will play my role in the development of Nagaland within the limits of the Constitution.”

Whether that constitutional role extends to nudging a peace process that has stalled for years — or simply managing the status quo until the next election cycle — remains to be seen.

(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are author’s own.)

"I have never seen such irresponsible opposition party in my life time," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju blasts Opp. as they ran shy of debating Motion against Lok Sabha Speaker

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju blasts Opposition parties in Lok Sabha as they ran shy of debating Motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.  

"I have never seen such irresponsible opposition party in my life time," he said even as opposition members were raising slogans and displaying placards demanding discussions on West Asia.

The No Trust Motion against Speaker On Birla was brought by Opposition members in Feb during the first half of the Budget session. Under the rule, this Motion has to be taken up on priority basis. 

Kiren Rijiju said the opposition members were "confused" and they did not know which issue to be flagged how and when.

Bringing in another adjournment motion when the No Confidence Motion against Speaker has not been taken up; it was an act of irresponsibility and showed absence of "decorum" and showed no adherence to the rules of the House.

"This opposition does not understand the basic ethics of the House," he said.  

 Lok Sabha chair Jagadambika Pal on Monday flayed the opposition parties and said they were being "irresponsible" as the motion initiated by them was not allowed to be taken up. 

"You are being irresponsible", he told K C Venugopal of Congress and other members. Pal said - it is truly unbecoming of Opposition members that they were not allowing the House to function when for his part Speaker Om Birla has taken "high moral ground" and has declined to chair the proceedings of the House. 

The House was first adjourned for about three hours but the stalemate continued even after the Lok Sabha met after 3 pm. 

The House was then adjourned for the day. 

Kiren Rijiju slammed the opposition parties for 'surrendering' to the whims and fancies of LoP Rahul Gandhi and went onto remark -- "aap log kya chahten haen, ek parivar, ek aadmi ... pura desh ka Maharaja hae kya".   

Apparently there is a division among Opposition parties on the No Trust motion against Speaker. Earlier in the day, outside Parliament, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav said her party was keen for discussions on West Asia.  

The BJP issued whip to Lok Sabha members directing them to attend the proceedings of March 9 and 10.  

All eyes are also on the Substantive Motion moved against Rahul Gandhi by BJP's vocal lawmaker Nishikant Dubey  

"All members of the BJP in Lok Sabha are therefore requested to be positively present in the House on both the days and support the government's stand," the BJP directive said. 

The opposition parties led by Congress submitted a no-confidence notice seeking the removal of the Lok Sabha Speaker.

It was signed by 118 MPs.  

Last month during the session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had schooled LoP Rahul Gandhi for not following proper Parliamentary procedure during a debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha.

After Rahul Gandhi gave "permission" to another MP to speak while he was speaking, the Speaker said, "Who are you to give this permission? You can't give permission, that's my right".

"You have no right to allow anyone, only the chair has the right to allow."

Om Birla chided Mr Gandhi after the Congress leader, while delivering his remarks, paused and indicated to BJP MP Kamlesh Paswan who was on his feet and wanted to say something. "I am a democratic person and I will allow the other person to speak," Mr Gandhi had said earning a sharp rebuke from the Speaker. 

If the opposition parties do not move the No Confidence Motion against Lok Sabha Speaker, it would be anoher self-goal by the Congress and its associates and allies.  

ends