Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

U-turn saved MLA Bijoy Koijam’s life: Imphal, Apr 25: It was an unscheduled U-turn that probably saved Congress MLA Bijoy Koijam’s life as the scooter bomb went off in the heavily-fortified VIP Colony here yesterday. Had the ruling party MLA from Thongju of Imphal East not made a U-turn after coming out of his official quarters, his three-vehicle convoy would have received the full impact of the blast that left three bystanders wounded. “I was starting out of my quarters around 10am. But as soon as I spotted the lone scooter parked on the roadside, I got suspicious and immediately asked my drivers and guards to take a U-turn back to my quarters, which was close by. If I had proceeded, the scooter bomb would have exploded as I passed by. I thanked god. The bomb exploded as soon as my car stopped at my gate,” a shaken Koijam told The Telegraph this morning. Koijam, however, could not say whether he was the target. “I cannot say whether I was the target. What I know for sure is that had I...

Student body denied audience: Imphal, Jan 11: Manipur Students' Association, Delhi (MSAD) has decried conduct of the Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh for turning down the appointment granted even after making its delegates to await from 10 am to 5.30 pm on Friday. The delegates have reportedly gone to meet the Chief Minister to discuss the issues related to the problems being faced by the students in the light of the recent molestation of two girl students from Manipur at the National Capital. In a statement, the student body observed that recurrence of the incidents of molestation and harassing of Manipuri students at the National Capital has shown that there is no one to protect them. If the Chief Minister of Manipur himself does not respect the students of the state then who is going to respect them?, it questioned. The student body, however, expressed its gratitude to MLA Oken and MLA Bijoy Koijam for visiting their victims at their Gandhi Vihar rented house and extending their mor...

‘Rebels’ leave for Delhi: Imphal, Dec 15: To continue their political camp at Delhi, twelve rebel MLAs left Imphal on Saturday. Staying there, the rebel MLAs will be insisting upon AICC leaders including North East in-charge Prithiviraj Chauhan to remove O Ibobi from the post of Manipur Chief Minister. The MLAs who left for Delhi on Saturday include Govindas Konthoujam, T Mangibabu, Dr Kh Ratankumar, W Brajabidhu, I Hemochandra, L Nandakumar, M Hemanta, M Oken, M Manindra, Y Surchandra, Meghachandra and Bijoy Koijam. AICC North East in-charge Prithiviraj Chauhan who noted opinions of the both the dissident camp and supporters of Chief Minister O Ibobi during his visit to the State recently will be submitting his report to the AICC high command on his arrival at Delhi from Karnataka. Before Prithiviraj Chauhan submits his report, the dissident MLAs will be making a final push to change the CLP leadership. The persisting campaign of the rebel MLAs to oust O Ibobi from being Chief Ministe...

‘Rebel’ MLAs return on confident note: Imphal, Dec 8: After camping for about a month at Delhi to lobby with the AICC leadership to remove O Ibobi from the chair of Chief Minister, twelve dissident Congress MLAs returned to Imphal on Saturday riding a wave of confidence. However just to make sure that there are no last minute hiccups, the rebels have decided to continue with their camp at Imphal too. The twelve Congress rebel MLAs who landed at Tulihal airport on an Indigo flight Saturday morning included I Hemochandra, Y Surchandra, M Hemanta, W Brajabidhu, Govindas Konthoujam, M Manindra, K Meghachandra, Bijoy Koijam, T Mangibabu, L Nandakumar, Kh Ratan Kumar and T Manga Vaiphei. The 12 MLAs were received by a team led by Heirok Assembly Constituency MLA M Okendra and others at the airport. The MLAs were whisked away by a canter from the airport to the official quarters of Uripok AC MLA L Nandakumar to continue with their camp at Lamphel. Bijoy Koijam, who is being regarded as the ...