cdn.splessons.com...HC upholds conviction of 4 for Gikki murder Palwal headed for photo-finish Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 16 Palwal seems headed

HC upholds conviction of 4 for Gikki murder

Palwal headed for photo-finishBhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 16 Palwal seems headed for aphoto-finish, a repeat of 2014.Congress’ Karan Singh Dalaland BJP’s Deepak Mangla,the CM’s outgoing politicalsecretary, are locked in a fierceneck and neck fight here. In2014, Mangla had lost by 5,642

votes in a triangular contest,with the INLD’s SubhashChaudhary on the third spot.

Chaudhary, who is a Gujjar,has since joined the BJP.

“Both Dalal and Mangla aregoing strong. The winningmargin is expected to be notmore than 4,000-5,000 votes,”observes Lelu Ram, a resi-dent of Kushak village. “AsChaudhary didn’t get theticket, so Gujjars could be the

continued on page 11

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 16More than eight years afterGurkirat Sekhon, aka Gikki,was shot dead in Jalandhar,the Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court today upheld theconviction and life termawarded to four convicts bythe trial court.

Gikki was allegedly shot in

front of his father on April 21,2011. The case came as anembarrassment for the thenSAD-led government as theyoung hotelier from Jaland-har, Gikki, was allegedly tar-geted by former MLA Sarab-jit Makkar’s nephewRamsimran Singh Makkar,aka Prince Makkar, also anSAD councillor.

The four, Prince Makkar,

Amardeep Singh (alias Sun-ny), Jasdeep Singh Jassu andAmarpreet Singh Narula,had moved the HC after aGurdaspur court sentencedthem to life imprisonment forculpable homicide notamounting to murder andcommon intention underSections 304(1) and 34 of theIPC in August 2015.


Ayodhya hearing ends,SCverdict expected by Nov 15Satya PrakashTribune News Service

New Delhi, October 16After 40 days of marathonday-to-day hearing, theSupreme Court on Wednes-day reserved its verdict inthe Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute.

A five-judge ConstitutionBench headed by Chief Jus-tice of India Ranjan Gogoi,hearing the matter sinceAugust 6, reserved the ver-dict and asked the parties tomake written submissionswithin three days on ‘mould-ing of relief’ or narrowingdown of relief.

The Bench, which alsoincluded Justice SA Bobde,Justice DY Chandrachud,Justice Ashok Bhushan andJustice S Abdul Nazeer, isseized of 14 cross-appealsagainst the Allahabad HighCourt’s September 30, 2010,judgment equally dividingthe 2.77-acre disputed land between Ram Lalla,Nirmohi Akhara and Mus-lims. While the appeals were filed in 2010 itself, thematter could not be taken

continued on page 11more on page 7

New Delhi, October 16The Enforcement Directoratearrested former Finance Min-ister P Chidambaram in Tiharjail today in connection withits probe in the INX Mediamoney laundering case as itnow prepares to put himthrough extensive grillingsessions, officials said.

Following yesterday's courtorders allowing the agencyto interrogate and arresthim, if necessary, in the case,a three-member team brieflyquestioned 74-year-old Chi-dambaram and placed himunder arrest under provi-sions of the PMLA. — PTI

India to be rid ofinfiltrators by2024, says ShahSumedha SharmaTribune News Service

Gurugram, October 16“India has suffered owing toinfiltration but now withNRC, we will uproot it. Ipromise before the end of2024, India will be rid of infil-trators and illegal residents.The NRC will be implement-ed with an iron fist,” declaredUnion Home Minister andBJP president Amit Shah at arally here today.

He claimed Congress leaderRahul Gandhi was jealous ofPM Narendra Modi’s fame.Addressing him as Rahul‘baba’ in his speech, he said,“He may not like it, but Modihas created a place in historyand the name shall echo forages to come, thanks to the firmstep taken on Kashmir.”

He challenged Hooda and‘Rahul baba’ to publicly clar-ify their stand on abrogationof Article 370.


Vatican dismisses plea byKerala nun on expulsionKochi: The Vatican has dis-missed an appeal by a Keralanun, challenging the FranciscanClarist Congregation decision toexpel her for ‘failing to give a sat-isfactory reply’ on her lifestyle.Sister Lucy Kalappura wasexpelled in August. BACK PAGE

Headmaster suspended overUrdu prayers in UP schoolPilibhit: The headmaster of a gov-ernment-run school was suspend-ed after the VHP complained hewas making children recite anUrdu prayer. But Furkan Ali, theheadmaster of Bisalpur PrimarySchool, pointed out kids were alsoreciting ‘Saraswati Vandana’. PTI

IN BRIEF

TANWAR BACKS DUSHYANT, BLASTS CONGWe have laid land mines and the arrogant (Cong

leaders) are bound to step on these. We are launchingsurgical strike on corrupt leaders. Ashok Tanwar, CONG HRY EX-CHIEF PAGE 7

13FUNDAMENTALS OF ECONOMY ‘VERY VERY

STRONG’: CEA SUBRAMANIAN PAGE 12DROWN IN SHAME OVER370: PM TO OPPN PAGE 7

chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.3 no.287 | 16 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881

INX: PC grilled,held in Tihar

❝

2019HARYANA POLLS

IN HOODA BASTION, VILLAGERSCONFIDENT HE’LL BE BACKDUSHYANT MOVES HIGH

COURT FOR SECURITY

GRUESOME KILLING■ Night of April 20-

21, 2011:Gikkishot in Jalandhar’sModel Townaround 12.45 am

■ April 21, 2011: FIR filedunder various sections of theIPC and the Arms Act. The trial was later shifted out toGurdaspur on the HC orders.

‘Surgical strike on corrupt’

WHAT THE THREE MAIN PARTIES CONTEND RAM LALLA .■ Faith of millions of Hindus

attached, who believe LordRam born in Ayodhya

■ Hindus praying there forcenturies

■ ASI’s excavations confirmtemple beneath mosque

■ Muslim parties’ adversepossession claim provesland not with them earlier

NIRMOHI AKHARA .■ Devotee of Lord Ram for

several centuries; has man-agement and “shebaitiright” over disputed land

■ Land in its possession forseveral decades — Muslimparties too admit it

■ Puja done by pujari appoint-ed by it in the past

SUNNI WAQF BOARD .■ Temple wasn’t ever

razed to build themosque; it’s possi-ble that it was avacant plot

■ Ram born in Ayodhya, butnot at the disputed site

■ Once a mosque always amosque (relies on histori-ans’ report, as also adversepossession)

■ Status quo ante Dec 6,1992, demolition of Babrimosque be restored

2ND-LONGEST HEARING

Ayodhya case has becomeIndia’s second longest oral hear-ing, the first being the historicKeswananda Bharti (1973) casethat went on for 68 workingdays and led to propounding ofthe basic structure theory

Mediation panel ‘files’settlement agreementTribune News Service

NewDelhi/Lucknow, October 16Amid speculation over a possi-ble amicable solution to thevexed dispute at Ayodhya, theUP Sunni Wakf Board is said tohave agreed to give up its claimon the disputed site, if Mus-lims’ interests were protected.

The board is understood tohave demanded 22 dilapidat-ed mosques be reconstruct-ed, sources said. It has alsodemanded Muslims beallowed to offer namaz inmosques under the control ofASI. A settlement agreementto this effect is understood tohave been filed in the topcourt by the mediation panelled by Justice FMI Kalifulla.A five-judge ConstitutionBench headed by the CJI islikely to consider the media-tion panel’s report at in-chamber hearing tomorrow.

Sources said Ram Janmab-hoomi Nyas and Ram Lallahad not signed the agree-ment, neither had some ofthe Muslim parties. A reportfrom Lucknow too said UPSunni Central Waqf Board

chief ZA Farooqui had writ-ten to the mediation panel,listing conditions. The con-tents of the letter were notshared. A mention of it wasmade at the October 10 meet-

ing of ‘Indian Muslims ForPeace’ in Lucknow. RetiredIAS officer Anis Ansari hadtold the media that sugges-tions made by it had beenendorsed by Farooqui.

Likely to be considered during in-chamber hearing today

Mahant Ramdas of Nirmohi Akhara & Jamaat Ulama-e-Hind chief. PTI

Pakistan to stayon FATF grey list Islamabad, October 16The Financial Action TaskForce (FATF) has decided, inprinciple, to keep Pakistanin grey list till February2020, directing Islamabad totake extra measures forcomplete elimination of ter-ror-financing and money-laundering, according tomedia reports.

At a meeting in Paris onTuesday, it reviewed meas-ures taken by Pakistan so far,Dawn News reported. A for-mal announcement about theinterim developments will bemade on Friday—the last dayof the FATF’s ongoing ses-sion, the report said.

The final decision on Pak-istan’s position will be takenin February 2020. But Pak-istan’s Finance Ministryspokesperson OmarHameed Khan rejected thereports, saying “it is not trueand nothing before October18 (can be confirmed)”. — PTI

Punjab traderkilled in ValleyAnantnag, October 16A Punjab-based apple traderwas killed and anotherinjured in a militant attack inShopian district this evening.

Charanjeet Singh, 41, fromFerozepur and SanjeevKumar, 24, from Gurdaspurdistricts were shot at Trenz vil-lage by a group of militants

around 7.30 pm, police said.They were taken to the districthospital, where Charanjeetsuccumbed. Sanjeev’s condi-tion was stated to be critical.

In Pulwama, SK Sagar, a 22-year-old labourer fromChhattisgarh, was shot at abrick kiln. Three militantswere killed and a soldierinjured in a gunfight inPazalpora area of Bijbeharain Anantnag. — TNS & PTI

PSBs were worse off under Singh, Rajan: FMNewYork, October 16Public sector banks had the“worst phase” under the“combination” of formerPrime Minister ManmohanSingh and ex-RBI GovernorRaghuram Rajan, and givingthe ailing banks a “lifeline”was her primary duty now,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has said.

The public sector banks(PSBs) have been grappling

with bad loans and the Centrehas been taking measures to address the issue.

In August, the governmentannounced capital infusion ofRs 70,000 crore for PSBs.“Besides, 10 PSBs are beingconsolidated into four,”Sitharaman said.

Delivering a lecture hereon Tuesday, the FinanceMinister said: “It was duringRajan’s time that loans were

given just based on phonecalls from crony leaders andpublic sector banks in Indiatill today are depending on

the government’s equityinfusion to get out of thatmire. Dr Singh was thePrime Minister then.”

“I’m sure Dr Rajan willagree that Dr Singh wouldhave had a ‘consistent artic-ulated vision’ for India,” theFinance Minister said deliv-ering a lecture at the Colum-bia University’s School ofInternational and PublicAffairs. — PTI

Registration fromOct 20 for Kartarpur Tribune News Service

Dera Baba Nanak, October 16Dismissing apprehensionsover scheduled completion ofwork on the Indian side of theKartarpur corridor, the gov-ernment today said an onlineregistration portal for pil-grims would become func-tional from next Monday.

Talking to a media teamfrom Delhi at zero line on theInternational Border (IB),Additional Secretary in theMHA and chairman of LandPort Authority of India(LPAI) Govind Mohan said, “Iwant to say that we will provewrong all those who doubtedus on meeting the work com-pletion deadline. I amabsolutely confident that theentire project, including theroad construction and pas-senger terminal buildingwork, will be completed asper schedule on October 31.”

Claiming that subject tothe final agreement between

India and Pakistan on oper-ationalising the corridor,Mohan said the LPAI, whichwill eventually manage thefacilities at the port, “willlaunch an online registra-tion portal on October 20”.

On how pilgrims will beallotted date and time toundertake pilgrimage, hesaid, “Yes we have a limit of5,000 pilgrims per day. So, wewill follow the Railwaysreservation system of firstcome, first served.”

$5 TN REALISABLE

India has become a $2.7tn economy, having added$1 tn. The $5 tn aim by2024-25 is challenging, butrealisable. Nirmala Sitharaman, FM.

NO SPECIAL TREATMENT Patiala: SGPC chief GobindSingh Longowal on Wednesdaysaid all VIPs, including PMModi, would participate in GuruNank’s 550th birth anniversarycelebrations at Sultanpur Lod-hi as ‘sangat’. “No one will begiven special place on thestage,” he said. Claiming thestage would be set fromNovember 1, he said govern-ment and SGPC were togetherin celebrating the event. TNS.

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/thetribunechd /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com thursday, october 17,2019

UK RACES AGAINST TIME FORBREXIT DEAL PAGE 13

Bajrang Punia with Shako Bentinidis.

NewDelhi, October 16With only nine months to gofor the Olympic Games,wrestler Bajrang Punia,India’s best bet to win a medalat Tokyo 2020, has parted wayswith his longtime coachShako Bentinidis of Georgia.

Punia could get a replace-ment soon. Cuba’s YandroMiguel Quintana, winner ofthe 60kg gold at the 2004Athens Olympics, has beenauditioning for the coach’sjob with the Indian star forthe past few days. — TNS

detailed report on page 14

Wrestler Puniafires his coach

3 MILITANTS SHOT

COUNSEL TEARS MAPCounsel for Muslim partiesRajeev Dhavan tore up apictorial map showing theexact birthplace of LordRam during the hearingsin the Supreme Court onWednesday. PAGE 7

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi-led Bench made itclear that it would concludethe hearing by Wednesday,saying : “This matter is goingto be finished today by 5 pm. Enough is enough.”

‘MUSLIMS FOR PEACE’ HAD PROPOSED...■ Handing over the land with the Muslims to the Centre■ Status quo of religious places since 1947 at other places■ Juma namaz at various religious monuments under ASI

THE TRIBUNE02 CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 17 OCTOBER 2019PUNJAB


Amritsar, October 16Acting on Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh’s ini-tiative for joint celebrationsof 550th birth anniversary ofGuru Nanak Dev at Sultan-pur Lodhi, Akal TakhtJathedar Giani HarpreetSingh today directed theSGPC to submit the detail ofprogrammes chalked by it tomark the occasion.

The issue is expected toreach a conclusion as theJathedar has announced totake the viewpoint of fivehigh priests, who are sched-uled to meet at Akal Takhtsecretariat on October 21.

He stated that the SGPChad planned various pro-grammes commencing from

November 1 to 12, whichwould be reviewed. He alsosaid as per Guru Nanak’s phi-losophy of “Sanjhi Varta” (col-lective voice), efforts would bemade to hold joint pro-grammes for one or two days.

As of now, there are sepa-rate venues at SultanpurLodhi. The SGPC has hiredGuru Nanak Stadium, locat-ed at a distance of 100 yardsfrom Gurdwara Ber Sahib tohold the key events. Thegovernment has erected atent city by spending Rs 52crore at the backside of the

historical gurdwara for theevent. It is for Akal Takht todecide the final stage wherethe main event of Novem-ber 12 would be held.

The CM had yesterdayproposed to hold the mainevents for two days at Sul-tanpur Lodhi on November11 and 12 under the patron-age of Akal Takht and incollaboration with theSGPC. As per the proposal,no political speeches wouldbe allowed at the main func-tion, during which only thejathedars of the five Takhts,

the head priest of GoldenTemple, the PM (or any sen-ior representative of theCentre), former PM DrManmohan Singh, the CMand SGPC president wouldbe present on the stage.

The SGPC has scheduledvarious gurmat pro-grammes and dharmiksammelans at GurdwaraBer Sahib, which is expect-ed to be attended by ChiefMinisters of various states.

Meanwhile, SGPC chiefGobind Singh Longowaltoday said all VIPs would betreated as ‘sangat’. Thestage would be set fromNovember 1, he said, addingthat the government andthe SGPC were together incelebrating the historicalevent. He said the SGPCwould act as per directionsof the Akal Takht Jathedar.

He, however, stressed thatthe SGPC had been organis-ing religious programmesand key representatives ofruling state government,irrespective of the partylines, participated in it.

Day after CM’s offer, Jathedarsays will review SGPC eventsJOINT FESTIVITIES Final decision after high priests’ meet on Oct 21

The SGPC has planned various eventsstarting November 1, which will be reviewed.Asper Guru’s philosophy of ‘Sanjhi Varta’,efforts will be made to hold joint eventsGiani Harpreet Singh, JATHEDAR, AKAL TAKHT

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WILL FOLLOW TAKHT DIRECTIONS: LONGOWALSGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal said they would act as perdirections of the Akal Takht Jathedar. He said all VIPs, includ-ing the PM, would participate in the Gurpurb celebrations atSultanpur Lodhi as ‘sangat’ and no one would be given spe-cial place on the stage. He also said the government and theSGPC were together in celebrating the historical event.

Ravi DhaliwalTribune News Service

Dera Baba Nanak, October 16The BSF, which has beentasked with securing theKartarpur corridor, is facingacute shortage of accommo-dation. Senior officers aregrappling with the logisticaldilemma of lodging an extrabattalion, comprising ofnearly 1,000 personnel,needed for the purpose.

After the Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA) askedthe force to protect the pas-sage, Integrated Check Post(ICP) and to ensure that the20,000 odd pilgrims, whowill be staying back everyday after 5,000 cross over,remain safe, its officershave been holding regularmeeting to find a solution.

A DIG-rank officer saidthe Land Ports Authority ofIndia (LPAI) had washed itshands off the matter sayingit could build permanentquarters only in the lastphase. “Right now, the con-struction activity that fallsin the first phase is going onand nobody knows whenthe third phase will start.

Till then, where will our sol-diers stay?” he asked.

The number of personnelto be actually deployed atthe corridor on a day-to-daybasis remains in the realmsof speculation.

Officers say it all dependsupon situations evolvingdaily. The force is thinkingof establishing a tent city inits border outpost (BoP)Shikkhar Massian, 8 kmfrom the corridor.

“Providing security coveris going to be a gigantic taskin itself. On November 12,when the 550th birthanniversary of Guru NanakDev is celebrated, more than40,000 people are expectedto come to Dera BabaNanak. All we can do is tokeep our fingers crossed and

pray for some divine inter-vention,” said an officer onduty at the site.

Cabinet Minister Sukhjin-der Singh Randhawa, who issupervising the construc-tion of the corridor, said hewas aware of the problem. “Ihave asked the LPAI to takeup the matter on a priority.After all, security is a matterof paramount importanceand in no way should it becompromised,” he said.

Many were thinking thatthe CISF would be givencharge of the security. How-ever, officers claimed thatthe force was trained to doduty only at airports andnot at a dry port like the cor-ridor. The BSF is alreadyproviding security at theAttari-Wagah check post.

Meanwhile, the MHAflew in a delegation of jour-nalists from New Delhitoday. The scribes weretaken to the zero-linewhere LPAI chairmanGovind Mohan addressed apress conference, barely 50m from the border. Later, apower-point presentationwas also be given.

BSF presence up at corridorsite, but sans lodging facility


Bathinda, October 16Over 200 guests watched adocumentary on Guru NanakDev at the Awareness FilmFestival in Los Angeles onSunday. The film received athunderous applause at theRegal Theater. Many leadersof various religions joined inthis celebratory moment forthe Sikhs and they prayed atthe conclusion.

The weeklong AwarenessFilm festival, which bringsfilms from all over the

world on various social andcultural causes, featuredGuru Nanak documentaryon the final day.

Dr Rajwant Singh, co-founder and senior adviser ofNational Sikh Campaign(NSC), said, “The response ofthe audience assures us thatthis film will have an impact ineducating Americans and theworld about Guru Nanak andhis contributions. There is totalignorance about him amongmasses and this gap will befilled by this initiative.” TheNSC helped support this proj-

ect and many Sikhs from theUS and other parts of the worldhave contributed. Dr SurinderKaur Dargan, main organiserof the film’s release, welcomedguests, saying, “This is thrillingmoment for Sikhs. We havebeen waiting for this kind offilm to spread the word aboutthe founder of our faith.”

Film director Jerry Krellsaid, “It was a great learn-ing and a humbling experi-ence to work on this filmand I wanted the world toknow about Guru Nanak.”

Public Broadcasting Ser-

vice will facilitate the show-ing of this documentary on200 TV stations all over theUS in the coming months.

Besides narrating Guru’shistory and key teachings, thedocumentary features rep-utable authors and articulatespeakers like Bob Thurman, aBuddhist scholar, Dr Vrajvi-hari Saran, a Hindu scholarfrom Georgetown University,Ambassador Navtej Sarna,author of a book on GuruNanak, and Roopinder Singh,Associate Editor of The Tri-bune, India.

Film on Guru Nanak screened at LA fest

GURU’s550THBIRTH ANNIVERSARY

Randhawa says will take up matter with LPAI officialsThe Land Ports

Authority of India haswashed its hands off thematter saying it couldbuild permanent quartersfor the BSF personnelonly in the last phase

BSF officer

❝

The under-construction Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Dera Baba Nanak. TRIBUNE PHOTO

Sukhbir: Respectproposal for joint functionPhagwara, October 16Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)president Sukhbir SinghBadal on Wednesday saidhe respected the govern-ment's offer to celebrate550th Gurpurb under theaegis of Akal Takht.

He claimed that his partyhad been batting for hold-ing joint celebrations fromthe beginning.

“But what pained me isthe fact that barely twohours after his ministershad presented the letter toAkal Takht Jathedar, Cap-tain (Amarinder Singh) toldthe media that the SGPCcould take care of religiousevents inside the gurdwara,while the state would lookafter the function outsideit,” he said.

“The entire Sikh Sangatall over the world wantsjoint celebrations and CaptAmarinder should not putany rider or condition on hisoffer for celebrating itunder the command of AkalTakht,” he added. — PTI

Amritsar, October 16Former Akal TakhtJathedar Bhai Ranjit Singhhas accused the SAD ofmisusing Akal Takht andthe SGPC for politicalgains. He claimed that fol-lowing a rift with the BJPin Haryana, the SAD madethe Jathedar to issue ananti-RSS statement.

He said during his tenurein 1999, he had directed tohold the Khalsa SajnaDiwas jointly, but the thenSAD government, had dif-ferences with late SGPCpresident GurcharanSingh Tohra and did notobey him. He also accusedthe SGPC of misusingfunds. — TNS

SAD misusingTakht, SGPC:Ex-Jathedar

Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, October 16Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh took thehigh-profile Jalalabad seg-ment by storm as he held aroadshow there. Hundredsof residents were seenstanding on both sides ofthe road from where theprocession passed.

Addressing mediapersonsafter the roadshow infavour of Congress candi-date Raminder Singh Awlain Akali bastion, Chief Min-ister Capt Amarinder said,“Sukhbir’s misconceptionthat he has the people of

Jalalabad in his pocketswill soon be shattered”.

The roadshow began fromArniwala sub-tehsil and andterminated at Udham

Singh Chowk in Jalalabadtown. Punjab Congressaffairs incharge AshaKumar and PPCC presidentSunil Jakhar also accompa-nied the CM.

The CM lashed out atSukhbir over his criticismof the state for pleading forthe release of police person-nel languishing in prisonsfor alleged human rightsviolations during the mili-tancy period. Thousands ofcops died in the line of dutyat that time to protect Pun-jab and the nation, and theactions of these personnelwas motivated by the needto fight militancy, he point-ed out, adding that seekingtheir release on humanitar-

ian grounds was in line withGuru Nanak’s philosophyof compassion and benevo-lence. “But you can’texpect Sukhbir to under-stand this,” he quipped.

Sukhbir and his party alsocame under attack fromCapt Amarinder over theirstance on Bargari sacrilegecase. They had tried hard toget the case back to the CBI,but his government hadsuccessfully taken chargeand would expose the truthat all costs, he vowed.

On the inaugural pro-gramme of the corridor, theCM dismissed Akali claimssaying the programme wasnot being worked out by theSAD but by the Union Gov-ernment, which was in talkswith Pakistan. The corridorwas a GoI project and theAkalis had no say in thematter, he added.

In Badal bastion, Capt slams Akalis over sacrilegeSays they are falsely claiming credit for corridor

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh during a roadshow in Jalalabad on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO


Chandigarh, October 16The Aam Aadmi Partytoday got a shot in the arm,with its rebel Jaitu MLAMaster Baldev Singh com-ing back into the party fold.

Baldev’s entry in the par-ty was made possible byanother MLA KulwantSingh Pandori, who repre-sents Mehal Kalan.

AAP Punjab president Bhag-want Mann and MLA Baldevheld a meeting in Raiyan vil-lage near Bhaini Sahib in Lud-hiana today, following whichthe rebel MLA announced hisdecision to come back.

In a message on socialmedia, Master Baldev Singhsaid he has realised that the

AAP was the only outfitwhich thinks about the wel-fare of Punjab and Punjabis.“I met Bhagwant Manntoday. I am impressed by hislarge heartedness.”

Master Baldev hadrebelled against the AAPleadership along with Sukh-pal Singh Khaira. He hadresigned from the party andhad unsuccessfully contest-ed the 2019 General Electionfrom Faridkot as a candidateof the Punjabi Ekta Party.

Though Master Baldev hadnot resigned as MLA, the AAPmoved an application beforePunjab Vidhan Sabha Speak-er Rana KP, seeking his dis-qualification, but the decisionhas been kept pending by theSpeaker to date.

Rebel MLA Baldevreturns to AAP

Ashok Kaura

Phagwara/Mukerian, Oct 16 Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)president Sukhbir SinghBadal today said the SAD-BJP alliance was in thenational as well as state’sinterest. He claimed thattheir ties with the saffron par-ty were permanent in Punjab.

Addressing poll rallies atPhagwara and Mukerian insupport of BJP candidatesRajesh Bagha and Jangi LalMahajan, respectively, theSAD president said thealliance was a symbol ofpeace and communal harmo-ny in Punjab. He said someparties were spreadingrumours of a rift between theallies to take political mileagein the forthcoming bypolls.“But the people of Punjabunderstand that the SAD andthe BJP offer unconditionalsupport to each other”.

Sukhbir highlighted howthe NDA government underthe leadership of Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi hadresolved long pending issuesof the Sikh community. Heclaimed that it was due to theaffirmative action of the NDAgovernment due to whichanti-Sikh riot cases were

reopened and Sajjan Kumarwas jailed. He said JagdishTytler and Madhya PradeshCM Kamal Nath would alsomeet the same fate soon. Hesaid the manner in whichthe Centre had extendedsupport to the 550th ParkashPurb celebrations as well asits decision to construct theKartarpur corridor hadanswered the prayers of theentire Sikh sangat.

He said the Congress gov-ernment did not have oneachievement to list evenafter two-and-a-half yearsin governance. He said allsections of society werebeing discriminatedagainst, with the farmers,khet mazdoor, youth andDalits being the worst-hit.

State BJP president ShwaitMalik said all schemes start-ed by the previous SAD-BJPgovernment including old-age pension, widow pensionand Shagun had beenstopped even as drug andsand mafia were thriving.Others present on the occa-sion included Union MinisterSom Prakash, Vijay Sampla,Prabhat Jha, Dinesh Kumar,Tikshan Sud, SS Channy,Daljit Cheema and JarnailSingh Wahid.

Alliance with BJPstrong as ever,claims Sukhbir

SAD president Sukhbir Badal addresses an election rally atMukerian on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH

ASSEMBLYBYPOLLS

Deepkamal KaurTribune News Service

Mukerian, October 16On the eve of Karva Chauth,Congress candidate InduBala is out in bazaars ofHajipur area of bypoll-Muk-erian Assembly seat. As shesees that women are buyingbangles, getting hennaapplied on their hands andpurchasing food items relat-ed to the festivities, she getsteary eyed, remembering herhusband former MLARajneesh Babbi, who passedaway two months ago.

“I too could have been oneamong them enjoying allthose festivities, but theAlmighty had something elsein store for me. I am here thistime, with a white dupatta onmy head and canvassing forvotes in the name of mydeceased husband,” she says

as she seems fully aware onhow to garner sympathy atthis crucial juncture.

Even in the brochures

being distributed by her, shementions about her hus-band’s pending works,including setting up of a

degree college in town. Onthe other hand, BJP candi-date Jangi Lal Mahajan istelling people not to getswayed away by her oppo-nent’s tears. “Indu Bala’shusband got two tenures.Her father-in-law Dr KewalKrishan ruled for seventerms. Both of them haveleft the area in backward-ness. If they could not doanything, what do youexpect from her?” he says.

Mahajan also knows how todeal with the caste issue,which too is in favour of theCongress candidate whohails from Changh communi-ty having 40,000 voters. Hetells the crowd, “Do not thinkof me as a Mahajan (the com-munity has a thin populationhere). I am here to serve all ofyou, be it the Rajputs or theSikhs or the Hindus.”

Bala seeks sympathy votes, BJP warns voters

Congress Mukerian candidate Indu Bala (L) seeks votes fromwomen at a shop at Hajipur near Mukerian in Hoshiarpur onthe eve of Karva Chauth Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH

■ It was an embarrassingmoment for SportsMinister Rana GurmitSingh Sodhi when theCM’s security adviserreportedly asked him toalight from one of theofficial vehicles in theCM’s cavalcade at Mohlanvillage in Muktsar.

■ Capt Amarinder’schopper had landed atMohlan village fromwhere he was to go toJalalabad in Fazilkadistrict by road. As the convoy moved,Sodhi, who was sittingin an SUV, was asked toget down.

■ The Chief Ministerdenied the allegation ofSodhi not beingallowed to sit in avehicle that was part ofthe convoy. Beingincharge of an area inJalalabad, Sodhi wastravelling in anothervehicle, he said.

MINISTER TOLD TO GET OFF CHIEF MINISTER’S VEHICLE

THE TRIBUNECHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 17 OCTOBER 2019 03PUNJAB

NOTICE INVITING TENDER

INDIAN AIR FORCEAIR FORCE STATION BHISIANA, BATHINDA

On behalf of the President of India, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Bhisiana, Bathinda SEALED

TENDERS ARE INVITED for Procurement and Laying of 65 km Jelly Filled Unarmoured (100/50/20/10 pair)

UG Cable (0.63/0.5 mm) at Air Force Bhisiana, Bathinda, Punjab as per the following details:

Tender ID: 2019_IAF_479428_1 Dated 27 Sep 19

9. Description of items:

1 Name of Work PROCUREMENT AND LAYING OF 65 KM JELLY FILLED UNARMOURED

(100/50/20/10 PAIR) UG CABLE (0.63/0.5mm) AT AIR FORCE STATION BHISIANA,

BATHINDA, PUNJAB.

2 Cost of Tender Rs. 500/- (Rupees Five Hundred only)

3 Place and timing of sale of

tender documents and address

from where the tender

document could be downloaded

Tender documents can be obtained from Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station,

Bhisiana, Bathinda, Punjab – 151201 within 28 days from date of publication of tender

notice. It can also be downloaded from “CPPP(Central Public Procurement Portal)" and

submitted with tender cost with the ‘Technical Bid’ in the form of Demand Draft in favour

of Air Force Public Fund Accounts, Bhisiana, Bathinda.

4 Place and timing of depositing

the tender‘Tender Box’ is placed at ‘Main Gate’ of Air Force Station, Bhisiana, Bathinda,

Punjab – 151201. Tender should be deposited before 1000 h on 11 Nov 19 at Air Force

Station Bathinda. Technical and Financial bids should be sealed separately.

5 Place, time and date for opening

of TendersTenders will be opened by Board of Officers at 1030 h. on 11 Nov 19 (closing day of

Tender)

6 Delivery and completion period

termsDelivery of goods within 90 days from the date of signing of Contract and completion

within 180 days from the date of Contract.

7 Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) EMD of Rs. 8,00,000/- (Rupees Eight Lakh only) in the form of FD, Demand Draft,

Bankers Cheque, shall be furnished along with tender form payable to Air Force Public

Fund Accounts, Bhisiana, Bathinda. EMD is to be attached with technical bid.

8 Annual Turnover Intending vendors having an annual turnover of more than Rs. 7,00,00,000 (Rupees

Seven Crore only) may obtain tender. A Certificate of completion of similar work should

accompany the technical bid.

SI. No. Nomenclature/Items Unit Qty

01 MDF fitted with iron frame, glass window, lock & key and in built light system for a capacity

of 600 connections. It is to be provided with chemical earthing pit.

Ea 01

02 100 pair 0.5 mm jelly filled unarmoured cable. mtrs 11,000




06 20 pair of 0.5 mm jelly filled unarmoured cable. mtrs 12,870


08 100 pairs jointing kits. Ea 15

09 50 pairs jointing kits Ea 15



12 Termination Box 100 pair with krone module. Ea 04


14 50 pair DP box with Krone module and lock and key. Ea 18





19 50 pair pillar box with Krone Module. Ea 04

20 20 pair pillar box with Krone Module. Ea 06

21 Route Markers 4 ft (concrete) long painted yellow with “UG Cable 65 Km” written on it. Ea 1300

22 Digging, laying, installation and commissioning of JFC as per BSNL standard (3.5 ft). mtrs 64690

23 Road crossing with GI Pipe with 4 inches diameter. Mtrs 310

davp/10802/11/0035/1920


Jalandhar, October 16Rajbir Singh Sekhon,father of Gurkirat SekhonGikki, expressed satisfac-tion over decision of thePunjab and Haryana Courtto uphold life imprison-ment against the fouraccused in the case.

“Against all odds, I foughtthe battle against four bigfamilies of Jalandhar forthe past over eight years. Itravelled from Jalandhar toGurdaspur for every hear-ing in the first four years asthe case was transferredthere. I have attendedalmost all 100 hearings inthe High Court to ensurejustice for my son. I amgrateful to the people ofJalandhar and the state forsupporting me in the causethrough various candlelight

marches and Facebookcampaigns,” he said.

A Gurdaspur court had sen-tenced the four accused to lifeimprisonment for culpablehomicide not amounting tomurder and common intentionunder Sections 304 (1) and 34 ofthe IPC in August 2015. TheHC today upheld the decision.

While earlier, Sekhon hadbeen seeking conviction

under Section 302 of theIPC, he said, “This perhapswas the best remedy that wecould have.”

While ex-Akali MLASarabjit Makkar’s nephewPrince Makkar remainsbehind the bars, the otherthree accused — AmardeepSingh alias Sunny, JasdeepSingh Jassu and AmarpreetSingh Narula — are out onbail. Arwinder Singh, fatherof Jassu, who was grantedbail by the High Court inSeptember 2016, did notcomment on the verdict. “Iam yet to see the copy of theorder, so we cannot say any-thing”. Asked where his sonwas, he replied, “He is onbail and out somewhere”.

Dinky Narula, brother ofAmarpreet, refused to com-ment. Sarabjit Makkar saidhe was not maintaining anyrelation with Prince.

Justice done after toughlegal battle: Gikki’s father Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 16A number of human rightsorganisations and group oflawyers today criticised thePunjab government for rec-ommending prematurerelease of several convictedcops who were out on bail orhave spent few months injail even if they were sen-tenced to life imprisonment.

In a press conference, repre-sentatives from various organi-sations said the governmentshould practice equality for lawfor all convicts. They arguedthat on the one side, familieswere demanding release ofconvicts languishing in prisonsfor two to three decades and onthe other the government hadrecommended pardon to con-victed cops despite spendingfew weeks in prison.

The organisations whichopposed the government moveare Punjab Human Rights

Organisation Chairman JusticeAjit Singh Bains, Punjab Docu-mentation & Advocacy Projectand Lawyers for Human RightsInternational, People’s Unionfor Civil Liberties.

They were referring to casesof 15 cops sent for remissionto the Union Government bythe Punjab Government onhumanitarian grounds.

“The Punjab Governmentmove to secretly release 15police officers convicted offake encounters and extra-judicial killings is unlawful,arbitrary and unconstitution-al,” they said in a statement.

They disagreed with thestate government contentionthat a “sympathetic view” orleniency should be shown

towards those convicted ofheinous criminal offences.

They claimed that inmajority of cases, the copshave never been dismissedfrom service and enjoyed allperks, salaries, in many cas-es pension throughout theircareer and have been sup-ported by a secret fund evenas convicted criminals.

Meanwhile, SAD presi-dent Sukhbir Singh Badaltoday condemned the ChiefMinister for recommendingthe premature release ofcops guilty of killing inno-cent Sikh youth in fakeencounters.

In a statement, he said, “Isthis Capt Amarinder’s gift tothe great Sikh community onthe eve of the 550th ParkashPurb of Guru Nanak? Thesecops were convicted by courtson the charges of murder andin many cases they have noteven served one-fourth oftheir sentences.”

Pardon to convicted cops stirs rowTribune News Service

Amritsar, October 16The Border Security Force(BSF) today gunned downa Pakistani man, whotried to invade into thisside of border throughSamjhauta Express railtrack near Rorawala vil-lage near Atari here.

A senior BSF official saidthe troops saw a man walk-ing towards the zero linefencing through the railtrack at Attari. When theychallenged him, he did notstop. In retaliation, the BSFtroops opened fire at him.

The BSF officials saidsince the Pakistani Rangersalso reached near the trackon the zero line, the firingwas stopped. “We had toback out to avoid any fur-ther misadventure. Imme-diately, a flag meeting wascalled to discuss the issue,”said the BSF official.

Pak intrudershot deadnear Attari

Thousands of cops died in the line ofduty at that time to protect Punjab and

the nation. Seeking their release onhumanitarian grounds is in line with GuruNanak’s philosophy of compassion andbenevolence Capt Amarinder Singh, CM

Sangrur, October 16An Assistant Sub-Inspector(ASI) and a constable enteredinto a scuffle over car parkingin the Sangrur Police Lines.

The ASI stays in quarternumber 224 and constable inquarter number 133. The ASI,who got himself admitted toCivil Hospital, alleged that afterperforming his night duty, heparked his car in the PoliceLines and constable RajwinderSingh attacked him.

“When I parked my car nearthe road, Rajwinder attackedme. I have lodged a com-plaint,” said ASI Ram Dass.

However, Rajwinderalleged that the ASI was the

one who attacked him. Sangrur Rural DSP Satpal

Sharma said they had receivedthe complaints. “Sangrur city-1 police station is conductingthe probe. We will take a sternaction on the basis of inquiryreport,” he said. — TNS

ASI, constable tradeblows over parking

The injured ASI in hospital.


Moga, October 16The police today took intocustody head constableKuldeep Singh and consta-bles Sarwan Singh andSukhdev Singh, againstwhom non-bailable warrantswere issued by the Districtand Sessions’ Court for notappearing as prosecution wit-nesses in a drug seizure case.

They had been “abscond-ing” for the past over amonth after the Punjab andHaryana High Court orderedto take them into protectivecustody for failing to appearin the court. The HC had also

refused to grant anticipatorybail to them.

Additional District andSessions’ Judge Sonia Kin-ra had issued non-bailablewarrants against them.They were also suspendedfrom the service.

Today, the cops appearedbefore a local court, whichordered to send them to judi-cial custody. The police firsttook these cops into custody,formally arrested them andthen sent them to a local jail.

As per the court record,the cops had been skippingcourt proceedings for thepast over two years thusdelaying the process of trial.

3 cops arrested forskipping hearings

Against all odds, Ifought thebattle against4 influentialfamilies ofJalandhar forpast over eight years. Ihave attended almost all100 hearings in the HC toseek justice for my son. Rajbir Sekhon, GIKKI’S FATHER

❝

Rights activists, politicians express concern; Capt justifies move

MANY WERE INVOLVED IN FAKE ENCOUNTERS: EX-MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, former Patiala MP on Wednesdaycriticised the attempts being made by the government topardon several police officials. “A majority of these officialswere responsible in fake encounters and other heinouscrimes. Various courts and commissions have already heldthem responsible for unlawful acts,” he alleged. TNS

‘IN LINE WITH GURU’S PHILOSOPHY’

❝

THE TRIBUNE04 CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 17 OCTOBER 2019PUNJAB

Aman SoodTribune News Service

Patiala, October 16Already facing a spurt infarm fires in the borderbelt, the air quality in Pun-jab, and eventually Delhi, issure to take a further hitwith farmers starting toburn paddy stubble in theMalwa belt.

Ferozepur and Patiala sawmaximum cases of stubble-burning in the Malwa beltwhich recorded over 128 of thetotal 258 farm fires in the state.

The Delhi Governmenttoday shared an image fromNASA, showing large-scalestubble-burning in adjoin-ing states and blamed Pun-jab and Haryana for it. Thedata from the PunjabRemote Sensing Authorityshowed that farmers werenow resorting to farm firesin the fertile Malwa belt.

Information gatheredfrom the Punjab PollutionControl Board (PPCB) andAgriculture Departmentofficials confirmed that farmfires were fast spreading inthe Malwa belt and wouldfurther affect the air qualityindex of Punjab.

“Farmers are now resortingto stubble-burning as theyhave little window beforepreparing the fields for thenext crop,” they said.

Since October 15, stubble-burning has been on a rise inthe Malwa region comprising11 districts.

The data compiled by TheTribune revealed that as com-pared to seven incidents inthe Malwa belt on October 8,over 128 stubble-burningcase had been recorded in thearea on October 15.

Satellite data revealedthat Ferozepur had the

maximum 58 stubble-burn-ing incidents, followed bythe CM’s home town ofPatiala 37, Faridkot 10,Muktsar 2, Moga 10, Ludhi-ana 2, Bathinda 1, Mansa 3,Sangrur 5 and FatehgarhSahib 5.

Amritsar in the Majha beltcontinued to be the topdefaulting district with 63farm fires. Last year, Fer-ozepur and Patiala had

reported only 14 farm fireseach on October 15. OnTuesday, the National GreenTribunal asked Punjab todepute a person to reportdaily on air pollution inwake of the worsening airquality in Delhi-NCR.

“A majority of farm fires inthe Malwa belt started twodays ago and the number isonly going to grow in next 10days,” said a top official.

“This was bound to hap-pen as harvesting has beendelayed in Malwa. However,the pollution in next 10 dayswill ultimately travel toDelhi with the wind,”claimed an insider.

“Our job is to monitor thesituation and provide thedata to the governmentand authorities for neces-sary action,” said KruneshGarg, member-secretary,

PPCB. “We have tried tospread awareness andasked district administra-tions to act against default-ers,” he said.

Secretary AgricultureKahan Singh Pannusaid,“We have distributedsufficient machinery andalso sensitised farmers onthe issue, but the menacecontinues. We are workingclosely with our field staff.”

After Majha, spike in farm fires in Malwa beltFerozepur, Patiala top defaulters as paddy harvest peaks | Dip in mercury to raise pollution further

171 CASES IN A DAY■ Satellite data of October

16 showed 171 stubblefire incidents in Punjab

■ Whereas on the sameday in 2017 and 2018,the incidents reportedwere 365 and 173,respectively

■ The total number of inci-dents for the periodbetween September 23to October 16 in 2017,2018 and 2019 were2,927, 932 and 1,388,respectively

BAN UP IN FLAMES Paddy stubble set on fire in fields near Patiala on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAJESH SACHAR

Rajmeet SinghTribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 16Pulling up Punjab,Haryana and UttarPradesh for not taking ade-quate steps to check stub-ble-burning, the NationalGreen Tribunal (NGT) hasasked the states to reviewtheir enforcement strate-gies and take appropriateaction against failure ofofficers to prevent pollu-tion caused by burningcrop residue.

Taking note of increasedpollution levels due tostubble-burning, the GreenTribunal observed that justlike enforcing law, it wasthe responsibility of thestates to prevent pollution,instead of pleading help-lessness on the ground.

The Green Tribunal hasasked the states to depute aperson each to report dailyon air pollution due tostubble-burning. Itobserved that despiteefforts by the Centre andstates, burning of cropresidue was going on andcausing adverse conse-quences on public health

and environment, forwhich no officer is beingheld accountable.

Even after five years, thestate machinery has notbeen able to communicateto the farmers about thetechniques of sowing cropswithout burning of paddyresidue, the Green Tri-bunal has observed.

Putting the responsibili-ty on the state, the GreenTribunal has further stat-ed that if an incentive hasto be given, it is for thestate to decide and pro-vide the same. Even theCentral funds for schemesare not fully utilised as perthe report submitted onOctober 14

Asking for effectivesteps, the Tribunal hassought proper communica-tion with the farmers, sup-ply of suitable equipmentwithout unbearable cost forthe farmer, change of croppatterns, purchase of cropresidue for fuel and fixingaccountability of the farm-ers. The Green Tribunaldirected the states to file anaction-taken report by 15thof next month.

NGT raps statefor failing to curbstubble-burning


Sangrur, October 16Twenty villages of the dis-trict with more than 50 percent Scheduled Caste (SCs)population will see a com-plete makeover under thePradhan Mantri AdarshGramin Yojana (PMAGY) asthe government will soonprovide all basic amenitiesin these villages.

The PMAGY scheme isaimed at providing basicamenities in the villagessuch as drinking water andsanitation, education, healthand nutrition, rural roadsand housing and electricity.

Under the PMAGY, thegovernment has selected SCmajority villages on thebasis of 10 different indica-tors, which shows lack ofbasic facilities.

The 20 villages includeAkoi Sahib, Fatehgarh Chan-na, Bangawali, Ram NagarSibia, Sahoke, Bharur,Bhumsi, Mahorana, Moran-wali, Bhattian Khurd, Chan-du, Munshiwala, Nakta, Ret-garh, Bimber, Kalyan,Falound Kalan, Amamgarh,Qila Hakima and Ratana-garh Sindhran.

Under the scheme, thegovernment will release Rs20 lakh for each village forinfrastructure develop-ment and other much need-ed facilities.

“It’s a welcome step, but Ithink Rs 20 lakh is notenough and the governmentshould increase the grant tofully equip these villageswith required facilities,” saidBaldev Singh, a resident ofRetgarh village.

The district authorities

have directed variousdepartments to conduct asurvey on the lack ofrequired facilities in selectedvillages by October 30. Onthe basis of the survey, esti-mates will be prepared anddevelopmental works will beplanned and started inselected villages.

Additional Deputy Commis-sioner (ADC), who is projectdirector of PMAGY, RajinderBatra said apart from the dis-trict-level monitoring commit-tee for all PMAGY to superviseutilisation of grants, village-level committees had alsobeen constituted.

“The scheme will help usprovide all required facilitiesin selected villages. Our mainconcern is to ensure utilisa-tion of sanctioned grant withtransparency,” said SangrurDC Ghanshaym Thori.

20 SC majority villages to getmakeover under PMAGYGovt to release ~20 lakh each for infra development


Ropar, October 16The Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT), Ropar,has appointed Lt Gen PMBali as Professor of Practicehere today. Lt Gen Bali wasoffered the position whenhe was here to deliver a lec-ture.

An MoU was also signedon the occasion between

Ropar IIT and the IndianArmy for collaboration inacademics and research.

Chief of Staff of Army’sWestern Command Lt GenBali delivered his first lec-ture at the institute on “Chi-na: An Overview” thatbrought out a broad under-standing of China, its psy-che and philosophy, strate-gic interests, dynamics ofrelations with India, possi-

ble triggers of future con-flict and their manifestationand implications for India.

Explaining the contoursof China’s Belt and Roadinitiative, he marvelled onits scale and sophistication,while underscoring thetechnological, economicand strategic implications.

He added, “We can foreseewith confidence that withthe way we are going ahead

by associating with insti-tutes such as Ropar IIT,Indian Army will win warswith Indian solutions.”

Highlighting the detri-mental effect of India’sdependence on import formilitary capability, he said,“Military superiority is notdetermined by numbersalone, armed forces needbetter technology.”

Professor SK Das, Direc-

tor, Ropar IIT, said, “This isjust a beginning of acade-mia-Army relationship.Ropar IIT is ready to givetechnological solutions tothe issues faced by theIndian Army that needs tobe addressed. Ropar IITwill also explore the possi-bilities of conductingshort-term courses and lec-tures at the institute by theIndian Army.

Ropar IIT in pact with Army for tech solutions

Ludhiana, October 16Nearly 25 years after a bombblast occurred near Clock Tow-er in Ludhiana, a local court islikely to pronounce the judg-ment this week. In a resumedhearing, Additional SessionsJudge Atul Kasana adjournedthe hearing involving extrem-ist Jagtar Singh Hawara tillOctober 18. The bomb blasthad occurred in 1995.

The case was fixed forrecording statement underSection 313 of the CrPC, butit could not be recorded forlong. The defence lawyerinsisted that there was noneed of recording such state-ment. — OC

Verdict likely in25-yr-old blastcase this week

Legal Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 16A criminal complaint hasbeen filed against Food andCivil Supplies MinisterBharat Bhushan Ashu formanhandling and hurtingreligious sentiments.Taking up the case, JudicialMagistrate Ankit Airi hasasked the complainantSaudagar Singh to presentthe evidence on the next dateof hearing. The case has beenposted for November 5.

Saudagar, father of a sikhyouth, claimed that they have

been the Congress support-ers for the past four decades.He said a few days ago, hisson alongwith his friendsarranged a meeting of Con-gress candidate SandeepSingh Sandhu, who is in the

fray from Dakha segment. He said this annoyed for-

mer sarpanch AmarjotSingh, who is an associate ofAshu and had recently joinedthe Congress. Earlier, Amar-jot was supporting SAD andlater switched his loyality tothe Aam Aadmi Party.

Saudagar said his son wascalled at the Congress elec-tion office where Amarjot andhis accomplice KuldeepSingh thrashed him.

He alleged that in order tohurt the religious sentiments,the minister removed turbanof his son.

Plaint filed against Ashu for‘hurting’ religious sentiments

Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, October 16Principal Secretary (Plan-ning) Jaspal Singh today saida plan might be formulated todisallow sowing paddy on thepanchayat land being offeredon lease in villages. TheDDPOs have been asked tomake farmers aware so thatthe trend of burning strawcould be curbed, he said.

“It is the responsibility ofone and all to inherit ahealthy and clean environ-ment to the coming genera-tions,” he said.

The official was here todayto review the steps being tak-en to curb the trend of settingfire to paddy residue. DeputyCommissioner Isha Kaliaand Additional Deputy Com-missioner Harpreet SinghSudan were also present on

the occasion. Jaspal Singhsaid, “We all need to jointlydeal with this critical situa-tion. To provide our futuregenerations a healthy life, itis important to give up thepractice of straw-burning.

The Principal Secretarysaid he had directed theappointment of nodal andcoordinating officers to checkstraw burning, regular visitsto fields and strict surveil-lance over the areas where

the practice was rampant.He said combine harvesters

without super SMS strawreaper should be seizedimmediately. Kalia said 61farm machinery banks hadbeen set up in the district. Inthese banks, 209 machineswere provided at 80 per centsubsidy. In addition, individ-ually 30 machines have beenprovided at 50 per cent sub-sidy. Village-wise 595 nodalofficers have been appointed.

Govt may bar paddy sowingon leased panchayat landMachinery banks established, nodal officers appointed

20.9 LAKH TONNES OF PADDY PROCURED■ Chandigarh: The government agencies and private millers haveprocured 20.9 lakh metric tonnes of paddy as of October 15 fromvarious mandis across the state, says an official spokesman ■ He says the government agencies have procured 20,35,766MT of paddy, while 55,130 MT has been procured by the millers■ Pungrain has purchased 7,96,027 tonnes, Markfed5,45,746 tonnes and Punsup 3,91,387 tonnes, Punjab StateWarehousing Corporation 2,64,783 tonnes and the FCI37,823 tonnes, the official adds. TNS

Our Correspondent

Phagwara, October 16State AAP convener and San-grur MP Bhagwant Manntoday raised the issue ofunemployment in the state.

He addressed electionmeetings at Hadiabad andthe grain market in supportof AAP candidate SantoshKumar Gogi today.

He targeted both the SADand Congress for “ruining”Punjab, saying that bothparties were hand in glove.

Highlighting the need toprovide jobs to youth, theAAP MP said increasingunemployment, lawlessnessand corrupt system wereforcing the youth in thestate to migrate to Canadaand other countries on thepretext of further studies.

Claiming that he was nothappy with the holding ofbyelections, Mann said he

was opposed to it as theprocess entailed expendi-ture of a huge amount ofpublic money.

Mann said an electedMLA or MP should not beallowed to resign before thecompletion of the term toavoid byelections.

Claiming there was a needto show bureaucracy itsposition, he said during therule of the Congress andSAD governments, itseemed that bureaucratscalled the shots.

Cong, SADhand inglove, alleges Mann

Our Correspondent

Fazilka, October 16A tenant allegedly shot athis landlord’s nephew inDashmesh Nagri, Jalalabad,today morning.

The suspect has beenidentified as RakeshKumar, who had been livingon rent at the house ofRajinder Kumar since Sep-tember 25.

Rajinder passed away dueto some ailment on October4. As a result, thedeceased’s family mem-bers asked Rakesh to vacatethe house.

This enraged Rakesh, whoshot at Rajan Gaba at thelatter’s house with hislicensed .32 bore revolver.The victim was rushed to

the Jalalabad Civil Hospital,where his condition is stat-ed to be stable.

Jalalabad city police sta-tion SHO Lekh Raj Battisaid Rakesh has beenbooked under Section 307of the IPC. He has beenarrested and the revolverhas been confiscated.

Fazilka man shootsat landlord’s nephew

Bhagwant Mann

Video grab of accused

Fazilka, October 16The body of Shravan Kumar,a resident of the local DhobiGhat locality, who went miss-ing on Sunday, has beenrecovered from Gang Canal.

Deceased’s brother AjayKumar said Shravan Kumarleft the house around 8 am onSunday, but did not return,following which rhe familymembers launched a search.

His T-shirt and shoes werespotted lying on the banks ofGang Canal near Khui Kheravillage of Fazilka district onTuesday evening and laterhis body was also recoveredfrom near the canal.

He said the hands of ShravanKumar were tied with hand-kerchief and it is suspectedthat he was killed. He addedthat he had a monetary disputewith some persons of the townwho might have pushed hisbrother into the canal.

The deceased is survived bywife, son and a daughter.

The police disposed off thecase by registering it underSection 174 of the CRPC(unnatural death). The post-mortem examination of thedeceased was conducted atthe local Civil Hospital. As perpreliminary report, Shravandied due to drowning. — OC

Youth’s body found,kin suspect foul play

Sangrur, October 16The Dirba police have regis-tered a case against Assis-tant Sub-Inspector (ASI) for“underestimating” theseized crackers last month.

“We have registered a caseagainst Balwinder Singh. Ihave assigned the investi-gations to SP (D) Sangrur.We will take action as perthe inquiry report,” said theSSP. TNS

ASI bookedfor cheating

❝A majority of incidentsof stubble-burning in the Malwa belt startedabout two days ago. Thenumber is only going toincrease in the next 10 days.❞

Senior govt official

THE TRIBUNE CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 17 OCTOBER 2019 05

06HARYANA ELECTIONS2019 THE TRIBUNECHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 17 OCTOBER 2019POLL BUZZ

Chandigarh: Former Unionminister Anand Sharma onWednesday lambasted theBJP on poor economic sce-nario. Addressing a press con-ference, he said unemploy-ment in the state was over 28per cent. He said Sangh lead-ers had a guilty conscience asthey did not participate in thefreedom struggle. On AshokTanwar, he said, “I do notthink Tanwar can impactchances of the Congress. Noone makes a temple in thename of Vibhishan.” TNS

Anand: BJP has aguilty conscience

Chandigarh: Even as formerstate Congress chief AshokTanwar announced support tothe JJP on Wednesday, his wifeAvantika Maken Tanwar saidshe was born in the Congressand would remain with it tillher last breath. Avantika, whohas been close to Sonia Gand-hi ever since her parents weregunned down by Sikh extrem-ists, said: “As a wife, I am withAshok Tanwar. But at the politi-cal level, I have nothing to dowith his decision.” TNS

Will always be withCong: Tanwar’s wife

Sonepat: Additional DeputyCommissioner-cum-returningofficer for Gohana JaiveerSingh Arya ordered registra-tion of an FIR under Section134 of the Public Represen-tation Act against nine pollduty officials for not attend-ing a training programme atthe DCR University of Sci-ence and Technology inMurthal on October 14. OC

FIR against ninepolling officials

Sushil ManavTribune News Service

Bohar (Rohtak), October 16As the cavalcade stops near a‘chaupal’ (community cen-tre) in Bohar village locatedon the outskirts of Rohtaktown, villagers rush towardsan SUV moving next to theescort vehicle.

Slogans of “ChaudhryBhupinder Singh Hoodazindabad” rent the air as theformer Chief Minister seatedon the rear seat greets vil-lagers with folded hands. Hispersonal security officer(PSO) Satish Rathee opensthe SUV door with a great dif-ficulty as villagers vie witheach other to greet or shakehands with Hooda.

“CM ajayega Hooda, bigdeebana jayega Hooda…. (Hoodawill come as CM and willredress all your grievances.)”,a song written and sung byKaithal-based singer DilbagMor is being played on a vehi-cle fitted with a publicaddress system accompany-ing the cavalcade.

Bohar is part of the GarhiSampla-Kiloi Assembly seatwhere Hooda is facing SatishNandal of the BJP amongothers. The village happensto be Nandal’s native villageand BJP flags can be seenatop several shops here.

In Hooda’s bastion, his fol-lowers believe that theirleader is coming back topower after the October 21poll. To them, it does notmatter that Hooda’s party,the Congress, lost all 10seats in the Lok Sabha pollheld in May this year andeven their leader and his sonDeepender Hooda lost fromtheir bastion Sonepat andRohtak, respectively.

“I can bet he is coming backas CM again after October24,” says Pooran Singh (80)from Khadwali village out-side the community centrewhere Hooda is addressing ameeting. He says he hascome here specially to listento Hooda’s speech.

“They (BJP) defeated Deep-ender by misuse of power inMay. But this time we are allalert and won’t allow anymischief,” he claims.

Sandeep, a youth fromBohar village, says peoplewere longing for the return ofHooda regime, as Rohtak wit-nessed a lot of developmentwhen he was in power. “Awind of change has startedblowing. The BJP will be outof power after October 24and your own governmentwill come to power,” Hoodatells people on the micro-phone from the dais.

He reminds them of the

development Rohtak wit-nessed from 2005 to 2014 whenhe was in power. “Haryana wasnumber one state of the coun-try in per capita investment,sports and several otherfields, but ever since the BJPhas come to power, the statehas gone down in everyaspect,” says Hooda.

He repeats the announce-ments made by the Con-gress in its poll manifestoand tells villagers that theloans of farmers would bewaived within 24 hours ofcoming to power.

With supporters raising slo-gans, Hooda leaves for themakeshift helipad made inan engineering college on theoutskirts of Rohtak.

A Congress supporter tellsthat Hooda was in Jassia andKiloi today and everywhere

there was a huge responsefrom the supporters.

“I have been to Ambala,Yamunanagar, Panipat, Nuh,Gurugram, Fatehabad, Sirsaand several other districts. Ihave observed a wind ofchange everywhere. The BJPgovernment is on its way outand the Congress is comingback to power,” Hooda claims.

On BJP’s claims of “75plus” seats, Hooda mocks thegovernment saying that dur-ing the Manohar Lal Khattarregime tomatoes, diesel,onions and many other com-modities are Rs 75 plus.

Asked to react on AshokTanwar’s support to theJJP, Hooda says that theformer state Congress pres-ident has already quit theparty, so it does not makeany difference.

In Hooda bastion Rohtak, villagersconfident he’ll be back at the helmFormer Chief Minister reaches out to voters, raves about progress during his term

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda addresses a poll rally at a village in Garhi Sampla-Kiloi segment. MANOJ DHAKA

Strong hold on Garhi Sampla-Kiloi■ Hooda has been winning the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat by

a huge margin ever since he first became CM in 2005.■ In a bypoll in 2005, he won by a margin of 1.03 lakh

votes. He repeated his victory by a margin of 72,700 and47,185 votes in 2009 and 2014.

■ In the Lok Sabha poll held in May this year, Hooda’s sonDeepender got a lead of 45,725 votes from the seat.


Faridabad, October 16“The abolition of Article 370and Section 35-A will ensurepeace in Jammu and Kash-mir. It was done to respect thedemand of the majority of thepeople who had been waitingfor it for the past 70 years,”claimed Union Home Minis-ter Amit Shah while address-ing a public meeting infavour of party candidatefrom Tigaon Assembly seg-ment Rajesh Nagar here. Lat-er in the day, he alsoaddressed rallies in Panipat,Gurugram and Jhajjar.

Charging the Congress gov-ernment with failing toaddress the issue, he saidwhile 40,000 soldiers got mar-tyred due to terrorism, no onedared to take such a bold step.

Asking why the then PMManmohan Singh kept silentwhen heads of Indian jawanswere cut by the enemy, Shahalleged that the Congress gov-ernment behaved like a cowardwhile dealing with the problem.

“Congress party ko ras-travaad ke naam per saanpsoongh jaata hai, (Congressdevelops cold feet when it

come to nationalism)” hequipped. Claiming that thesurgical strike and air strikehad been the boldest deci-sions ever, Amit Shah saidthose have given newstrength to the nation and itsarmed forces. He said RahulGandhi’s statement on thestrikes across the border hadbeen highly demoralising forthe soldiers.

Announcing that every infil-trator would be ousted, he saidNRC (National Register of Cit-izens) would be implementedthroughout the country by2024. Charging that develop-ment in Faridabad and Guru-gram had been ignoreddespite the highest revenue,Shah said that the Khattargovernment would ensureunbiased development.

Shah covers 4 moredistricts, brings upArt 370, NRCagain

Amit Shah at a rally in Gurugram on Wednesday. S CHANDAN

Gadkari blames Cong for farmers’ plightKurukshetra: Minister for Road Transportand Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesdayclaimed that the wrong policies of the Con-gress were behind the poor condition of farm-ers and the rural sector. He was addressing apublic meeting in support of Pawan Saini,BJP candidate from Ladwa. “We have surpluswheat, rice and sugar. This is the prime rea-

son for farmers not getting fair prices. Wrong policies, corruptadministration and visionless leadership are the reasons forrural distress,” Gadkari said. “Farmers are unlikely to get reliefuntil we change the crop pattern. The BJP government hasdecided that farmers will not only produce rice and wheat, butalternatives to petrol and diesel as well,” he said. “Due to lackof economic viability, even sugar mills are getting closed.” TNS

INLD-SAD to back Independent in PehowaKurukshetra: The INLD-SAD alliance on Wednesday extendedsupport to Swami Sandeep Onkar, Independent candidatefrom Pehowa. Alliance candidate Manjit Chaudhary and otherleaders made the announcement. SAD state chief SharanjeetSotha was present. “I am a committed INLD worker. Followingdirections of the party high command, we extended support toOnkar. He is a young man and we have seen him at work.Workers of the INLD and SAD have started campaigning in hissupport and have asked our workers to ensure he wins with ahuge margin,” Chaudhary said. “The objective is to stop theBJP and Congress from forming the government. The INLD isextending support to people who can win and help the partystop the BJP and Congress,” he said. TNS

Shiv Kumar SharmaTribune News Service

Yamunanagar, October 16Former Chief Minister ofUttar Pradesh and BSPsupremo Mayawati hasaccused both the BJP and theCongress of working to endthe reservation for Sched-uled Castes, ScheduledTribes and Backward Classesby promoting privatisation.

“Earlier the Congress andnow the BJP is awarding

government sector works toprivate players. Their inten-tion is to deprive the SCs,STs and BCs from the reser-

vation benefits in govern-ment jobs as there is nosuch quota in the privatesector,” alleged Mayawati.

On Wednesday, sheaddressed an election rally inRadaur town of Yamunana-gar district by BSP’sJagadhri candidate AdarshPal Gurjrar and Radaur nom-inee Mahipal Singh.

“When I was the UP CM Igave full benefits of reserva-tion. I even posted inchargeof police stations as per thereservation in all districts,with an aim to stop atrocitieson the SCs, STs, BCs and the

downtrodden sections of thesociety,” claimed Mayawati.

Eying votes of the BC cate-gory, the BSP supermo saidthe Mandal Commissionreport was submitted whenthe Congress was in power inthe Centre, but it wasn’timplemented.

Mayawati said poverty,unemployment and infla-tion were on the rise due tothe wrong financial policiesof the government.

BJP, Cong trying to end reservation: Mayawati Says they arepromotingprivatisation,depriving peopleof quota benefits

Bijendra AhlawatTribune News Service

Faridabad, October 16Income tax officials onWednesday raided the housesof three close aides of LalitNagar, sitting MLA and Con-gress candidate from Tigaon.

The raid was conductedaround 5 am when teamsreached the houses ofNagar’s PA Rohtash in Bad-shahpur village and Ranbirand Rattan, hailing fromKheri village in the district.

The district and policeauthorities claimed that theyhad no information of such adevelopment. Sourcesclaimed that search warrantswere produced by the offi-cials at the time of the raids.

Though it was claimed to beroutine work, it was connect-ed to the ongoing proberegarding a land deal inRajasthan several years ago.

Teams of the EnforcementDirectorate and Income TaxDepartment had alreadyraided the residence of LalitNagar and his brotherMahesh Nagar in the pasttwo years in connectionwith the land deal.

The raids were conducted afew hours before a publicmeeting of Union HomeMinister Amit Shah, whocame to campaign for theBJP candidate from Tigaon.

Shah took a jibe, saying theCongress had given the ticketto a person who acted as mid-dleman in a land deal involv-ing ‘damad’ (Robert Vadra)without naming anyone.

Terming the raids as politi-cally motivated and aimed attarnishing his image, Nagarsaid these were conducted todemoralise his supporters.

I-T raid on houses ofCong MLA’s 3 aides

Party fieldingmiddleman inland deal involvingVadra: Shah

Congress leader Lalit Nagar


Chandigarh, October 16Jannayak Janta Party leaderDushyant Chautala onWednesday moved the Pun-jab and Haryana High Court,seeking directions to theUnion of India and the Elec-tion Commission of India toprovide security coverthrough a central securityagency following “threat”from an international gang.

In his petition filed throughR Kartikeya, Dushyant sub-mitted that he received a callon his mobile from a personwho claimed that he was call-ing from Dubai.

Dushyant claimed that thecaller threatened him not tocampaign vigorously, else hewould face dire consequences.Dushyant added that the manclaimed that he was a memberof an international gang.

Giving details, his counseltold the Bench of Chief JusticeRavi Shanker Jha and JusticeRajiv Sharma that the gangwas founded by a Colombiandrug lord and narco-terroriststated to be the wealthiestcriminal in history.

Dushyantmoves HCfor security

Pradeep SharmaTribune News Service

Charkhi Dadri, October 16Star wrestler and “Dangal”girl Babita Phogat, the BJPcandidate from Dadri Assem-bly segment, is riding piggy-back on “Modi magic” andChief Minister Manohar LalKhattar’s charisma in a bidto put her political opponentson the mat in the October 21Haryana Assembly elections.

Locked in a four-corneredpolitical fight, the Arjunaawardee is missing nochance to remind the peoplehow Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi has taken the

nation forward through bolddecisions such as abrogationof Article 370. “I brought lau-rels to the country and myarea in sports. Now, I want toserve my area through theBJP as I was impressed bythe policies of Modi andKhattar,” she told a motleycrowd at Dadri today.

In fact, Modi’s rally atDadri on October 15 hascome as a shot in the arm forthe BJP, which had neverwon an election from Dadri.

Challenging Babita in theJat-dominated area, are vet-eran politicians, includingthe three-time MLA Satpal

Sangwan who switchedfrom the Congress to theJJP after being denied theCongress ticket. The Con-gress has relied on former

MLA Nripender Singh.However, posing real chal-

lenge to Babita would beSomvir Sangwan, a BJP rebelcontesting as Independent.

Somvir, who lost the 2014 pollby just over 1,600 votes, wasdenied the BJP ticket.

Besides her celebrity status,the BJP seems to have kept the

caste maths in mind whiledeciding on Babita’s candida-ture. Candidates from theSangwan and Phogat khaps(caste councils) belonging tothe Jat community have beenwinning the seat in the recentpast. Since Satpal Sangwanand Nripender Singh andSomvir belong to the SangwanKhap, the division of votesamong the three major con-tenders cannot be ruled out.

Rajdeep Phogat, who wonthe seat on INLD ticket (he lat-er joined the JJP) in 2014, alsobelonged to the Phogat khap.He opted out of the contest thistime due to personal reasons.

In Dadri, BJP relies on Babita’s sports appeal plus caste maths

Babita Phogat seeks blessingsof elderly women in Dadri.

Mayawati in Yamunanagar

Tanwar backs Abhay in EllenabadHisar: After backing JJP leaderDushyant Chautala in Delhi,former state Congress presi-dent Ashok Tanwar onWednesday extended supportto INLD leader Abhay SinghChautala in Ellenabad Assem-bly segment of Sirsa district.The Ellenabad candidate visit-ed Tanwar’s residence in Sirsa. After a meeting, Abhay, accom-panied by Tanwar and his wife Avantika Maken Tanwar, inter-acted with mediapersons. Tanwar said he had decided tosupport Abhay in the election. He said he would address a pub-lic meeting in Abhay’s favour in Ellenabad on October 19. TNS

Slams ‘triple D’ rule Amit Shah termed the 10years of Congress ruleas the government oftriple ‘D’. The first ‘D’stands for ‘darbariyon kisarkar’, second ‘D’ for‘damad ki sarkar’ andthird ‘D’ for ‘damad kedalalon ki sarkar’.

Four-cornered contest Since three major contenders— Satpal Sangwan (JJP),Nripender Singh (Congress)and Somvir Sanwan (Indepen-dent) belong to the Sangwankhap, votes could be dividedamong them. Babita may getvotes of the Phogat khap,besides the traditional BJPvotes of non-Jats and youth.

Ravinder SainiTribune News Service

Rewari, October 16 With electioneering for theAssembly poll entering itslast leg, both the BJP andCongress are pulling out allstops to win maximumseats in the Ahirwal region,especially in Rewari andMahendragarh districts.

PM Narendra Modi willaddress a rally in Rewarion October 19 and Con-gress president SoniaGandhi in Mahendragarhon October 18.

Besides her, state Congress

chief Kumari Selja will cam-paign for Congress nomineefrom Rewari Chiranjeev Raoin Rewari city tomorrow.

There was no mention ofModi’s rally at Rewariwhen the schedule of his

election campaign inHaryana was released earli-er. But Union Minister RaoInderjit is believed to havemanaged to get his time toboost the campaign of BJPcandidate Sunil YadavMusepur who is locked in atough contest with Chiran-jeev Rao and BJP rebelRandhir Kaprivaas.

Sonia Gandhi’s visit toMahendragarh also carriesthe same prospect for theCongress which also wants towrest all those seats where itscandidates are giving stiffcontest to the BJP.

Modi, Sonia to spice up last legClose contest Rewari and Mahendra-garh districts have sevenAssembly seats andtough contest is expect-ed in five segments —Rewari, Bawal, Mahen-dragarh, Narnaul andNangal Choudhary.

THE TRIBUNEJALANDHAR | THURSDAY | 17 OCTOBER 2019 07NATION

ShivKumarTribune News Service

Mumbai, October 16Attacking the Oppositionfor accusing him of divert-ing people’s attention fromMaharashtra, Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi saidthey should drown them-selves in shame.

“The shameless opposition(leaders) are asking what isthe connection between Arti-cle 370 and Maharashtra...We are proud of Maharash-tra’s children who sacrificedeverything for Jammu andKashmir. But for politicalgains some people are ask-ing what has Maharashtragot to do with Jammu andKashmir? Doob maro! Doobmaro! (drown yourself),”Modi said at an election rallyin Akola district.

He went on to say that thepeople of Maharashtra are

happy that Article 370 hasbeen removed. “They are suf-fering because the Article

370 they nurtured has beenfinished off and thrown at thefeet of the people,” Modi said.

The PM went on to praiseVinayak Damodar Savarkar

and said the Opposition lead-ers insulted him by denyingthe Bharat Ratna.

Addressing another rally atPanvel in Maharashtra,Modi called on people to giveanother term to Chief Minis-ter Devendra Fadnavis.

“When Narendra and Deven-dra stand together then 1+1becomes 11 and not 2,” Modisaid. Speaking of develop-ment in the township bor-dering Mumbai and Pune,Modi said two lakh houseswere being built for slumd-

wellers. “Every person,including those from thepoor and the middle-class,can dream of their ownhome,” Modi said.

He spoke of the schemeunder which affordable hous-es are given subsidies by thegovernment under the PMAwas Yojana. “We are givingsubsidies on the interest ofhome loans for people withwho earn less than 18 lakhannually,” Modi said.

Addressing the fishingcommunity in this town-ship, Modi said the govern-ment has made it easier forfishermen to obtain bankloans for buying newerboats. He however request-ed fish sellers to stop usingsingle-use plastic. “We needyour support to stop theusage of single-use plasticwhich damages the marineeco-system,” Modi said.

Drown in shame, Modi to Oppn Slams it over Article 370, ‘insulting’ Savarkar by denying him Bharat Ratna

PM Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Navi Mumbai. PTI

Aditi TandonTribune News Service

NewDelhi, October 16Five days to go for Haryanaelections, former state Con-gress unit chief Ashok Tan-war today threw his weightbehind JJP’s DushyantChautala and declared thatthe Congress would nowfight to fill the third or thefourth slot in the state.

“The Congress will now viefor the third or fourth slotbecause we will begin ourpolitical bombardment fromtoday to teach Congress’arrogant state leaders a les-son. We have laid land minesall over Haryana and thesearrogant people are boundto step on those mines. Wewill destroy our enemies.Starting today, we arelaunching a surgical strikeon the corrupt leaders whoinflamed caste passions inthe state for political gains,”Tanwar said after declaringsupport to JJP on seatswhere the party is “strong”.

Tanwar made it clear thathis support to JJP was issuebased and seat specific andhe would back other cleancandidates wherever hecould. “There is no need forus to join the JJP. We willsupport the JJP on seatsthat are enough for them toform a government and onother seats, we will supportother good candidates. Thisis the start of a pan-Indiamovement at nation build-ing where we will bringyoung, clean leaders

together for a politicalstruggle,” said Tanwarwhen asked why he didn’tjoin the Dushyant outfit.

The new Jat-Dalit combi-nation of Tanwar andDushyant, candidate fromUchhana, spells trouble forthe Congress, which washoping to consolidate thetwo sections by putting sen-ior SC leader and ex-minis-ter Kumari Selja and formerCM and Jat stalwart Bhupin-der Singh Hooda in key posi-tions ahead of state polls.

The Tanwar and Dushyantfactor is set to change politicalequations in Haryana’s elec-toral landscape withDushyant today saying,“Ashok Tanwar’s support canhelp us cross 75-plus mark.”

After Tanwar openlyappealed to Haryana’s 36castes to join hands andensure Dushyant becamethe new Chief Minister, the latter promised a SantRavidas temple in Kuruk-shetra and appealed toGurmeet Ram Rahim’s fol-lowers by raking the“Panchkula police firingthat killed 40 dera premis”.

Tanwar backs JJP’sDushyant, saysCong will bite dust

Mumbai, October 16Omprakash Nimbalkar, ShivSena MP from Osmanabad,escaped with minor injuriestoday after a youth attackedhim with a pen knife while hewas out campaigning for aparty candidate.

The police said the incidenthappened at Naigaon Padolivillage in Osmanabad districtwhile Nimbalkar along withSena candidate Kailash Patilwas campaigning for Mon-day’s Assembly election.

Shortly after Nimbalkaralighted from his car to talkto villagers, a youth identi-fied as Ajinkya Taklejumped on the MP and triedto stab him with a knife.Nimbalkar parried theattack, sustaining minorinjuries on the hand, policesaid. Party workers chaseddown Takle and handed himover to the police.

However, Takle laterescaped from a police vehicle,according to officials. — TNS

Knife attackon Sena MP

VEILED ATTACK ON PATEL ■ Amid the ED’s summons to

NCP leader Praful Patel overhis alleged links to IqbalMirchi, an associate ofDawood Ibrahim, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,without naming anyone,launched a veiled attack

■ “Now we know why thosewho set off bombs in Mum-bai could escape from thecountry. All we want to knowis how those who set offbombs in Mumbai’s trainsand buses could escape tothe enemy country,” he said


NewDelhi, October 16 The Supreme Court wit-nessed high drama on thelast day of hearing on theAyodhya land dispute aftersenior counsel Rajeev Dha-van, representing MuslimParties, tore up a pictorialmap submitted by a Hinduparty purportedly showingthe birthplace of Lord Ram.

The incident took placewhen senior advocate VikasSingh, representing All IndiaHindu Mahasabha, was argu-ing the case. Relying on thesite map and books written byforeign and Indian authors,Singh tried to prove that thecentral dome of the demol-ished structure was the birth-place of deity ‘Ram Lalla’.

Taking strong exception toSingh’s submissions, Dha-van said such documentscould not be cited and reliedupon now as the issue oflocation of ‘janmsthan’ wasdiscussed by the AllahabadHigh Court on the basis ofother documents.

As Singh cited a pictorialmap from a book ‘AyodhyaRevisited’ written by for-mer Bihar cadre IPS officerKishore Kunal, Dhavansaid it can’t be done. Singhrelented and agreed not topress the pictorial map to

be taken on record.“What should I do with it

(map)?” Dhavan asked thefive-judge ConstitutionBench headed by Chief Jus-tice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

As the CJI said Dhavancould tear it into pieces, the

senior lawyer tore the pictori-al map submitted by the All-India Hindu Mahasabhacounsel, leaving lawyers andvisitors surprised.

Later, Dhavan said, “Thenews that has become viral isthat I on my own tore thepapers.” Justice Nazeer – whois part of the Bench – said yesthe news has become viral.

Dhavan said he had askedand sought the permission ofthe Bench whether thosepapers can be thrown and thereply from the CJI was “if it isirrelevant, you can tear it”.

“The CJI said I could shredthe papers and I just followedthe order. I take advice of Mr(Arvind) Datar in such mat-ters and he told me it was amandamus (a kind of writ ordirection),” Dhavan said.

The CJI shot back saying,“Dr Dhavan is right that theChief Justice said, so he toreup. Let this clarification alsobe widely reported.” The CJIwas joined by another mem-ber of the Bench, Justice S ANazeer, who said: “It is wide-ly reported now”.

Muslim parties counsel tears mapshowing Lord Ram’s birthplace

Vibha SharmaTribune News Service

NewDelhi, October 16 As the long-drawn Ram Jan-mabhoomi-Babri Masjid casehearings end, the issuehinged around building of a“grand Ram temple” at Ayo-dhya, an emotive issue forHindus, could not have comeat a better time for the saf-fron combination.

It was way back at itsPalampur convention in 1989that the Bharatiya JanataParty first adopted a resolu-tion to build a “grand Ramtemple” at the birth place ofLord Ram in Ayodhya. It hasbeen a constant feature inevery manifesto drawn bythe party since 1996.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tions, Maharashtra ally ShivSena raised the pitch when itstarted its election campaignfrom Ayodhya. More recent-ly, while campaigning for theOctober 21 state elections,Sena chief Uddhav Thacker-ay called for enactment of aspecial law to pave the wayfor construction of the tem-ple at the disputed site.

Interestingly, BJP’s ideo-logical fountainhead RSShas an important eventscheduled around October 31in Haridwar. The meeting,which is held once in fiveyears, is expected to see thepresence of top brass of theSangh, includingsarsanghchalak MohanBhagwat, Bhaiyyaji Joshi,Dattatreya Hosabale and

Krishna Gopal, is expected to“discuss the next step”.

Even though Sangh affili-ate VHP was clamouring fora temple through the legisla-tive process, including anordinance, the BJP leader-ship always favoured a solu-tion through courts. This wasreiterated on several occa-sions by its top leaders,including Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and partychief Amit Shah.

A party leader, who believesthat with “evidence tilted onthe side of Ram Lalla, agrand Ram temple is nowclose to becoming a reality”,adds that next on the BJPagenda should be a UniformCivil Code in the country. A“grand Ram temple” and aUCC have constantly fea-tured in BJP manifesto in thepast years. In the 2019 mani-festo, the party “reiteratedstand” on the construction ofa Ram temple at Ayodhya.“We reiterate our stand onRam Mandir. We will exploreall possibilities within theframework of the Constitu-tion and all necessary effortsto facilitate the expeditiousconstruction of the RamTemple in Ayodhya”, it said.

For law on temple,saffron parties waitwith baited breath

Police personnel patrol the streets in Ayodhya on Wednesday. PTI

DID IT ON CJI’s DIRECTION: RAJEEV DHAWANThe CJI said I could shred the papers and I just

followed the order. I take advice of Mr (Arvind) Datar in such matters and he told me it was a mandamus (a kind of writ or direction). — Rajeev Dhawan, SENIOR COUNSEL

❝

Babri Masjid Action Committee convener Zafaryab Jilani addressesthe media on the Supreme Court premises on Wednesday. PTI

We will supportother good candidatesalso. This is the start of apan-India movement atnation building where wewill bring young, cleanleaders together for a political struggle. — Ashok Tanwar, CONG REBEL LEADER

❝

Tezpur (Assam), October 16 The Assam Government hasordered a magisterial probeinto the death of an inmate ofa foreigners’ detention centrein Tezpur district after his son,a mechanic, refused to acceptthe body till he is was declaredan Indian national. Dulal Paul,65, was declared aBangladeshi by a Foreigners’Tribunal in 2017 and lodged at

the Tezpur centre, Superin-tendent Mrinmay Dawka said.

Deputy Commissioner Man-vendra Pratap Singh said theprobe into the death atGauhati Medical College andHospital would be conductedby Additional DC (ADC) ParagKakoti. The Bengali Federa-tion of Assam has also submit-ted a memorandum demand-ing an investigation. — PTI

Death of ‘Bangladeshi’inmate to be probed


Mumbai, October 16The exposure of PMC Bank tothe controversial HDIL groupmay be higher than Rs 6,200crore, as estimated so far,sources in the Reserve Bankof India say. PMC Bank had aloan book of Rs 8,383.33 croreas on March 31, 2019, accord-ing to information availablefrom the RBI, which hasappointed an administrator tooversee its functioning.

Efforts are on to trace bor-rowers of the remainingfunds lent out by the bankbefore its operations weresuspended by the RBI lastmonth. “We are still calculat-ing PMC Bank’s exposure toHDIL,” said JB Bhoria, RBIofficial appointed adminis-

trator by the central bank.Sources say auditors

appointed by the centralbank are scrutinising

Documents

cdn.splessons.com...HC upholds conviction of 4 for Gikki murder Palwal headed for photo-finish Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 16 Palwal seems headed