28122025-TTC-01.qxd 12/28/2025 12:40 AM Page 1 c m y b ALLU ARJUN CHARGED IN STAMPEDE CASE NATION /thetribunechd 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 358 | 24 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 sunday | 28 december 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Cong to launch nationwide MGNREGA stir from Jan 5 To corner Centre over SIR too ahead of 4-state, UT polls UNNAO VICTIM CLAIMS IO ‘COLLUSION’ BACK PAGE Australia flags 32L ‘UNMAPPED’, BENGAL SIR HEARINGS START ‘fake’rabiesjab, Indian producer counters claim Tribune News Service Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 27 Ahead of the Assembly elections in five states next year, the Congress on Saturday stitched together what it called a “widening political crisis” — overhaul of MGNREGA, special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and shrinking space for federal decision-making. The party warned that the Centre was heading for a direct confrontation with rural India and democratic institutions. At a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party resolved to put up a fight against the overhaul of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the SIR as part of its political mobilisation ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It passed a resolution to launch nationwide MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan from January 5. The meeting was attended by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in continued on page 11 Congress MPs Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the Congress Working Committee meeting in New Delhi. MUKESH AGGARWAL CONG MP DIGVIJAYA’S PRAISE FOR RSS TRIGGERS STORM BACK PAGE BJP targets Rahul, says he’s linked to ‘anti-India’ alliance Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 27 The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of being part of an international political network that “promotes narratives hostile” to India, saying that Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Germany was linked to events of Global Progressive Alliance, an international grouping of political parties and organisations. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s comments had laid bare what he described as the Congress’ “institutional association” with the Global Progressive Alliance. Trivedi alleged that Pitroda, who heads the Congress’ overseas department and is widely regarded as a close adviser to continued on page 11 NewDelhi, December 27 Australian health authorities have raised concerns over alleged counterfeit versions of the rabies vaccine Abhayrab in India, prompting a response from its manufacturer, Indian Immunologicals (IIL). The company clarified that the issue pertained to a single batch identified in January 2025 and did not merit a blanket warning. The company strongly refuted the “over-cautionary and misplaced reference” to 2023 made in the recent Australian advisory, stressing that it “does not reflect the current situation”. Abhayrab has been manufactured by IIL since 2000, with over 210 million doses supplied across India and 40 countries. It continues to hold a 40 per cent market share in India. Last week, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) advised that Australian travellers who received the antirabies vaccine Abhayrab in India after November 1, 2023, should consider the vaccination invalid and start a new course. In January 2025, IIL continued on page 11 Pb suspends Vigilance SSP for bid to ‘sway’ tender Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 27 The Punjab Government has suspended Amritsar SSP (Vigilance) Lakhbir Singh over alleged misconduct and ordered an internal inquiry into his role in a tendering process related to development works in the posh Ranjit Avenue area. The orders issued by the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) stated that the SSP was placed under suspension with immediate effect under rule 4(1) (a) of the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and PART OF AMRITSAR TEAM THAT ARRESTED MAJITHIA SSP Lakhbir Singh joined the Amritsar Vigilance office in April and was leading the team that had arrested former Punjab minister and senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case earlier this year. appeal) for his grave misconduct and dereliction of duty. Sources said the suspension was ordered on allegations that the SSP called an Amritsar Improvement Trust official seeking favour for a particular party during the issuance of tenders float- ed by the Trust. The sources said an investigation had been initiated in the matter, though no evidence of monetary exchange had surfaced so far. The sources revealed that the Trust had floated tenders for certain development works in Ranjit Avenue, for which four parties had applied. Of these, two were disqualified during the scrutiny process. The disqualified bidders later approached the Trust seeking a review of the decision, alleging that their disqualification was unjustified. It is learnt that one of the aggrieved parties subsequently approached the SSP , allegedly seeking his intervention. The sources claimed that Lakhbir Singh contacted a senior official of the Improvement Trust in this continued on page 7 Himachal docs on strike; minister says sorry to CM could’ve helped Subhash Rajta Tribune News Service Shimla, December 27 Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said a simple apology could have averted the health crisis Himachal Pradesh was currently confronting owing to a protest by doctors. Demanding the reinstatement of Dr Raghav Nirula, dismissed for assaulting a patient at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), Shimla, doctors went on an indefinite strike on Saturday, crippling healthcare services across the state. “If the doctor had accepted that he reacted in a fit of rage and apologised to the Director, Medical Education, or the Chief Minister for the incident, the matter would have ended there,” the minister said. Maintaining that doctors should not get too angry or resort to strikes given the nature of their work, Shandil expressed hope that the deadlock would be resolved soon. “Once the Chief Minister returns from New Delhi, I will take the doctors to him to resolve the issue. In the meantime, we have taken measures to ensure emergency services run smoothly in hospitals,” he added. While doctors have accepted the “misconduct” on the part of their colleague, they argue continued on page 11 Today’s issue is of 24 pages, including Eight page Spectrum. c m y b People gather at a centre in West Bengal’s Nadia on the first day of hearings under the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Saturday. As many as 3,234 centres have been set up to cater to around 32 lakh ‘unmapped’ voters who have been unable to establish linkage with the 2002 rolls. PTI BACK PAGE Over 10.56 lakh names dropped from Assam draft electoral rolls Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 27 As Assam heads for the Assembly elections in less than six months, the Election Commission on Saturday released the state’s integrated draft electoral rolls, revealing that over 10.56 lakh voter names have been deleted following a special intensive revision (SIR) exercise. The move has triggered fresh political scrutiny over voter list revisions across poll-bound states. According to the draft rolls, Assam now has 2,51,09,754 electors, excluding 93,021 “D-Voters” — a category of doubtful voters whose citi- Objection window open till Jan 22 | Final list on Feb 10 zenship status is under adjudication. The deletions account for deaths, migration and multiple or duplicate entries, the EC said. The SIR, conducted through house-to-house verification between November 22 and December 20, covered more than 61 lakh households across the state. Officials said the exercise aimed at producing an error-free roll ahead of elections. Of the names deleted, 4.78 lakh were removed due to deaths, 5.23 lakh owing to electors shifting residence, while 53,619 entries were flagged as demographically similar and corrected. Claims and objections can be filed till January 22, with the final rolls scheduled for publication on February 10. The draft rolls retain all particulars — name, age and photograph — of “D-Voters” without alteration. Under Assam’s unique citizenship regime, such voters are disenfranchised pending decisions by Foreigners’ Tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and are not issued voter identity cards. Election officials said the Assam exercise continued on page 11 Green nod to hydro project on Chenab NEW DELHI: A panel under the Ministry of Environment has approved the 260-MW Dulhasti Stage-II project on the Chenab in J&K’s Kishtwar, officials said. The clearance comes in the backdrop of India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack. INSIDE 604arrestedinDelhi NewYearcrackdown NEW DELHI: Ahead of New Year celebrations, the Delhi Police apprehended 604 offenders and seized arms, drugs, illicit liquor and vehicles during a large-scale crackdown in southeast Delhi, an official said. The police had rounded up 2,850 individuals, of whom 604 were arrested. — TNS
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
