29122025-TT-01.qxd 12/28/2025 11:02 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 359 | 12 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH ZELENSKYY IN FLORIDA TO MEET TRUMP OVER PEACE PROCESS WORLD /thetribunechd PROTEST CALLED OFF AS LEADERS PUT UNDER HOUSE ARREST J&K VULTURE FLIES 750 KM THAROOR BACKS DIGVIJAYA’S IN 17 DAYS TO REACH VIEWS DAY AFTER RSS NASHIK NATION PRAISE ROW BACK PAGE monday | 29 december 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 2025 year of pride, youth must lead India into ’26: PM Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 28 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday described 2025 as a year that “made every Indian proud”, urging the youth to take the lead as the country steps into 2026 with confidence and ambition. Addressing the 129th episode of Mann Ki Baat, Modi said India’s progress over the past year reflected unity, selfreliance and national resolve across security, sports, science, culture and social change. Lists achievements from sports to space Highlighting national security, the PM cited Operation Sindoor as evidence of India’s firm stance against threats. “Today’s India does not compromise on its security,” he said, adding that the 150th anniversary celebrations of Vande Mataram symbolised collective national pride. In sports, Modi pointed to India’s strong showing, including the men’s cricket team winning the ICC Champions Trophy and the women’s team clinching their maiden World Cup. He also praised para-athletes and the women’s blind cricket team continued on page 8 Attacks on Hindus ‘isolated acts’: Dhaka as India flags persecution Says Hadi’s killers escaped to India; New Delhi rubbishes claims Dy PM admits to attack on airbase Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 28 India and Bangladesh were engaged in parallel diplomatic and security exchanges on Sunday, with Dhaka downplaying concerns raised by New Delhi over the treatment of minorities, calling it an “inaccurate, exaggerated or motivated narrative that does not reflect facts”. Bangladesh foreign ministry spokesperson SM Mahbubul Alam alleged there were “systematic attempts to portray the isolated incidents of criminal acts as systemic persecution of the Hindus and maliciously used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments” in different parts of India. Dhaka also claimed that the killers of Inquilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to India. The police in Bangladesh said two prime suspects in the December 12 killing of Hadi had crossed over to Meghalaya. Indian security agencies dismissed the claim as “unfounded and misleading”, asserting that no such infiltration had taken place. At a press briefing in Dhaka, Members of Hindu organisations raise slogans in Bengaluru over violence against minorities in Bangladesh. PTI US CONGMAN SLAMS LYNCHING STUDENT-LED NCP SPLIT OVER TIE-UP US Congressman Ro Khanna, in a post on X, said, “The killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, is horrific. We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry.” The student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), formed during the July uprising last year, found itself divided over alliance and seat-sharing talks with the Islamic conservative party, Jamaat-e-Islami, for the upcoming elections in Bangladesh. Additional Police Commissioner SN Md Nazrul Islam alleged that suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh entered India through the Haluaghat border with the ON A SUB SORTIE help of local associates and later reached Tura in Meghalaya. He said Dhaka was in touch with Indian authorities through formal and informal channels to facilitate their President Droupadi Murmu aboard submarine INS Vaghsheer at the Karwar naval base in Karnataka. ANI New Delhi, December 28 Amid widespread apprehensions about ecological degradation due to unregulated mining in the Aravalli range, the Chief Justice of India-led Bench of the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of issues concerning its definition and has decided to urgently take up the matter on Monday. The suo motu case is listed for hearing before a Special Vacation Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice AG Masih on December 29. BACK PAGE arrest and extradition. Rejecting the claim, Meghalaya Frontier BSF Inspector General OP Opadhyay said there was “no evidence” of any continued on page 8 Lahore, December 28 gered four days of intense Pakistan President Asif Ali clashes between the two Zardari has revealed that he countries and ended with an was advised to “hide in a understanding to stop the bunker” when India launched military actions on May 10. Operation Sindoor in May. “Pakistan desires peace but Zardari made the revelation remains fully prepared to while speaking at an event in defend itself,” Zardari said, Larkana, Sindh while making province, to mark claims about what the 18th death he called Pakanniversary of his istan’s “decisive wife and former stance” during the Prime Minister four-day conflict. Benazir Bhutto, who President Zardari was assassinated in also praised army Rawalpindi on chief Asim Munir Asif Ali Zardari December 27, 2007. for what he called a “My military secretary came “befitting reply to India” in the to me and said, ‘Sir, the war armed conflict in May. Meanhas started. Let’s go to a while, Pakistan’s Deputy bunker.’ I had actually told Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has him four days earlier that a admitted that India attacked war was going to happen... I its Nur Khan airbase in the earsaid, ‘If martyrdom is to ly hours of May 10, in possibly come, it will come here. Lead- a first-time admission eight ers don’t die in bunkers. They months after the conflict. die on the battlefield. They Dar also said Islamabad did don’t die sitting in bunkers’,” not request mediation he said on Saturday. between Pakistan and India India launched Operation during the May conflict but Sindoor on May 7, targeting claimed that US Secretary of terror infrastructure in Pak- State Marco Rubio and Saudi istan and Pakistan-occupied Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Kashmir in retaliation for the bin Farhan expressed a desire Pahalgam attack that killed to speak with New Delhi. continued on page 8 26 civilians. The strikes trig- Khaleda inextremely criticalcondition:Doc DHAKA: Bangladesh’s former PM Khaleda Zia is in an “extremely critical” condition, her personal physician has said. Khaleda, the 80year-old chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has been undergoing treatment at Dhaka's Evercare Hospital since November 23 for multiple health complications. INSIDE Row erupts as BLO founddeadinBengal KOLKATA: A booth-level officer (BLO), Haradhan Mandal, was found dead in West Bengal’s Bankura district on Sunday, triggering allegations that work-related pressure linked to the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls might have played a role, the police said. In a “suicide note”, the BLO reportedly referred to being unable to cope with work pressure. INSIDE Fog-triggered pile-up in Ludhiana leaves 1 dead, 5 hurt Mahesh Sharma SC takes suo motu cognisanceofAravalli issue,hearingtoday Was advised to hide in bunker during Op Sindoor: Pak Prez Ludhiana, December 28 One person was killed and five others injured in a multivehicle pile-up near Ajnaud village on the southern highway close to Doraha early on Sunday morning. The crash occurred in dense fog when the driver of a truck carrying LPG cylinders suddenly applied brakes after a car ahead slowed down, triggering a chain collision involving a cement-laden truck and other vehicles. The situation could have been far worse had the gas cylinders caught fire. Sources said the driver of a car was hit by another vehicle while trying to remove a cylinder from underneath his car and later succumbed to his injuries. This was one of several accidents reported across Ludhiana and its connecting highways amid near-zero visibility and poor air quality. At least two dozen vehicles were damaged in mishaps on the Ludhiana-Delhi, LudhianaJalandhar, LudhianaMalerkotla and LudhianaFerozepur highways during the night and early morning. In another incident, a Verna car collided with a bus near Bharthala village on the Chandigarh-Samrala road. Cong not just a political party, but voice of India’s soul: Rahul on foundationday Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 28 Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Sunday asserted that the Congress is not merely a political party but “the voice of India’s soul”, as the party marked its 140th foundation day with a strong political message rooted in constitutional values and resistance to authoritarianism. The celebrations were held at the Congress headquarters in the Capital and were attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, MP Rahul Gandhi, general secretary KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid and Shashi Tharoor, among other senior leaders. In a detailed message in Hindi on X, Rahul began by greeting party workers across the country and invoking the Congress’ historical legacy. “Heartiest greetings to every Congressman on the foundation day of the Indian National Congress today. We pay homage to that historic legacy and those great sacrifi- cers who won freedom for India, laid the foundation of the Constitution and strengthened the values of democracy, secularism, social justice and equality,” he said. Rahul then underlined the ideological identity of the Congress, positioning it as a party rooted in social commitment rather than electoral arithmetic. “The Congress is not just a political party; it is the voice of India’s soul — which has stood with every weak, every deprived, and every hardworking person,” continued on page 8 HP doctors divided as association calls off strike Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service HP CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Shimla on Sunday. LALIT KUMAR Shimla, December 28 The Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) of the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Hospital, Shimla, formally called off the strike on Sunday following an assurance by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, but a section of the doctors refused to abide by Medicos must shed ego, resume duty: CM Sukhu the decision. The stalemate over the indefinite strike across the state seems to have been resolved only partially as a faction of the doctors is adamant on the revocation of the termination of Dr Raghav Nirula, continued on page 8 c m y b The occupants of the car fled the spot. The car was impounded after the police found liquor bottles inside. On the Lohara Road in Giaspura, a Tata Indica car rammed into an electric pole supporting high-tension cables around 2 am, disrupting power supply in the area. In another mishap, a speeding car hit the divider on the Sat Paul Mittal Road with such force that the foundation stone marking its inauguration was dismantled. Earlier, a car carrying three people caught fire near Agwar Lopon village in Jagraon. The occupants escaped unharmed. Vehicles damaged in a pile-up near Ludhiana on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO