10072026-TT-01.qxd 7/9/2026 MAHA 9th BJP STATE TO ANNOUNCE UCC NATION /thetribunechd 11:22 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 189 | 12 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH friday | 10 july 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com FourofPatialafamily take poison, two die PATIALA: Four members of a family allegedly consumed poison at their home on Wednesday night. The police suspect that a financial dispute within the family may have led to the incident. Vikas Batish (40) and his 11-year-old daughter died during treatment. His wife and their 14-year-old son are undergoing treatment. INSIDE Southwestmonsoon coversentirecountry NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon completed its advance across the country on Thursday, a day later than usual, with the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab coming under its cover. The monsoon normally covers the entire country by July 8. The IMD has forecast a continuous wet spell over parts of the region until July 15. BACK PAGE BJP fields 3 TMC ex-MPs for RS bypoll NEW DELHI: The TMC suffered another setback after three prominent former RS MPs, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik, joined the BJP . The leaders were formally inducted at the BJP’s Bengal headquarters in the presence of state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya. INSIDE India, Australia sign uranium supply pact, Iran strikes targets in Gulf after US hits 90 expand defence, mineral & maritime ties sites;Indiaurgescalm Adopt security roadmap to enhance operational coordination in Indo-Pacific Ujwal Jalali OTHER KEY TAKEAWAYS Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 9 India and Australia on Thursday unveiled an ambitious roadmap to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership, operationalising the civil nuclear agreement to facilitate Australian uranium supplies for India, fast-tracking negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and expanding cooperation across defence, maritime security, critical minerals, cyber technologies and clean energy. Addressing a joint press conference in Melbourne after the third India-Australia Annual Summit with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Melbourne, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the relationship as a partnership of the future, saying the two countries had emerged as trusted democratic partners in the Indo-Pacific. A major outcome of the summit was the finalisation of the administrative arrangement under the India-Australia Civil Nuclear Agreement, signed in 2014, which ‘Satluj’ takedown row reaches HC, plea seeks restoration on OTT Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 9 A petition has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking directions for the restoration of the film “Satluj” on ZEE5 platform after it was made unavailable for viewing in India. The plea has been filed by Sharwan Singh, who has contended that no statutory order, judicial direction or other lawful authority prohibiting the exhibition of the film has been disclosed. According to the petition, “Satluj”, earlier titled “Punjab ’95”, is based on the life and work of late human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. The plea states that the film was released on ZEE5 on July 3 and was subsequently made unavailable in India on July 5. The petitioner argued that the abrupt removal of the film curtailed the public’s right to receive information and artistic expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and also deprived paid subscribers of access to content that had been lawfully made available on the platform. The petition further stated that the main questions arising for the court’s consideration included whether the abrupt withdrawal of a duly released and lawfully exhibited feature film from an OTT platform — in the absence of any disclosed statutory order, judicial direction or authority of law — violated the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guar- EAM REVIEWS TIES WITH KUWAIT BACK PAGE SAD, WARIS PUNJAB DE HOLD SCREENING 'Satluj' is being screened by members of the SAD and Waris Punjab De, besides social organisations, youth clubs and gurdwara committees, across Punjab. Announcements are being made from gurdwaras regarding the timings of screening, and tea and eatables are being offered to viewers. AAP: NO PREMATURE RELEASE OF CONVICTS The AAP government rejected allegations that it approved the premature release of convicts in the Khalra murder case, asserting Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann signed no such file. anteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Another issue raised was whether the right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) included the right of the public to receive information and to access and view a lawfully released cinematographic work, and whether such right could be curtailed except by a procedure established by law. The plea questioned whether any authority could secure the withdrawal of a lawfully released film. ■ Victoria University gets approval to set up campus in Gurugram ■ Flinders varsity gives letter of intent to set up Bengaluru campus ■ Expediting negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty ■ Rooftop solar training academy in Gandhinagar with Oz aid ■ Focus also on cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance, clean energy OZ TO RETURN ARTEFACTS 1 Sacred bull Nandi, a vehicle of Lord Shiva from Tamil Nadu dating 11th-12th century 2 11th century bronze Trident with auspicious Kali (Bhadrakali) 3 12th century basalt sculpture of six-headed Skanda (Karttikeya) OZ PENSION FUND TO INVEST $346 MN IN INDIA INSIDE PM Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese embrace each other at an Indian diaspora event in Melbourne. REUTERS rity emerged as key pillars of the upgraded partnership, with the two sides adopting a Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation that renews the existing 2009 framework and expands collaboration in military interoperability, defence industrial cooperation, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. India and Australia also adopted a Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap aimed at enhancing information sharing, capability development and operational coordination in the Indo-Pacific. Modi said India and Australia, as two vibrant democracies and important Indo-Pacific maritime powers, shared a common vision for a free, open and rules-based regional order. The Indian Coast Guard and Australia’s Maritime Border Command signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in maritime law enforcement, domain awareness and maritime border protection. Australia also invited India to deploy a military instructor at the Australian Defence College continued on page 8 Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 9 The US carried out strikes on Iran for the second consecutive day while Tehran retaliated by targeting American bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait. Both sides have threatened to escalate the strikes, raising fears of deepening of the oil crisis as the vital Strait of Hormuz is seeing a low volume of shipping. Iran accused the US of striking near its Bushehr nuclear power plant. New Delhi said it was “deeply concerned” over the recent attacks and escalation of tensions in West Asia. Terming the developments “a risk undermining regional peace, security and stability”, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “India calls upon all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions and ensure protection of civilians as well as the uninterrupted flow of energy supplies and commerce.” The US military’s Central Command said early on Thursday that it had completed “an additional round of strikes against Iran … to further degrade Tehran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners CENTRE LETTING OIL FIRMS PROFIT: KEJRIWAL AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Thursday that the Centre is allowing oil companies to make ‘illegitimate profit’ and that fuel prices should be reduced. He said the government should cut petrol prices from ~102 per litre to ~82 per litre. in the Strait of Hormuz”. The US said “90 Iranian military targets have been hit, including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline”. The US attacked eastern Iranian cities of Iranshahr, Bandar Abbas, Konarak, Chabahar and Bushehr, as well as Aqqala in northeastern Iran. One firefighter was killed in an attack on the Iranshahr airport, Iran state news agency IRNA reported. Iranian officials told the Fars News Agency that attacks on Chabahar included strikes on a maritime control tower and a depot. Iranian state media also reported continued on page 8 operationalises the pact and enables uranium supplies from Australia to India for its civilian nuclear programme. “In the field of nuclear energy, we have reached an important agreement today. This will open the way for uranium supplies from Australia to India and give fresh momentum to our clean energy goals,” Modi said. The two leaders also agreed to accelerate negotiations on the long-pending CECA, building on the Economic Coopera- Protocol on finding bonded labour soon: NHRC after Hry meet Anti-Warring camp relents, says J&Ktoscreentextbooks ready to hold talks with Baghel for ‘separatist’ content Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Rajmeet Singh new delhi, july 9 After the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) flagged 84 suspected cases of bonded labour across Haryana, state officials on Thursday informed the commission that none of these cases could be substantiated during field inspections. This position was conveyed by all district magistrates of Haryana during a virtual meeting convened by the NHRC to review the flagged cases. The Haryana Chief Secretary also attended the meeting. Speaking to The Tribune after the meeting, NHRC Chairperson Justice V Ramasubramanian (retd) said the commission had decided to issue a detailed advisory to Haryana and other states on revising the existing approach to identifying and detecting bonded labour. BACK PAGE Tribune News Service tion and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed in 2022, which has expanded bilateral trade. They also decided to expedite negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty to encourage greater two-way investments. Defence and maritime secu- Chandigarh, July 9 In a sign of a possible easing of tensions in the faction-ridden Punjab Congress, senior leaders opposed to Amrinder Singh Raja Warring continuing as PPCC chief have, after days of deadlock, on Thursday decided to initiate a dialogue with AICC general secretary in-charge Bhupesh Baghel. At a meeting attended by at least seven senior leaders — Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Parminder Pinki, Pargat Singh, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Barinder Dhillon and Barindermeet Singh Pahra — it was decided to meet Baghel tomorrow or the day after, following consultations with all stakeholders. Rana Gurjeet contacted Baghel on Thursday Leaders, however, want PPCC president to stay out of discussions to schedule the meeting. The aggrieved leaders will meet Baghel on the condition that Warring is not part of the deliberations, a senior leader said on the condition of anonymity. Sources said most of the leaders present at the meeting expressed resentment over Baghel’s hostile posturing over the past few days. The development comes amid reported resentment in certain sections of the party, particularly among leaders close to Channi, over the high command’s decision to retain Warring as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president. Several leaders had earlier skipped key meetings and demanded a leadership change ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Baghel, who has been in the state to hold discussions with party leaders and oversee organisational preparations, has publicly maintained that there is no question of changing the state leadership. He has emphasised that the high command’s decision is final and has been welcomed by most leaders. Welcoming the development, Baghel said, “I received a call from Rana Gurjeet. I will be meeting them. I am going to visit those who are extending the invitation.” With Rahul Gandhi returning from abroad on Friday, Congress leaders are hopeful of an early resolution. Senior leaders privy to the back-channel parleys said a senior party leader close to Sonia Gandhi had persuaded continued on page 8 Adil Akhzer Srinagar, July 9 The Jammu and Kashmir school education authorities have issued directions for conducting a comprehensive screening of all books to ensure that “no book contains inappropriate or objectionable content”. The directions, dated July 6, follow the suspension of eight officials and supervisory staff of the School Education Department by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha after two books containing “separatist content” were found to have been supplied to government schools. An order issued by the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir, stated that all heads of government schools, recognised private schools and coaching institutions should Order follows suspension of 8 by L-G “conduct a comprehensive screening of all books (recently acquired or older publications) in their respective jurisdiction, including offices, classrooms, staffrooms and school library”. Officials said the purpose of the screening was to ensure that no book contained inappropriate or objectionable content. This includes material that may violate religious sentiments of any section and content that is inappropriate for students or against the prevailing laws with the potential of harming national interest. All material must align with the age-appropriate guidelines of the National Education Policy, 2020. continued on page 8 ~1,400 cr spent in 10 years, yet Gurugram drowns every monsoon Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service Commuters negotiate a waterlogged road following heavy rainfall in Gurugram two days ago. FILE c m y b Gurugram, July 9 Every monsoon, Millennium City Gurugram’s image as the country’s corporate capital takes a beating because of waterlogged roads, paralysed traffic and stranded commuters. Ever since the infamous 2016 ‘Gurujam’, which brought the city to a 20-hour standstill, the civic authorities have spent around Rs 1,400 crore on upgrading and cleaning the drainage network. Yet, with more than 50 crucial intersections and residential areas submerged again this week, the annual crisis continues to expose the gap between 115 mm of rain in 33 hours brings Millennium City to its knees government spending and results on the ground. In 2018, then Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had announced a comprehensive drainage system overhaul to connect old and new Gurugram and restore the lost natural stormwater drains. Several of these projects, including a Rs 280-crore plan to build 20 check dams and 200 recharge wells, however, remain largely on paper. Over the past decade, the city has instead spent over Rs 700 crore on band-aid solutions such as temporary pumps and patching of potholes. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) alone spent Rs 503 crore over nine years on sewer repairs. But all these efforts have failed to check severe waterlogging. The impact was visible this week when Gurugram received 115 mm of rain in 33 hours—83 mm on Tuesday and 32 mm on Wednesday. Tuesday’s rain caused major disruption across the city. A 10-footdeep crater appeared on the NH-48 expressway near continued on page 8 edit: urban deluge