22012019-TTC-01.qxd 22-01-2019 01:29 Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.3 no.22 | 22 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 | tuesday, january 22,2019 NO AAP PACT, ‘THINGS CAN CHANGE’ PAGE 7 MAY REFUSES TO RULE OUT NO-DEAL BREXIT IN FRESH OFFER PAGE 15 /thetribunechd IN BRIEF ! late city DJOKOVIC OUTPLAYS MEDVEDEV TO REACH QUARTERS PAGE 16 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com CJI recuses from plea on CBIchief Chinese growth slowest in 28 yrs Lowest economy figures since 1990 Jaitley to be back on Friday to present Budget on Feb 1 New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is in the US for medical check-up, will return home on Friday, well ahead of the Budget presentation on February 1, official sources said. Jaitley (66) left for the US on January 13. He had undergone a renal transplant surgery in May 2018. IANS France hits Google with 50 mn euro data consent fine Paris: France’s data watchdog has announced a fine of 50 million euros ($57 million) for US search giant Google, using EU’s strict General Data Protection Regulation for the first time. Google was fined for failing to provide transparent and easily accessible information on its data consent policies. AFP Kamala Harris jumps into 2020 White House race Washington: Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator, on Monday officially launched her campaign for the US presidential election in 2020 to take on Donald Trump. Harris, 54, is the fourth Democrat to join the battle for the party’s nomination. PTI Will attend selection panel meet Beijing, January 21 China’s GDP grew at 6.6 per cent in 2018, its slowest rate since 1990, official figures showed on Monday, stoking fears about the impact of sluggish growth in the world’s second largest economy on the world as Beijing grappled with the effects of the trade war with the US. Signs of further cooling in China, which has generated nearly a third of global growth in recent years, are stoking worries about risks to the world economy and are weighing on profits for the firms ranging from Apple to big carmakers. Fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew at the slowest pace since the global financial crisis, easing to 6.4 per cent from 6.5 per cent in the third quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. That left full-year growth at 6.6 per cent, the slowest rate of expansion China has seen since 1990. Weakening activity and signs of rising unemployment underline a pressing need for more economic support measures as Beijing wrestles with the United States over trade. Chinese policymakers have pledged more support this Tribune News Service WHY, AND WHAT NEXT ■ Weak investment weighing on economy after debt clampdown ■ US tariffs, slowing global demand dent exports ■ Trade war further souring business, consumer sentiment ■ More policy easing, stimulus measures expected in form of construction spending, special loan programmes, tax cuts ■ Economy likely to slow further before steadying around mid-year year to reduce the risk of a sharper slowdown, but they have ruled out a “flood” of stimulus like Beijing has unleashed in the past, which quickly juiced growth rates but left a mountain of debt. With support measures expected to take some time to kick in, most analysts believe conditions in China are likely to get worse before they get better. However, some analysts believe China’s actual growth levels are already much weaker. — Agencies A photo released by the Pakistan government shows “work in progress on the Kartarpur corridor”. Punjab to acquire 24 hectares in 3 villages for Kartarpur corridor DeraBabaNanak/NewDelhi, Jan 21 The Punjab Government has issued a notification to acquire land for the Dera Baba NanakKartarpur Sahib (Pakistan) corridor. The notification comes in the backdrop of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s request to the Centre to release funds for the project. Deputy Commissioner Vipul Ujwal today said Dera Baba Nanak SDM Ashok Sharma signed the notification on January 18 to acquire 24 hectares of land falling in the revenue jurisdiction of three villages — Jaurian, Chandu Nangal and Pakhoke Dera Sahib. “A total of 24 hectares will be taken over to construct the 4.25- km-long stretch from Pakistan shares draft agreement with India, lists proposals Dera Baba Nanak to the zero line,” said Sharma. Ujwal said a Central team would visit Dera Baba Nanak on January 23 to work out the modalities for constructing the integrated check post (ICP) and select sites where other infrastructural works are to be initiated. Cooperation Minister and Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who recently claimed that Pakistan had started work on its side, said: “The time has come for the Centre to release funds. I have requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to give a facelift to the Dera Baba Nanak railway station.” Meanwhile, Pakistan has shared a draft agreement with India on the corridor. It lists out proposals to facilitate the travel of Sikh pilgrims to Kartarpur Gurdwara in Narowal, 4 km from the Gurdaspur border. It has appointed DirectorGeneral (South Asia & SAARC) Dr Mohammad Faisal as its point person and requested Delhi to appoint one soon. A statement said India is invited to urgently send a delegation to finalise the agreement. — TNS New Delhi, January 21 Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi today recused from hearing a PIL challenging the Centre’s order appointing M Nageswara Rao as interim Director of the CBI, saying he was to take part in a meeting on January 24 for selection of a new CBI Director. Headed by the Prime Minister, the selection committee includes the CJI and the leader of the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. “Let it be posted before another Bench,” said the CJI, refusing to take up the PIL. The CBI Director’s post fell vacant after the removal of Alok Verma on January 10. The PIL filed by Common Cause, an NGO, is likely to be taken up by a Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri — the seniormost judge after the CJI — on Wednesday. It was Justice Sikri who represented the CJI in the January 10 meeting of the high-powered committee that decided to remove Verma. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had given a dissent note. Verma had later resigned. Common Cause had on January 14 challenged the Centre’s decision to re- Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi DSP BASSI MOVES SC New Delhi: CBI DSP AK Bassi moved the top court on Monday, challenging the January 11 order of the interim Director transferring him back to Port Blair by reversing Alok Verma’s order that brought Bassi to Delhi. Bassi, the investigating officer in a corruption case against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana, said he was being “victimised by Rao as certain elements didn’t want him to conduct a free and fair probe in Asthana case”. TNS appoint CBI Additional Director M Nageswara Rao as interim Director, mainly on the ground that there was no provision for an interim Director in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. Rao was made interim Director on October 23 after the then Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana were sent on leave. But the SC had quashed the government notification. SAD top guns for LS polls, Amarnath attack: Punjab U-turn, says no plan a Badal likely from Patiala Ex-MLA in a spot to privatise rural healthcare Party insiders say surprise for Gurdaspur seat too Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 21 With several of its veterans having rebelled and resigned from the party, the Shiromani Akali Dal is learnt to be planning to field its top guns to take on the ruling Congress and other rivals in the General Election scheduled for April or May. The SAD core committee, say sources, has already agreed to field bigwigs along with at least two sitting legislators. The strategy, they say, is to give the toughest possible fight to the Congress, which has witnessed several electoral successes after assuming power in Punjab. Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal says his party’s strategy is in place and they are ready to spring MLAs Sharanjit Dhillon (L), PS Dhindsa may be fielded many a surprise. Party insiders say the decision to field the top leaders was taken following several rounds of prepoll surveys. From Patiala, a constituency usually contested by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur, the SAD is likely to field a member from its first family. A similar strategy is in the works for Gurdaspur, represented by Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar. SAD is also keen on playing its Panthic agenda to the hilt. It is likely to give the ticket from Khadoor Sahib to one of the faces who played a prominent role in the recent conviction of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 antiSikh riots case. As for the two sitting MLAs, SAD is learnt to have zeroed in on Parminder Singh Dhindsa (for Sangrur LS seat) and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon (Ludhiana). Both are said to be reluctant to contest, but party insiders say anyone whose name is decided will have little option but to throw his hat in the ring. The Akali Dal is also reportedly trying to persuade its alliance partner BJP to swap at least the Jalandhar seat for Hoshiarpur. Of the 13 seats in Punjab, the SAD contests 10 and the BJP three. NIA: Mir’s vehicle likely used in crime Govt notice draws flakI Minister says move on pilot basis Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar. January 21 A former PDP legislator from Wachi in south Kashmir is under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) scanner over alleged use of one of his vehicles in the 2017 attack on Amarnath pilgrims, killing eight. The NIA has written to the J&K Police seeking Aijaz Ahmad Mir’s “integrity report” during their investigation into a weapons looting case by a special police officer (SPO) guarding the former PDP MLA in September last. “It has come to our notice that one of his (Mir’s) vehicles was used in the attack on pilgrims of the Amarnath yatra,” the NIA letter reads. The police had blamed OPEN TO PROBE: MIR I am open to investigations in any case. The police had completed their investigation in the Amarnath yatra attack case. I don’t know from where my name has surfaced. ❝ Aijaz Ahmad Mir, PDP EX-MLA Lashkar-e-Toiba for the attack and later arrested Mir’s driver for his alleged links with militants. At that time, they had denied his involvement in the attack. The NIA is now investigating the case in which Mir’s SPO decamped with seven rifles from his residence in Srinagar. The SPO later joined militant ranks. Mir was not in Srinagar at the time. Vishav Bharti Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 21 A day after issuing a public notice for privatising various health institutions in the rural areas, the Punjab Government today took a U-turn, saying “there is no such move”. A public notice had appeared in various newspapers in which the state Health Department had invited expression of interest for bids to run primary health centres, community health centres and urban community health centres in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The notice drew flak from health employees’ unions, social organisations and Left parties. Contrary to the notice, Health Minister Brahm Mohindra said the intent was only to strengthen the public NO EXTRA BURDEN ON PATIENTS: MOHINDRA If at all it happens, by no means shall there be any extra financial burden on patients. The existing government hospital rates shall be charged from them. Only one or two institutions will be tried on a pilot basis. Brahm Mohindra, HEALTH MINISTER ❝ healthcare system and that only one or two institutions would be tried on a pilot basis. Mohindra said due to various factors, state governments across the country were unable to attract an adequate number of specialists. “So, the public notice was issued to get ideas on how the government could provide all healthcare services even in remote areas.” As per the Government of India guidelines, private players can be engaged for a Players made to shave heads, probe on EVM ‘hacking’: EC hits back Bengal Hockey to probe coach’s roleI U-19 team lost to Namdhari XI Says tampering charges by Indian in London motivated Kolkata, January 21 The Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) will form a threemember committee to look into the matter of the state Under-19 players being asked to shave their heads following a defeat in a match. The Bengal U-19 team lost to Namdhari XI 1-5 in the quarterfinal of the Junior National Championship (B Division) in Jabalpur. Coach Anand Kumar had allegedly told the players during half-time that he will have their heads tonsured if they lost. While some members of the squad said they did it after returning to Kolkata out of respect and The Bengal Under-19 hockey players with their heads tonsured. disappointment, a few said they were forced. The U-19 squad comprised 18 players and it was learnt that all of them except two had shaved their heads. A dozen of the players were from SAI's Eastern Regional Centre at Salt Lake. “I scolded them during the match and never said anything after that. Why will I force them? I will talk to the players about what happened. I did not get a chance to speak to them as I am in the hospital for my wife,” the coach said. “When I came to know of it, I even tried to stop them. I was angry when we were losing by three-four goals during halftime. I scolded the boys and, in anger, said I will have their heads tonsured,” he explained. SAI Director Manmeet Singh Goindi said he would speak to the players and then take necessary action. — PTI New Delhi, January 21 Terming the allegations of tampering and hacking of electronic voting machines (EVMs) levelled by an Indian seeking political asylum in the US as “motivated”, the Election Commission on Monday dismissed it, saying the machines are “foolproof”. Maintaining that it did not want to become party to “this motivated slugfest”, the commission said: “These EVMs are manufactured in Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of Indian Limited under very strict supervisory and security conditions and there are rigorous standard operating proce- Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including four-page Bathinda Tribune. the ❝ We firmly stand bythe empirical facts about foolproof nature of EVMs deployed in elections in India. Election Commission dures meticulously observed at all stages under the supervision of a committee of eminent technical experts constituted way back in 2010”. Addressing a press conference in London via Skype, the man, identified as Syed Suja, on Monday claimed that the 2014 General Elec- tion was “rigged” through the EVMs, which, he said, could be hacked. He also said that he fled India in 2014 because he felt threatened in the country after the killing of some of his team members. Hinting at possible future action in this case, the EC said, “It is being separately examined as to what legal action can and should be taken in the matter.” Soon after Shuja’s press meet, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Opposition would take up with the EC the claims made by the cyber expert that EVMs can be hacked. — TNS Related report page 13 particular service for government hospitals. The Health Department is attempting to formulate a policy after hearing all stakeholders, he said. Earlier, the government doctors’ body PCMS Association announced that they would launch an agitation against the move in coordination with other employees of the Health Department. “Punjab already leads the country in out-of-pocket cost of treatment, which is much continued on page 7 ‘Digi yatra’ norms for airports out Mumbai, January 21 Aviation regulator DGCA has put in place norms for the rollout of the “digi yatra” facility, which will make air travel paperless and hassle-free. The airlines will make a provision to collect the digi yatra ID of the passenger for domestic travel at the time of the booking. The passenger will have the option to offer any one of the approved IDs. The digi yatra ID will be authenticated during the first travel at an airport with such a facility. The airline will ensure that e-tickets have a 2D/QR barcode following “one person, one ticket & one code” rule. The airlines have to collect passport number for international travel. — PTI