07022019-TTC-01.qxd 07-02-2019 01:40 Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.139 no.37 | 28 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 | thursday, february 7,2019 KARNATAKA GOVT FACES SURVIVAL TEST PAGE 7 US PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLS FOR MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION PAGE 15 /thetribunechd IN BRIEF Pandya, Rahul, Johar booked for anti-women remarks Ahmedabad: Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti convener Hardik Patel, who was spearheading the agitation for reservation to Patels in Gujarat, on Wednesday announced his decision to jump into the 2019 Lok Sabha poll fray. He did not indicate whether he would contest as a candidate of a political party or as an Independent, nor did he disclose the constituency. OC SMRITI SCORES INDIA’S FASTEST T20 FIFTY PAGE 16 1984: SIT to reprobe 127deaths in Kanpur Enter, Priyanka Gandhi PAN-Aadhaar link must for I-T returns, says SC Tribune News Service ANTI-SIKH RIOTS UP Govt sets six-month deadline Shahira Naim Tribune News Service Two national archery players die in mishap Hardik Patel to contest Lok Sabha election late city /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Jodhpur: In fresh trouble for cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul and filmmaker Karan Johar over comments on women made on TV show ‘Koffee with Karan’, the police have registered a case on the directions of a magistrate’s court. Local resident DR Meghwal had sought registration of a case, terming the remarks indecent. He said these were made to increase the show’s popularity. PTI Shahdol (MP): Two national archery players from Jharkhand were killed when their car rammed into a truck near Lalpur airstrip on Wednesday. Jaspal Singh (19) and Saras Soren (21), were Jamshedpur residents. PTI ! Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday took charge as AICC general secretary at the party headquarters in New Delhi and will helm the party’s affairs in eastern Uttar Pradesh. PTI ED GRILLS VADRA FOR 5 HOURS OVER ASSETS ABROAD BACK PAGE Centre moves to appoint Lokpal Advertisement seeks applications for chairman, members New Delhi, February 6 The government has sought applications for chairman and members of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, nearly five years after the Lokpal Act came into force. An advertisement seeking applications has been issued by the Personnel Ministry. For appointment as the chairman, a person who is or has been Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge is eligible to apply. The advertisement was issued after anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare had threatened to launch another round of agitation. Besides, individuals with “impeccable integrity and outstanding ability” having special knowledge and expertise of not less than 25 years in matters related to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance, including insurance and banking, and law and management are eligible to apply. Those below 45 are not eligible to apply. There is a provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal. Of these, four need to be judicial members. continued on page 7 Lucknow, February 6 The Uttar Pradesh Government has finally set up a Special Investigation Team to reinvestigate the circumstances that led to the death of 127 Sikhs during the 1984 riots in Kanpur, following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The move comes months after the All India Riot Victims Relief Committee (AIRVRC) doggedly followed up the matter with the Centre and state governments, as well as pressure from the Supreme Court. According to a press release, the four-member SIT would be headed by retired UP Director General of Police Atul and include retired District Judge Subhash Chandra Agarwal and retired Additional Director (Prosecution) Yogeshwar Krishna Srivastava. The SIT is expected to submit its report within six months. In August 2017, the apex court had issued a notice to the state government on a petition seeking an SIT probe. During the hearing in the Supreme Court on January ■ Many Sikhs were butchered on roads during the 1984 riots and several cases filed in Nazirabad and Bajaria and other police stations ■ SIT will look into the heinous crimes committed during the period and if need be will investigate it further 2, a report had been sought from the state government on February 13. AIRVRC president Kuldip Singh Bhogal said that during the function to release a commemorative Rs 350 coin to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh in New Delhi on January 13, he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him that despite the assurance of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and repeated promises by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the SIT into the Kanpur riots had not been set up. According to him, the con- versation clearly set the ball rolling as the very next day the UP Chief Secretary called him up to find out the details of the case. “From that day onwards, staff of the 15 police stations concerned in Kanpur have been constantly calling me up to find out how they could help,” Bhogal said. Three years ago, through an RTI application, the AIRVRC had found that for the 127 riot casualties in Kanpur, some 34 culprits had been listed. A delegation visited the police stations of Kanpur and discovered to their horror that most of the records against these rioters had disappeared. None had been chargesheeted, leave alone punished. In March 2017, they filed a PIL in the Supreme Court requesting a direction to the Centre as well as the state government to form an SIT to reinvestigate the matter. Bhogal admitted that the life sentence for former Union minister Sajjan Kumar after a lapse of 34 years had motivated them to renew their efforts to bring the culprits of the Kanpur riots to book. New Delhi, February 6 The Supreme Court has reiterated that linkage of PAN with Aadhaar is mandatory for filing of income tax returns. A Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri said the court has already decided the matter and upheld Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act. The top court on September 26 last year had declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid but struck down some of its provisions, including its linking with bank accounts, mobile phones and school admissions. A five-judge Constitution Bench had held that while Aadhaar would remain mandatory for filing of I-T returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN), it would not be mandatory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts and telecom service providers cannot seek its linking for mobile connections. The court’s latest direction came on an appeal filed by the Centre against a Delhi High Court order allowing two persons to file income tax returns for 201819 without linking their Aadhaar and the Permanent Account Number. Govt clears ‘Kamdhenu Aayog’ Delhi HC denies relief to Secret ballot by HC judges to promote cows, boost income Virbhadra in assets case today on senior advocates Amid Saradha row,more teeth for law banning ponzi schemes TNS & Agencies New Delhi, February 6 The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of a commission, Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, to frame a policy for the protection and development of cows and, thus, boost the income of small farmers. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the announcement was made in Interim Budget. He said the commission would work towards “conservation and development of cattle, including of indigenous breed”. The Cabinet, amid a raging controversy over chit fund scams, also decided to amend the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018, to enable banning unregulated deposit schemes with deterrent punishment and fines in a bid to Shop 24X7 in Gujarat now Gandhinagar, February 6 The Gujarat Government has decided to permit shops and other business establishments to remain open round the clock as part of the Modi government’s move for “ease of doing business”. The state Cabinet today decided to do away with the 1948 Act guiding the shops and business establishments to shut by 9 pm and in exceptional cases by 11 pm. The decision was taken despite the dismal failure of the move to organise January 18 to 28 “Ahmedabad Shopping Festival” on the lines of the Dubai festival, under which the government had permitted round-the-clock functioning of shops registered for the festival. — TNS NOD TO AGRI FUND ■ The Union Cabinet has approved creation of a ~2,000-cr Agri-Market Infrastructure Fund to develop and upgrade rural markets ■ The corpus of ~2,000 cr will be created with NABARD ■ AMIF will provide states & UTs subsidised loans to develop 585 agricultural produce market committees and 10,000 villages protect small investors. With the decision, the Cabinet decided to accept the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee that went into the provisions of the Bill. The Law Minister said any person running such deposit schemes without registration would attract penal provisions of the law. Advertisements of such unregistered schemes and brand ambassadors of such schemes would also be covered in this measure. “The Bill creates three types of offences — running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in regulated deposit schemes and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated deposit schemes. It provides for severe punishment and heavy pecuniary fines to act as deterrent,” Prasad said. The decision to amend the law comes amid a storm over probe in Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund schemes that rocked West Bengal and Odisha, among other states, and triggered a political war between the TMC and the Modi governments. New Delhi, February 6 The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the trial court order to frame charges against former Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets worth over Rs 10 crore. Justice Sunil Gaur also sought the CBI’s response on pleas of Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha Singh, challenging the trial court order. The 82-year-old Congress leader and his wife had sought quashing of the December 10, 2018, trial court order. The matter is listed before the trial court on February 22 for framing of charges. — PTI Notice to Centre, Haryana on plea against 10% quota Chandigarh, February 6 The NDA government’s move to provide 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections in General Category ahead of Lok Sabha elections today came under judicial scanner with a Hisar resident moving the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking quashing of the Constitution Amendment Act. Taking up the petition by Rakesh Dhundhara challenging the Act on the grounds that it was against the nineJudge Bench judgment in the case of Indra Sawhney versus the Union of India, the High Court issued notice of motion to the Centre and Haryana government. The next hearing is scheduled for March 13. — TNS Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 6 The Punjab and Haryana High Court, it seems, is divided over an issue concerning advocates; and is resorting to the not-so-common procedure of secret ballot for ending the impasse. The standoff stems from the contentious issue of carrying out amendments to the criterion adopted by the High Court for designating senior advocates. Available information suggests the proposed amendment, generating difference of opinion among the judges, paves the way for advocates from outside the Punjab and Haryana High Court to be designated as seniors. Apprehensions are being expressed that the amendment will virtually open the floodgates, if the move gets GOWNING GLORY ■ A lawyer, with his consent, may be designated as senior if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of the opinion that he deserves such a distinction by virtue of his ability such as standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law ■ Their gowns are different from other lawyers ■ Senior advocates enjoy certain privileges and face a few restrictions approval of the “Full Court”. It is also believed by some that the amendment may, in particular, prove advantageous for a lawyer from Delhi appearing in the High Court on behalf of a state. The matter came up for discussion during a “Full Court” meeting of judges last week, but the discussion remained inconclusive following the heat generated by the issue. It was eventually decided to resolve the issue through secret ballot. It is expected to be held in the lunch hour tomorrow. Full Court meetings are held from time to time for discussing issues pertaining to the judiciary on the administrative side — transfers and postings of judicial officers included. The meetings are also held for reaching a wider consensus on administrative reforms and matters related to higher and subordinate judiciary. The custom has its roots in the “en banc session”. French for “in Bench”, it is a session in which a matter is placed before the entire Bench rather than a panel of judges. continued on page 7 Vote of no-confidence in parties, voters restive in Amritsar Sound delivery system sole demand in parliamentary constituency, with little expectation M ONTHS before the crucial parliamentary elections, voters in the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency are restive. Successive governments have let them down, they say. Wary of divisive politics, that has caused Punjab immense damage in the past, they have only one demand — a sound delivery mechanism, their primary concerns being better job and education opportunities, healthcare, housing and hygiene, in that order. The BJP has not been a dominant player in Punjab. Not surprising, there is no Modi wave. While demonetisation, voters say, has failed to curb corruption, the GST regime has failed EAR TOTHE GROUND GS PAUL Catching the political mood before the electioneering begins A muddy street in Mudhal village near Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR to bring down prices. Sukhdeep Sidhu, a former sarpanch of Panjwind village, sums it up: “People’s hopes have been dashed to the ground. They feel tricked.” The mood of voters in nearby Mudhal village, 17 km from Amritsar, which is dominated by Dalits, is no differ- ent. “Adopted” officially by sitting MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited the village several times in AprilMay last year. He spent a night in the house of a resident to know of the villagers’ grievances. Yet, things remained unchanged. The minister announced various projects — streetights, LEDs along roads, a shed in the village grain market and a 4-km concrete road in two months. Nothing happened. The village road is as good as not. It disappears every rainy season. Kashmir Singh has Today’s issue is of 28 pages, including six-page Chandigarh Tribune and four-page Life+Style. lived in the village for 40 long years. He says: “It is virtually a hell hole. There is no provision for drainage, sewage and safe drinking water. Even the Atta-Dal Scheme has been discontinued.” A rather cross Dheer Singh adds: “Politicians are only bothered about votes. We see them during electioneering. Once the elections are over, they vanish.” Residents of Bhalla village in Ajnala echo similar sentiments. They complain unemployment is rampant. “Our village was chosen under the Centre’s Sunder Gram Yojana, but this proved of no help,” says a disappointed Jaswant Singh. continued on page 7 Sitting MP: Gurjeet Singh Aujla ■ The constituency comprises nine Assembly segments, eight held by Congress and one (Majitha) by SAD ■ Five segments are in urban areas and the rest on the city’s outskirts (Ajnala, Majitha, Rajasansi & Attari) TOTAL VOTERS MALE 17,21,336 60% SIKHS FEMALE 9,11,705 8,09,548 AS PER 2017 POLL ROLLS LIKELY CONTENDERS ■ ■ BJP: Rajinder Mohan Singh AAP: It has already announced the candidature Chhina, Union Minister Hardof Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal eep Singh Puri, ex-minister Anil Joshi, national secretary ■ Cong: Sitting MP Gurjeet S Tarun Chugh and ex-minister Aujla is strong claimant, but Dr BR Chawla likely nominees Dr Navjot Sidhu, if refused a ■ If seat is swapped with Ludticket from Chandigarh, may hiana, party may decide to be considered, as also ex-PM field Manjinder Singh Sirsa Dr Manmohan Singh ■ Punjab Democratic Alliance: No clarity yet