27112020-TTB-01.qxd 11/26/2020 11:43 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.140 no.328 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 AFTER LOCKDOWN, LONDON TO REMAIN ON HIGH ALERT WORLD /thetribunechd SC REFUSES TO QUASH FIR AGAINST SKODA IN ‘CHEAT DEVICE’ CASE BUSINESS CONSTITUTION DAY: A-G BATS FOR JUDICIAL REFORMS BACK PAGE /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com friday, november 27,2020 Adamant farmers break barricades in Hry FACE-OFFPolice use water cannons, lob tear gas shells Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 26 Hundreds of thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana, on way to the national Capital as part of the “Delhi Chalo” protest against the Centre’s recent agriculture laws, on Thursday pushed their way through heavy police deployment, braved water cannons and tear gas and brought down barricades to reach the national highway. There was a confrontation between the Haryana Police and the farmers at the Shambhu border. The farmers, riding tractor-trailers and raising slogans, outnumbered the police personnel and forced their way into Haryana. The use of water cannons and tear gas shells proved of little use as the protesters removed the barricades and dumpers parked in the middle of the road to obstruct their movement. Stray incidents of stonepelting were reported at the Shambhu border though Panel set up to draft law against ‘love jihad’: Vij Chandigarh, November 26 Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij today said the government had set up a three-member committee to draft a law against “love jihad” to check forcible religious conversions on the pretext of marriage. Comprising Home Secretary TL Satyaprakash, ADGP Navdeep Singh Virk and Additional Advocate General Deepak Manchanda, the panel would study a similar law enacted by other states, including MP and UP . Vij had recently said in the Assembly that the state government was considering a law against “love jihad”. The minister was replying to a calling attention motion on the murder of Ballabhgarh girl Nikita outside her college allegedly by a youth, Tauseef, who wanted to “kidnap her for marriage”. — TNS CAPT, KHATTAR FIGHT IT OUT ON TWITTER IT’S CHEAP POLITICS inciting ❝ StopTime forinnocent farmers. your lies, deception and propaganda is over. Let the people see your real face… avoid cheap politics. ML Khattar, HARYANACM BLIND TO PROBLEMS ❝ Seems your govt has been so busy creating the bogey of non-existent ‘love jihad’ that you couldn’t see the problems of farmers on the ground. Capt Amarinder Singh, PUNJAB CM none was injured. Sources claimed private and government vehicles were damaged in Kurukshetra, Karnal and Agroha. A toll plaza was damaged too. Farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Gurnam Singh Charuni, camping in Karnal for the night, and those making their way into Haryana through Munak in Tohana, Agroha in Hisar, Kaithal and the Khanauri border faced water cannons. In Gurugram, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav and a group of protesters were detained by the police. By afternoon, the farmers from Punjab and Haryana had virtually swamped the highway till Panipat. The police, despite the barricades raised at several places, let them proceed after a brief face-off. With a large number of farmers camping in Panipat, security at the nearby Karhans village has been tightened. The national highway has been dug up and stone pillars raised to stop the farmers. The Sonepat district administration has established a temporary jail at the IFCI building at Sewali village on NH-44. Punjab farm unions condemn use of force Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 26 Punjab farmers on Thursday removed boulders and trucks to make way into Haryana. All political parties in Punjab have lent support to the protesting farmers, providing vehicles and ration. Inside Haryana, despite police resistance, the farmers managed to proceed towards Delhi. “Such brutal use of force against the farmers is condemnable,” said JS Patiala, general secretary of the BKU-Dakaunda. Sources said about 3 lakh protesters, including 25,000 women, were on their way to NEED TO WATCH OUT We need to be watchful about the sustainability of demand after festivals and a possible reassessment of market expectations surrounding the vaccine. ❝ Shaktikanta Das, RBI GOVERNOR enforced anywhere in the world. The RBI, which has introduced many unconventional measures to aid recovery, expects economy to shrink by 9.5 per cent in FY21. INSIDE A number of Pb Cong MLAs came on the roads in support of the farmers. Gidderbaha MLA Raja Warring and his supporters were taken in preventive custody at Ratia as he tried to enter Haryana from the Mansa side on a tractor-trailer. Delhi. The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), Punjab’s largest kisan union, has mobilised 1.95 lakh farmers for the protest march. At Khanauri and Dabwali, the farmers’ movement was obstructed. Subsequently, Ugrahan group continued on page 10 A protester on the Punjab-Haryana border near Ambala throws back a tear gas shell at cops. RAVI KUMAR TRAFFIC SNARLS, DELHI POLICE STEP UP CHECKING ROUTES USED BY FARMERS New Delhi: Commuters from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh faced traffic snarls at several border crossings as the Delhi Police intensified checking in view of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by Punjab farmers who are scheduled to reach Delhi through five highways. Lalru | Shambhu | Patiala-Pehowa | Patran-Khanauri | Moonak-Tohana | Ratia-Fatehabad | Talwandi-Sirsa SHIROMANI AKALI DAL CALLS IT A BLACK DAY ❝ Using force against farmers on Constitution Day. It’s a ‘black day’ for ‘annadattas’ of the country. SAD 25,000 WOMEN PROTESTERS 25,000 women are taking part in the protest. “Over 4,000 tractor-trailers have been arranged for them,” said SS Kokrikalan, BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) Police detain farmers in New Delhi. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MANAS RANJAN BHUI Recovery stronger 2 soldiers killed in J&K militant attack than expected: RBI Mumbai, November 26 After the 23.9 per cent GDP contraction in the April-June quarter following the Covid19 pandemic, economic recovery momentum has been stronger than expected, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday. Das, however, said there was need to be watchful of the demand momentum sustaining after the festivities as well, and also warned of downside risks to growth coming from a rise in virus infections in select pockets. He was speaking at the annual day event of Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association of India (FEDAI). The heavy contraction in Q1 was attributed to the near-complete chilling of economic activity in the wake of one of the strongest lockdowns MLAs LEND SUPPORT New Delhi, November 26 Two security personnel were martyred in a terror attack on an Army quick-reaction team on the outskirts of Srinagar today. The police said the quickreaction team came under indiscriminate firing by three militants in the HTM area of Srinagar. Kashmir IG Vijat Kumar said, “Three terrorists opened fire on our Army soldiers. Two jawans were critically injured, who reportedly succumbed to their injuries. Jaish has active movement in this area. Terrorists fled in a car. Two of them are probably Pakistanis.” A defence spokesperson is reported to have said, “They (the injured soldiers) were evacuated to a nearest medical facility. However, they succumbed to their injuries.” The security forces have cordoned off the area and PM: WON’T FORGET MUMBAI ATTACK India cannot forget Mumbai attack. Today’s India is facing terrorism with new strategy and new polity. I praise those security officers who have been playing major role in securing the country. ❝ Narendra Modi, PRIME MINISTER A policeman at Police Memorial, Mumbai, on the 12th anniversary of 26/11 attack. PTI PAKISTAN YET TO NAB 19 LASHKAR TERRORISTS FOR ROLE IN 26/11 Lahore: Twelve years after the 26/11 attack, Pakistan has placed 19 members of the Lashkar-eToiba (LeT) on a list of “most wanted terrorists” for their role in the heinous assault, but it has not initiated any serious effort to nab them or punish seven others already facing trial. The security agencies here are clueless about the whereabouts of these 19 terrorists. PTI launched a search operation to track down the assailants, he said. “Being a crowded area, our men exercised restraint to avoid any civilian casualty and collateral JCO DIES IN PAK SHELLING REPORT INSIDE damage,” he added. The attack comes just two days ahead of the District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces have been getting inputs that terrorists were planning attacks to disrupt the elections. — TNS J&K ex-minister booked by CBI in land grab case New Delhi, November 26 The CBI has booked former Jammu and Kashmir Minister Taj Mohiuddin in connection with alleged illegal regularisation of encroached forest land under the Roshni Act, officials said. Along with Mohiuddin, the agency has also booked Mohammaed Ramzan Thakur, former Deputy Commissioner of Shopian; Mohammed Yousuf Zargar, the then Additional Deputy Commissioner; Hafizullah Shah, the then Assistant Commissioner (Revenue); and Ghulam Hassan Rather, the then Tehsildar. The CBI received a complaint from the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the UT. MORE INSIDE IN BRIEF Tibetan govt-in-exile recognised by US, says its prez Delhi, Kerala among A Left activist protests in Amritsar Trade union strike hits banking ops NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Banking services across the country were partially impacted on Thursday as some unions of public sector banks participated in a one-day nationwide strike called by central trade unions. The protest was against the proposed move of the government for privatisation of public sector banks, a union leader said. PTI Dharamsala, November 26 Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) or the Tibetan government-inexile, who was recently invited to the White House in the US, has claimed that the US Government has recognised their government-in-exile. Sangay, currently in the US, said not only has the United States recognised the Tibetan government-in-exile but also touched upon the sensitive “one China policy”. The Tibetan governmentin-exile is recognised by few countries officially. It is not recognised by India despite the fact that it has its headquarters in Dharamsala. “In the last 60 years, the White House has always said ‘allowing you to enter and inviting you inside will amount to acknowledging or recognising the Tibetan government-in- exile’. Once you recognise that government, Lobsang Sangay you raise the issue of status of Tibet, whether it is independent or not. It touches the ‘one China policy’. So it was very sensitive,” Sangay told media- has decided it will call out China,” said Sangay. This is not the first instance in recent months that the US has challenged the “one China policy”. Intensified engagements with the Taiwanese leadership and the announcement that the US follows the ‘one China policy’ guided by the Taiwan relations openly displayed Washington’s changed view towards Taipei. China reacted sharply both verbally and in action, he said. — TNS Fresh snow, rain in HP, Keylong coldest at -2.6°C Chinese Premier to attend SCO meet BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will attend the 19th meeting of the council of the heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states to be held under India’s chairmanship on Monday. PTI persons. He said he did understand that timing had a role in the move, coming as it did after the spread of the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, which has created massive health, economic and geopolitical uncertainty. “The trust deficit has increased manifold with Washington relooking its China policy. From cooperation, it is moving to competition, focusing on human rights for confrontation. Washington An earthmover deployed to clear snow from a road at Kufri in Shimla district on Thursday. PTI Shimla, November 26 Tourist hotspots Kufri and Manali in Himachal Pradesh received fresh snowfall and some other parts of the state witnessed rainfall over the past 24 hours, the Meteorological (MeT) Department said today. Kufri in Shimla district and Manali in Kullu district received 10 cm snowfall each, Shimla MeT Centre Director Manmohan Singh said. Similarly, Kalpa record- ed 17 cm snowfall and Keylong 3 cm, he said. Kasol received 50 mm rainfall, followed by Manali (28 mm), Banjar (24 mm), Rohru (18 mm), Shimla (16 mm), Dalhousie (12 mm) and Kullu (11 mm). Meanwhile, Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti was the coldest in the state at minus 2.6°C followed by Manali (minus 0.9°C) and Kalpa (minus 0.6°C). — PTI 6 states with 61% cases New Delhi, November 26 Amid a surge in the Covid-19 caseload which rose to 92,66,705 today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit India’s vaccine manufacturing hubs this weekend to take stock of the development progress. The PM will go to the Serum Institute of India, Pune, on Saturday followed by a visit to the Hyderabadbased Bharat Biotech. While the serum institute is the Indian collaborator of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine project (Covishield), Bharat Biotech is partnering with the ICMR to develop one (Covaxin) of the two indigenous vaccines. Trials of Covishield and Covaxin have entered the third phase. Covaxin Phase-3 trials began at AIIMS today with senior doctors taking the shots to inspire public confidence in the project. The PM’s visit plan comes at a time when India has started to see a trend of new cases exceeding new recoveries. In the last 24 hours there were 44,489 new infec- COVID-19CASES INDIA COUNT 92, 66,705 TOTAL RECOVERED DEATHS RECOVERED 86, 79,138 FRESH FATALITIES 524 TOTAL DEATHS 1,35,223 WORLD 6,09,30,162 4,22,11,614 14,30,693 FATALITY RATE HIGHEST IN PB ■ At 3.16 pc, Punjab has the highest fatality rate. The national average is 1.46 pc ■ Of 524 deaths in 24 hours, 60.50% were in Delhi, Maharashtra, WB, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh tions as against 36,367 new recoveries. Of the new cases, 60.72 per cent are from six states —- Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Kerala saw the maximum (6,491) fresh cases followed by Maharashtra 6,159 and Delhi 5,246. Among the active cases, 65 per cent are from eight states, including Punjab and Haryana. — TNS