28122020-TTB-01.qxd 12/28/2020 12:00 AM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.4 no.359 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 EU NATIONS KICK OFF MASS VACCINATION DRIVE WORLD /thetribunechd RAHANE SCORES 104 TO HAND INDIA ADVANTAGE SPORT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL POLICY CAN BE SELF-DEFEATING INFOCUS /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com monday, december 28,2020 PM recalls sacrifices of Sikh Gurus Pitches for ‘made in India’ goods | Listen to our ‘mann ki baat’ too, say farmers Tribune News Service NewDelhi, December 27 Amid the farmers’ protest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to the Sikh Gurus, including the sons of Guru Gobind Singh, saying their sacrifices helped keep the country’s culture safe. On his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme, the PM said, “We pay tributes to the brave Char Sahibzade, we remember Mata Gujri, we recall the greatness of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur ji, Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji. We remain indebted to them for their sacrifices and spirit of compassion.” He paid tributes to Sahibzade Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh and Mata Gujri for unmatched courage and determination. The PM said he was blessed with the opportunity to visit Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib to pay obeisance UP TO OBSERVE DEC 27 AS SAHIBZADA DIWAS New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said the martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh's sons would be included in the school curriculum in the state. He said December 27 would be observed as Sahibzada Diwas from next year. Speaking at an event to mark the martyrdom day of the Sahibzade and Mata Gujri, he said, “Every child must be taught about their sacrifice. The schools will organise activities, including debates on the martyrdom of the Sahibzade.” TNS To protest PM Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme, farmers clang utensils at Singhu border on Sunday. PTI to Guru Teg Bahadur on his martyrdom day. Farm leaders, meanwhile, urged the PM to listen to their “mann ki baat” too. There has been no breakthrough after five rounds of talks between the Centre and the protesting farm unions, which have rejected the government proposal to amend the laws and provide a written assurance on the MSP issue. Security remained tight at the Delhi borders with hundreds of personnel deployed at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri, where the farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and parts of UP have been , camping since the last week CAPT’S APPEAL IGNORED, 176 MORE TOWERS TARGETED of November. Protesters clanged plates and other utensils at the sit-in sites during PM Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ monthly radio address following a call by agitating unions. continued on page 9 Fazilka advocate ends his life at Tikri border Jhajjar, December 27 A lawyer from Fazilka consumed poison at the Tikri protest site on Sunday. Amarjit Singh Rai, who hailed from Jalalabad, Punjab, was rushed to the PGIRohtak where he was declared “brought dead”. In a purported suicide note, addressed to the PM, he said he was “sacrificing” his life in support of the protesting farmers so that the government was forced to listen to the voice of the people. “The general public of India has given you absolute majority, power and faith... But you have become the PM of special groups... common people like farmers and labourers are feeling defrauded by your three agriculture ‘black’ laws... In order to feed some capitalists you have destroyed the common people and agriculture,” the note read. Rohit Dahuja, president, Bar AMARJIT SINGH RAI FOURTH SUCH INCIDENT ■ Baba Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide near the Singhu border protest site earlier this month ■ A young farmer allegedly committed suicide in Bathinda on return from Delhi ■ A week ago, 65-year-old farmer attempted suicide by consuming poison at Singhu Association, Jalalabad, said Amarjit Singh had been practising law for the past about 27 years. The advocate’s clerk, Ram Jeet, said Amarjit was “deeply perturbed” by the farmers’ plight. — TNS Plot to attack Poonch Need to invest more in public health: WHO temple foiled, 3 held Vax dry run in Pb today, daily cases dip below 19K Tribune News Service & IANS Nitish confidant RCP Singh new JD(U) president Patna, December 27 RCP Singh, a confidant of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was on Sunday chosen as the new president of Janata Dal (United). Kumar had proposed the name of RCP Singh for the post, which was then approved by other members during the party’s national executive meeting. The CM, who was re-elected as the JD(U) chief in 2019 for three years, relinquished the post in favour of Singh, its leader in the Rajya Sabha.Singh was so far the general secretary of the regional party. — PTI Jammu, December 27 The J&K Police on Sunday said it had arrested three Pakistan-linked militant associates and recovered six grenades from them, foiling a terror plot to attack a temple in Poonch. Poonch Senior Superintendent of Police Ramesh Kumar Angral said the arrested persons were planning to carry out a grenade attack on a temple at the behest of their Pakistani handlers to disturb peace and communal harmony in the district. The SSP told reporters in Poonch that the ploy was revealed after the Special Operations Group of the local police along with troops of the 49 Rashtriya Rifles detained two brothers — Mustafa Iqbal Khan and Murtaza Iqbal of Galhuta village — travelling in a vehicle near Basooni in the Mendhar sector around 8 pm Grenades recovered from Pak-linked ultras One of the arrested militants in Poonch on Sunday. PTI on Saturday. On interrogation, it was found that Mustafa had received a call from a Pakistani number and was directed to execute the grenade attack. “He admitted to having been tasked with throwing a grenade at a temple in Ari village,” the SSP said. continued on page 9 North shivers, 2°C in Gurdaspur Chandigarh, December 27 Biting cold conditions persisted across Punjab and Haryana on Sunday, with Gurdaspur reeling at a minimum temperature of 2°Celsius. As per the India Meteorological Department, parts of the region will witness severe cold wave and dense fog later this week. Gurdaspur was the coldest in Punjab, while Narnaul at a low of 3.3°C was Haryana’s coldest place, officials said. NARNAUL COLDEST IN HRY Station Pathankot Halwara Faridkot Narnaul Karnal Ambala Min temp (°C) 3.7 5.7 4.6 3.3 3.8 4.6 SNOW IN SHIMLA Among other places in Haryana, Karnal, Rohtak, Ambala and Hisar experienced a cold night, recording respective minimum of 3.8, 5.4, 4.6 and 5.8° C. Chandigarh also braved the cold weather, registering a low of 4.1 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Pathankot, Halwara and Faridkot recorded a low of 3.7, 5.7 and 4.6°C, respectively. Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala were also under the grip of biting cold recording a low of 4.8, 4.2 and 3.9°C, respectively. — PTI Geneva/NewDelhi, December 27 World Health Organisation Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Sunday called on countries to make greater investment in their public health systems to make the world better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics. “History tells us that this will not be the last pandemic, and epidemics are a fact of life,” Ghebreyesus said in his message as the world marks the first ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness on Sunday. UK TO EXPEDITE OXFORD VACCINE ROLLOUT London: Oxford vaccine is expected to get approval in the UK this week, speeding up the provision of the jab to the most vulnerable groups. “The priority is to vaccinate 12-15 million high-risk people,” an official said. PTI “With investments in public health, supported by an all-of-government and all-ofsociety one-health approach, we can ensure that our chil- ICC TEAMS OF DECADE DHONI, KOHLI VOTED CAPTAINS F ORMER India captain MS Dhoni has been named captain of the ICC One-day International and T20 International teams of the decade while Virat Kohli is skipper of the Test team Dhoni is one of the three Indians in the ODI team of the decade, apart from Kohli and Rohit Sharma The T20I team has four Indians — Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah Kohli is the only player to be included in all three teams More than 1.5 mn from across the globe took part in online poll for the ICC awards Besides Kohli, R Ashwin is the sole Indian player in the Test team, which includes 4 Englishmen COVID-19CASES INDIA COUNT RECOVERED 97,61,538 FRESH FATALITIES 279 TOTAL DEATHS 1,47,622 1,01,87,850 TOTAL RECOVERED DEATHS WORLD 8,08,81,291 5,70,93,292 17,68,126 dren and their children inherit a safer, more resilient and more sustainable world,” the WHO chief said. The day was called by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate the importance of the prevention of and preparedness for epidemics. “With Covid-19 having killed more than 1.7 million people and devastated economies, the value of health emergency preparedness has emerged,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Meanwhile, ahead of the vaccine dry run in Punjab, Assam, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh on Monday, India witnessed a record drop in daily new cases at 18,732. The total active caseload has fallen to 2,78,690, the lowest after 170 days. 67% turnout in Hry civic body elections Tribune News Service RESULTS ON DEC 30 Chandigarh, December 27 Sixty-seven per cent turnout was registered during the polling for seven civic bodies in Haryana today. The results will be declared on December 30. These were the first elections in the state after the BJP-JJP alliance came to power in October last year. The elections were held for the municipal corporations of Ambala, Panchkula and Sonepat, municipal council of Rewari and municipal committees of Sampla (Rohtak), Dharuhera (Rewari) and Uklana (Hisar). In Sonepat, where a polling percentage of 56.7 was reported, the police booked a Congress candi- Corpn/council Sampla Uklana Dharuhera Rewari Sonepat Ambala Panchkula Poll %age 81.5 79 74 69.1 56.7 56.3 54.1 date and his six supporters for allegedly beating up the son of a BJP candidate. Barring sporadic incidents of spat between workers of various political parties, polling was peaceful in Ambala. Just over 56 per cent turnout was reported. Six mayoral and 101 other candidates are in the fray from 20 wards. Bid to mislead farmers won’t work: Rajnath Shimla, December 27 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said attempts to “mislead” farmers on the new agriculture laws would not succeed. Addressing a statelevel function to mark the third anniversary of the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government in HP he said the new , laws would raise the income of farmers, but the Congress was misleading them. Whenever reforms are brought, it takes a few years before these start showing positive results, Rajnath Singh said in his virtual address. Be it the 1991 reforms or the ones introduced by the Vajpayee government, it took four or five years to see the positive results, he added. “We should at least wait for two years to witness the positive results of the farm reforms.” — PTI Validity of RC, licence extended till March 31 New Delhi, December 27 The Transport Ministry on Sunday extended the validity of motor vehicle documents like driving licence, registration certificate (RC) and permits till March 31, 2021, in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier through various notifications, the ministry had extended the validity of permits, licence and RC till December 31, 2020. The latest advisory says, “Taking into consideration the need to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the validity of the documents may be treated valid till March 31, 2021.” — PTI IN BRIEF Dance historian Kothari dies at 87 NEW DELHI: Padma Shri dance historian and critic Sunil Kothari passed away on Sunday morning at a Delhi hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest a month after testing positive for Covid-19. He was 87. OBIT: BACK PAGE ED summons Raut’s wife in PMC case MUMBAI: In a major action, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha for questioning in connection with the PMC Bank fraud case, officials said on Sunday. — IANS HC questions illegal occupation of govt bungalows in J&K Sindh govt not to release Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 27 Stating that public assets and money are being misused, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has asserted that properties are being illegally occupied by political persons after demitting office. No less than 72 government properties in Jammu and Srinagar were being occupied by political workers, advocates and other persons without entitlement and more than Rs 1,12,60,000 was due on account of rent, water and electricity charges. The “glaring details” placed before the Bench of Chief Justice (Acting) Rajesh Bindal and Justice Sanjay Dhar made it evident that a ministerial bungalow had been provided to the family of the late GM Shah, the J&K Chief Minister from 1984 to 86. His family had also been provided security at their Srinagar house. “Where was the need to allot a house to the family of the late GM Shah, ex-Chief Minister, in Jammu, when the family owns accommoda- GLARING DETAILS PLACED BEFORE THE BENCH ■ 72 govt properties occupied by political workers, advocates and others ■ ~56.89 lakh unpaid power, water charges by 72 occupants ■ ~55.7 lakh rent due from these occupants WHY HOUSE ALLOTTED TO SHAH’S FAMILY? ❝ Where was the need to allot a house to the family of the late GM Shah, ex-Chief Minister, in Jammu, when the family owns accommodation in Srinagar and is residing there? J&K High Court Bench tion in Srinagar and is residing there?” the Bench said. The Bench added that monthly expenses totalling Rs 32,44,713 were being incurred in J&K to provide security to former minsters, MLAs and MLCs in just nine cases. It also noted that Rs 56,89,524 was due on account of electricity and water charges from 72 persons, who were allotted government accommodation which they were not entitled to. The total rent due from these occupants was Rs 55,70,535. The monthly expenses incurred on the staff provided to these 72 occupants were Rs 7,93,049. Besides this, Rs 78,71,000 was spent by the government on repair and maintenance of their residences. The Bench also quoted the example of former minister Abdul Rahim Rather. A private house was stated to have been hired at a monthly rent of Rs 43,000. It was de-hired vide order dated March 23, 2018. But he was still in its possession and Rs 15,48,000 was due from him. continued on page 9 Daniel Pearl murderers Islamabad, December 27 Pakistan’s Sindh province government has decided not to release British-born AlQaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three aides, accused of kidnapping and murdering US journalist Daniel Pearl, in view of a Supreme Court order, according to a media report. In a surprise move, a twojudge Bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday directed security agencies not to keep Sheikh and other accused under “any sort of detention” and declared all notifications of the Sindh Government related to their detention “null and void”. The court observed that the four men’s detention was “illegal”. The court had clarified that the accused should not be released if there is an SC restraining order. Citing its sources, the Express Tribune said the government would not release the men in view of the SC’s September 28 order. — PTI