05022021-TT-01.qxd 2/4/2021 10:56 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.141 no.35 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2021-2023 established in 1881  himachal pradesh NEPAL STIR THROWS LIFE OUT OF GEAR; 200 ARRESTED WORLD /thetribunechd RALLY CONTINUES, SENSEX, NIFTY ATTAIN NEW PEAKS BUSINESS CHAURI CHAURA MARTYRS NOT GIVENTHEIRDUE:PM BACK PAGE /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com friday | 5 february 2021 Oppn corners govt over farm agitation Tells Centre to stop monologue, start dialogue | Says show aggression on border, not protest sites Tribune News Service BKU leader Rakesh Tikait addresses farmers at the Ghazipur-Delhi border on Thursday. PTI ❝ Kaun hain ye videshi kalaakar (Who’re these foreign artistes)? Rakesh Tikait on foreigners backing stir New Delhi, February 4 Hitting out at the government over its “failure” on almost all fronts, including the ongoing farm sector unrest, Opposition members in Rajya Sabha today asked the ruling NDA leadership to stop “monologue” and instead “initiate dialogue with the farmers”. Opening the second day of discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said the gov- WHY ISN’T MODI TALKING GRETA TWEET LEADS TO FIR TO FARMERS: HOODA JR The Delhi Police have filed an FIR against the “proKhalistan” creators of a “toolkit” shared by climate When the PM says he’s activist Greta Thunberg in a tweet backing the farmonly a phone call away, who ers’ stir, alleging it aimed to wage a “social, cultural, economic war against Govt of India”. is coming between him and farmers... CHAKKA JAM ON FEB 6 NBA STAR BACKS STIR Why have fences Protesting farmer outfits have US National Footbal league been built, toilets been mobilising people for (NFL) star Juju Smith Schuster removed, Net their ‘chakka jam’ slated for has donated $10,000 to blocked? February 6. During their three- protesting farmers while NBA ❝ Deepender Hooda, CONG ernment had “lost the patience to hear and any criticism was painted as anti-national”. “With folded hands, I Minus Cong, Oppn US State Dept in general backs MPs visit Ghazipur trajectory of three farm laws New Delhi, February 4 A delegation of 10 Opposition parties, including the NCP , Trinamool, NC, Left, DMK and SAD, visited the heavily barricaded Ghazipur border today. Congress’ absence was conspicuous and triggered talks on the Opposition charting its own path minus the principal Opposition party. Harsimrat Kaur said they were not allowed to cross the barricades and accused Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of not allowing the Opposition to raise farmers’ issue inside the House, even as Opposition MPs stalled the proceedings for the third day in a row. Cops: Iron nails on Ghazipur border being repositioned NEW DELHI: Reacting to videos on the social media showing workers removing nails on the Ghazipur border, the Delhi Police on Thursday said iron nails fixed on roads were being repositioned. A senior police officer said security arrangements at the border remained and drones had been deployed to monitor protesters. Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been camping at Delhi’s borders for weeks, seeking repeal of the recent agriculture laws, which they say will weaken the minimum support price system. — TNS IN BRIEF Local parties forge alliance in Assam GUWAHATI: The AJP led by , former AASU leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi, on Thursday forged an alliance with the Raijor Dal of Akhil Gogoi for the Assembly elections. PTI Petrol, diesel prices up 35 paise/litre NEW DELHI: Petrol and diesel prices on Thursday touched a new high with 35 paise per litre rise even as fuel retailers said the government can cut taxes to ease consumer burden. PTI Stranded seafarers set to return home NEW DELHI: The 18 Indian sailors of a cargo ship stranded outside a Chinese port for over six months have been allowed to leave after over six months. TNS Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with kin of deceased farmer Navreet Singh in Rampur district. PTI RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, AAP’s Manish Sisodia and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut are among those to have visited Ghazipur earlier. — TNS New Delhi, February 4 The US State Department today called for observing human rights and fair play while supporting the general trajectory of the three farm laws. “We recognise that unhindered access to information, including the internet, is fundamental to the freedom of expression and a hallmark of a thriving democracy,’’ it said in response to a query on the farmers’ protests and called for resolving differences through dialogue. “In general, the US wel- FLAGS INTERNET BLACKOUT, MEA CITES CAPITOL HILL CLASH IMPROVING EFFICIENCY ❝ Ingeneral,theUSwelcomes steps that would improve the efficiency of India’s markets and attract greater private sector investment. Ned Price, STATEDEPTSPOKESPERSON comes steps that would improve the efficiency of India’s markets and attract greater private sector investment… We recognise that peaceful protests are a hallmark of any thriving democracy and note that the Indian Supreme Court has stated the same,’’ said Ned Price, the State Department spokesperson. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) pushed back at international criticism, including the statement by the US State Department, defending shutting off the Internet as a measure to prevent a repeat of the violence at Red Fort on January 26. MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “We have taken note of the State continued on page 9 HAL all set to produce unmanned fighter jet Feb freeze Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service Vehicles stuck in snow en route to Kasauli. A TRIBUNE PHOTO Bengaluru, February 4 Public sector giant Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on Thursday announced a technological leap by showcasing a programme to make an unmanned fighter jet. It will be part of a pack of manned jets and will have the capability to go deep into enemy territory and hit the target. Called “manned-unmanned” teaming, this is the latest concept and technology in aerial warfare. Under the technology, termed combined air teaming RAJNATH COUNTERS CHINA ON SEA DISPUTE We must ensure ❝maritime expansethat the of the Indian Ocean is optimally harnessed for the benefit of all nations. Rajnath Singh, DEF MIN system (CATS), an unmanned fighter jet controlled by pilots in another jet flying a few continued on page 9 21% with Covid antibodies: ICMR Legal request to US against SFJ New Delhi, February 4 The government today shared findings of the third ICMR prevalence survey, which detects the percentage of people with Covid antibodies. Among adults, 21.4 per cent of the 28,589 sample survey group have reported antibodies. The percentage exposure is higher in urban slums (31.7 per cent) as compared to nonurban slums (26.2 per cent) and rural areas (19.1 per cent). “Survey results show a large population remains sus- New Delhi, February 4 India has issued a Mutual Legal Assistance Request to the US for investigation in the matter of Referendum: 2020 by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated at its weekly media briefing. As per procedure, the request has been sent directly to the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The NIA had filed a case against SFJ in connection with the farm stir even before the Red Fort violence. — TNS COVID-19VACCINATION INDIA 45,93,427 4,54,509 1,150* TOTAL DAY’S COUNT ADVERSE EVENTS *TOTAL COUNT SO FAR ceptible. There is no cause to lower our guard,” said ICMR chief Balram Bhargava. India, meanwhile, has vacci- VAX DIPLOMACY New Delhi: India will attempt to neutralise the adverse perception owing to the farm agitation with stepped-up Covid diplomacy. The government will try accommodate 65 formal requests from countries for Covid vaccines, said officials. nated 4.5 million of the 9.6 million healthcare workers with the first dose, reaching 47.6 per cent target. — TNS CBI hands over sacrilege case files to Pb Police Chandigarh, February 4 Within months of the Akalis walking out of the NDA government, the CBI on Wednesday finally gave the papers relating to the sacrilege cases to the police. The documents and files relating to the cases were hand- ed over to the Punjab Police hours before the deadline set by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the CBI to do so was to expire. Notably, the Director, Bureau of Investigation, had written to the CBI Director on January 18, 2021, to return the entire record to the state police without any further delay after withdrawal of investigation of sacrilege cases from the CBI and consequent return of the entire record including evidence gathered in cases transferred to the CBI on November 2, 2015. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh termed it a victory for the state government and an endorsement of its stand that the CBI had, all these months, been trying to scuttle the investigation by the special investigative team of the Punjab Police at behest of the SAD. INSIDE hour protest, the unions plan to block highways. request you to please understand the pain of farmers. In harsh winter you stopped water supply and toilet facili- forward Kyle Kuzma has also extended support to the stir. ties, dug trenches, put barbed wires and installed spikes,” the RJD MP said. “Such aggressive approach wasn’t even heard of towards the neighbouring nations who came inside (the Indian territory),” he added. On a tweet by pop star Rihanna on the farmers’ protest, Jha said the democracy would not be weakened by a tweet, but by the approach of the government. In a veiled reference to cold storage chain and godowns built by private corporates, Jha said, “Your backbone is the farmer…. 303 (seats won by the BJP in last General Election) did not come from cold storage or godowns, but from these very people.” continued on page 9