08032021-TTB-01.qxd 3/7/2021 11:44 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.5 no.66 | 14 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2021-2023 established in 1881 SHED SUSPICION TO RESOLVE BORDER ISSUE: CHINA WORLD /thetribunechd HALF-BAKED POLICIES CAN BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE INFOCUS SHAH BEGINS DOOR-TO-DOOR CAMPAIGN IN TN BACK PAGE /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com IN BRIEF Cairn wants India to honour its word NEW DELHI: Cairn Energy on Sunday said its shareholders expected the use of the firm's "powers of enforcement" to recover $1.4 billion from India if it didn’t keep its word on arbitration tribunal’s award. —PTI ‘Rowdy’ Indian flyer forces flight landing LONDON: A “rowdy” Indian pas- senger on board an Air France flight from Ghana via Paris to New Delhi forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Bulgaria. He has been detained for 72 hours. — PTI China to run bullet train in Tibet by July BEIJING: China will operate bullet trains to Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh before July this year, marking the opening of high-speed train services to all Chinese mainland provincial-level regions. — PTI On Didi’s turf, PM vows ‘poriborton’ Says TMC govt’s game up, time for real change in WB New Delhi, March 7 Claiming Bengal was in the DNA of the BJP Prime Minis, ter Narendra Modi on Sunday vowed “ashol poriborton” (real change) in the state if the party was voted to power. Addressing a massive election rally at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Ground, Modi said the Congress, from which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee broke away to form the Trinamool Congress (TMC), was founded by a foreigner. The communists also took inspiration from Marx, Lenin and Mao. On the other hand, the BJP was founded by drawing inspiration from “the great son of Bengal Syama Prasad Mukherjee,” he said. The Prime Minister, addressing his first rally in West Bengal after the announcement of the Assembly elections, was continued on page 11 COVID ENDGAME India is in the Covid endgame. It needs three steps to succeed: Keep politics out of the vax drive, trust the science and ensure our relatives get the jab on time. ❝ Harsh Vardhan 23 STUDENTS TEST +VE IN KAITHAL VILLAGE Karnal:As many as 23 students of Government Senior Secondary School, Kharka village, Kaithal, have tested positive for Covid-19. Sujan Singh, DC, said most of them were asymptomatic and in home quarantine. INSIDE lowed by Kerala (16) and Punjab (12). The Health Ministry had yesterday sent teams to Maharashtra and Punjab and the teams have started probing the causes continued on page 11 Election year, Pb Budget to focus on poll promises Chandigarh, March 7 With the Opposition turning the heat on the Congress government in Punjab over its “unfulfilled” poll promises, the party is all set to announce provisions to fulfil these in the Budget 2021-22, scheduled to be presented in the Vidhan Sabha on Monday. Official sources say some of the promises likely to find place in the Budget include enhancement in the old-age pension and “shagun”, skill training for wards of construction workers, unemployment LIKELY ANNOUNCEMENTS BY FINANCE MINISTER ■ Enhancement in the old-age pension & ‘shagun’ ■ Skill training for wards of construction workers ■ Unemployment allowance; Free housing for SCs ■ Farm loan waiver for landless labourers allowance, free housing for SC beneficiaries and farm loan continued on page 11 Will take movement That will only happen in beyond Delhi: SKM Delhi, retorts CM Mamata Tribune News Service Recovery rate dips; Pb sees 12 fatalities New Delhi, March 7 India’s active Covid-19 caseload rose for the 11th day today, settling at 1,84,523 even as daily new cases increased by over 18,000 for a second day in a row. The total cases reached 1,12,10,799 and the recovery rate fell to 96.95% after sustaining beyond 97% for days. Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continued to report consistently high new cases and collectively accounted for 84.71% of the 18,711 new daily cases reported in the last 24 hours. India last saw 18,855 infections in a day on January 29. Maharashtra witnessed 10,187 daily new cases over the past 24 hours, followed by Kerala (2,791) and Punjab (1,159). Karnataka (580), Gujarat (571) and Tamil Nadu (562) were close behind. So far as fatalities go, 100 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. Six states account for 87% new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (47), fol- monday | 8 march 2021 PM Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Kolkata on Sunday. PTI ACTOR MITHUN JOINS SAFFRON PARTY A highlight of the rally was actor Mithun Chakraborty joining the BJP. Mithun, who was sent to the Rajya Sabha by the TMC in 2014 but resigned two years later citing health reasons, said he was like a “venomous cobra”. SHE CHOSE NEPHEW OVER PEOPLE: MODI Bengal chose you in role of ‘Didi’, but you preferred being aunt to your own nephew, ignoring millions of nieces and nephews across the state. Narendra Modi, PM ❝ New Delhi, March 7 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday led a parallel rally against the BJP-ruled Centre, attacking it for the rising cost of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. Undertaking a foot march in Siliguri, where she was accompanied by prominent women leaders of the ruling Trinamool, the CM said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was habituated to “selling dreams.” She was responding to the PM, who called for “ashol poriborton (real change)” during his mega rally in Kolkata today. “Modiji is calling for poriborton. All I want to tell him is – poriborton will happen, but only in Delhi,” said the TMC chief, fiercely defending her turf amid a massive blitzkrieg by the BJP Mamata also asked . Mamata during a rally in Siliguri. PTI DIDI ASKS JHARKHAND CM TO CAMPAIGN FOR HER the PM why he did not travel to Bengal even once during the pandemic. “At that time you did virtual events and today you are selling fake dreams here,” she remarked. — TNS New Delhi, March 7 Even as the harvesting season is around the corner, farmers have made it clear that they won’t be lifting their dharna from the Delhi border till their demands are met. Instead, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading the protests, has decided to expand the movement to other parts of the country. Jagmohan Singh Patiala of the BKU (Dakaunda) said the unions would announce the future course of action on March 11. “We are planning to expand the movement to other states, including the poll-bound ones. We will coordinate with opposition parties, but we have no political motive,” he said. Yudhvir Singh, general secretary, BKU, said: “We will hold meetings in Bengal on March 12-14, Madhya Pradesh March 14-15, Odisha March 19 and Karnataka March 20-22,” he said. — TNS Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border. ‘WOMEN FARMERS’ DAY’ AT PROTEST SITES Thousands of women will gather at the protest sites at Singhu, Tikri and at other Delhi borders to mark “Women Farmers’ Day” on Monday, as announced by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. Many have already arrived in special buses from Punjab. BS Rajewal, a member of the Morcha, said: “ The stage will be managed by women, and the speakers too will be women.” TNS 2 MORE FARMERS DIE INSIDE 2nd half of Budget session resumes today Home loan rates slashed to decade low New Delhi, March 7 The remaining half of the Budget session of Parliament will commence here on Monday with the Finance Bill listed as the top priority along with the passage of the demand for grants for various ministries. Although the primary business through the session would be financial, the Opposition led by the Congress is gearing up to attack the BJP-led central government for the failure to resolve the ongoing farmers’ agitation, rising prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas and the LAC issue. BACK PAGE Mumbai, March 7 Having excessive liquidity as general credit demand is still way below the desired levels, leading home loan players — State Bank of India, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank — have slashed their rates to a decadal low, leaving consumers spoilt for choices. The interest rate war comes as banks are sitting on huge excess liquidity which as of last week was over Rs 6.5 lakh crore, according to Care Ratings. The rate war also comes on the back of continuous prodding by the monetary authority which has slashed continued on page 11