27072022-TTC-01.qxd 7/27/2022 12:35 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 142 NO. 206 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 EU TO RATION GAS AMID RUSSIAN CUT-OFF FEARS WORLD /thetribunechd 5G SPECTRUM AUCTION BEGINS, DAY 1 SEES ~1.45L CR BIDS BUSINESS BOXER LOVLINA’S COACH INDIA FLAYS PAK-CHINA GETS ACCREDITATION BID TO SEEK PARTNERS FOR CWG SPORT FOR CPEC BACK PAGE wednesday | 27 july 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com PHOTO: MUKESH AGGARWAL Ruckus over inflation, record 19 RS MPs suspended till July 29 Among them, 7 of TMC, 6 DMK| Oppn not for debate: Minister Tribune News Service SIT-IN: Rahul Gandhi protests quizzing of Congress president Sonia Gandhi by the ED in New Delhi. ED quizzes Sonia, calls her again today; Rahul detained near Parl New Delhi, July 26 Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi today appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the second time and recorded her statement under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case linked to the National Herald newspaper, officials said. The Congress leader has been asked to appear again on Wednesday. Around 11 am when she left her residence for the ED office, scores of Congress leaders and workers hit the IN BRIEF ED chargesheet names Farooq in JKCA scam NEW DELHI: The ED on Tuesday said it has filed a chargesheet against former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah and some others in the JKCA scam. INSIDE Seek fiscal panel’s views on freebies: SC to govt OPPN TURNS TO PREZ OVER AGENCIES’ ‘MISUSE’ Leaders of several Opposition parties have written to President Droupadi Murmu, alleging the misuse of Central probe agencies by the government to target them. << Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra leave the ED office on Tuesday. PTI streets, protesting the questioning. Several Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, were detained by the Delhi Police from Vijay Chowk as they attempted to go to Rashtrapati Bhavan and submit a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu. continued on page 9 Can influence witnesses: HC refuses bail to Ashish New Delhi, July 26 The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, saying the accused, being a politically influential person, could influence the witnesses and affect the trial. Justice Krishna Pahel, who had reserved the order on Ashish’s bail plea on July 15, decried the media for conducting “media trial” through kan- KHERI VIOLENCE garoo courts and ill-informed and agenda-driven debates. It said the presence of the three vehicles at the crime scene, one of which Ashish was allegedly seen coming out, was a crucial circumstance weighing against him. — TNS New Delhi, July 26 A record 19 members of the Rajya Sabha belonging to Opposition parties were today suspended from taking part in the proceedings of the House till July 29 for repeatedly causing disruptions. The development led to uproar in the House, with the penalised MPs refusing to leave. There were four adjournments till 3.40 pm and later the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day, without transacting much business. 2 BSF men among 3 peacekeepers killed in Congo NewDelhi, July26 Two BSF personnel were among three UN peacekeepers killed after protesters forced entry into UN buildings and indulged in violence in Congo’s Goma on Monday. On the second day of demonstrations against the UN Peacekeeping Mission, the protesters set fire to the outside perimeter of the buildings of the UN peacekeeping forces and stormed the complex. They have been demanding that the UN forces leave, accusing them of failing to protect civilians amid clashes between the Congolese troops and the M23 rebels. Mourning the death of the troops who were among a total of five killed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar demanded that the perpetrators of the attacks be brought to justice. “The government has instructed the security forces to take all measures to ensure a return to calm and the normal resumption of activities in Goma,” said government spokesman Patrick Muyaya. — TNS NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to seek the Finance Commission’s views on a plea seeking to stop political parties from offering freebies to voters after the EC said it could not regulate it. INSIDE Toll in Gujarat hooch tragedy climbs to 28 AHMEDABAD: The toll due to the consumption of spurious liquor in Gujarat’s Botad has gone up to 28. The police said methyl alcohol was mixed with water. PTI Modi congratulates new Sri Lankan Prez COLOMBO: PM Narendra Modi has congratulated President Ranil Wickremesinghe and said India would back Sri Lankan people in their quest for stability and economic recovery. PTI Sidhu quits over ‘personal reasons’ , Ghai to be 5th Punjab AG in 10 mths Chandigarh, July26 Punjab Advocate-General’s office has plunged into a crisis. Just over four months after he was appointed, senior advocate Anmol Rattan Singh Sidhu has submitted his resignation from the post citing “personal reasons”. Senior advocate Vinod Ghai, who will replace him as the Advocate-General, had at one point of time appeared for Punjab’s former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini. The former top cop is otherwise an accused in the Behbal Kalan police firing case. Ghai, who will be the fifth ‘AG WASN’T UNHAPPY’ asking the AG to ❝ I keptif possible, but he continue GHAI HAD APPEARED FOR EX-DGP SAINI ■ Senior advocate Vinod Ghai said he had personal reasons. He was not unhappy. He is still part of our team and we will continue to take his legal counsel. had appeared for Punjab’s ex-DGP Sumedh Singh Saini ■ He also appeared on behalf of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Bhagwant Mann, CM AG in 10 months, has also appeared on behalf of Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim. He also represented former Health Minister in continued on page 9 Special teams to check stock at Nuh crushers Haryana to approach R’sthan for access to portal keeping tabs on mining DEEP NEXUS Geetanjali Gayatri eRAVAANA MONITORS MINING ACTIVITY ■ Earlier, Rajasthan had denied ■ It allows tracking of mining Haryana access to its entries in the eRavaana portal material from mines to crushers and its further distribution ing exercise on the premises of the stone crushers in Nuh over the next week. Sources said while Rajasthan had, in the past, denied Haryana access to its entries in the eRavaana portal, which allow tracking of mining material from the mines to the crushers and its further distribution, the state government would again approach Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 26 Haryana will approach the Rajasthan Government for access to its eRavaana portal details while special teams will carry out a stock-check- the neighbouring state. “We have no way of ascertaining whether the stone and mining material coming from Rajasthan is legal or illegal. However, once it enters the state borders, the documents are checked and the details are entered into our system. These are entered into the system again at the stone continued on page 9 GOVT SAYS NO KP QUIT IDENTIFY ILLEGAL B’DESHI JOB, ASSN CLAIMS 2K DID MIGRANTS, STATES TOLD No Kashmiri Pandit working under PM’s package quit after terror attacks, LS told. INSIDE Seven of the members belonged to the TMC, six DMK and three TRS. This is The Centre has asked states to identify and act against illegal Bangladeshi migrants. INSIDE the highest number of MPs suspended in one go. Previously, 12 Opposition mem- bers were suspended in November last year. Earlier in the day, the Opposition MPs, who have been stalling the proceedings since the start of the monsoon session on July 18 over price rise, entered the Well of the House shouting slogans. Deputy Chairman Harivansh repeatedly asked them to return to their seats, but they refused. He then asked the treasury benches to move a motion for their suspension. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs continued on page 9 edit: rs ticket racket 27-fold rise in ED raids under NDA New Delhi, July 26 Searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) went up by almost 27 times during the eight years of the Modi government as compared to the first nine years of the enforcement of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Searches also went up by nearly three times under the Foreign Exchange Manage- TIGHTENING NOOSE Period Searches Plaints Attachments FY 2005-14 112 FY 2015-22 3,010 104 Nil 888 ~1 lakh cr ment Act (FEMA). During the nine years of the UPA government, 571 searches were conducted and 8,586 cases were taken up for investigation. In the past eight years, 996 searches were conducted and 22,330 cases were taken up for investigation under FEMA. Under the PMLA from 200405 to 2013-14, a small number of 112 searches were carried out and 104 prosecution complaints were filed. During the period, trial courts did not convict anyone for money continued on page 9 IMF cuts India’s growth forecast to 7.4% from 8.2% New Delhi, July 26 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered India’s growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.4 per cent from 8.2 per cent projected earlier. The Asian Development Bank had recently lowered the economic growth forecast for India for 2022-23 to 7.2 per cent. In its World Economic Outlook for July, the IMF said for India, the downward revision by 0.8 per cent reflects mainly less favourable external conditions and more rapid policy tightening. The IMF lowered China’s growth prospects more sharply by 1.1 per cent and said this sharp slowdown and the moderation in India’s economy will lead to Asia losing 0.8 percentage of the growth. — TNS