17032023-TTB-01.qxd 3/16/2023 11:29 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 143 NO. 74 | 18 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA SURRENDER BY SATURDAY, PAKISTAN COURT TELLS EX-PM IMRAN WORLD /thetribunechd SENSEX SNAPS 5-DAY THACKERAY WANTS MVA LOSING STREAK ON GOVT IN MAHARASHTRA VALUE-BUYING BUSINESS RESTORED BACK PAGE STRATEGIC ZOJI LA REOPENED BY BRO IN RECORD TIME J&K friday | 17 march 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Face-off persists as govt demands apology, Rahul insists he be heard Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service The wreckage of the Army helicopter that crashed in Arunachal. ANI Army copter crashes in Arunachal, 2 dead Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 16 Two pilots on board a Cheetah helicopter of the Army were killed after it crashed near Bomdila town in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday morning. Lt Col VVB Reddy and Maj Jayanth A did not survive the crash, an Army spokesperson said. The helicopter was flying an operational sortie near Bomdila when it lost contact with the air traffic controller (ATC) around 9.15 am. A search by five parties of the Army, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was launched immediately. The wreckage of the aircraft was found near Banglajaap East village of Lt Col VVB Reddy Maj Jayanth A Mandala. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash. For over a decade, efforts to replace the entire fleet of ageing Cheetah helicopters have failed to materialise. The project to procure a light utility helicopter (LUH) is progressing slowly. The Ministry of Defence placed an order for 15 helicopters and called it “a limited series production”. There is a need for 197 helicopters. New Delhi, March 16 Political slugfest between the Congress and the BJP intensified on Thursday with Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi asserting his right to respond to ministerial accusations in Parliament and the ruling dispensation insisting on his public apology for “defaming India and the Indian democracy in the UK”. Back from the UK, Rahul Gandhi, attending the second leg of the Budget session for the first time today, said he was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha today. As the Parliament paralysis entered the fourth day, the House was adjourned for the day within minutes of reconvening at 2 pm after the first adjournment at 11 am. Rahul said the test of democracy lay in whether he, like the ministers who accused him, would get a chance to speak. “Four ministers levelled accusations against me. I went up to the Lok Sabha Speaker today and told him that I have the right to reply in the House. He just smiled. I am hopeful but not sure if I will be allowed to speak ❝ If there’s democracy, I’ll be allowed to speak in Parliament — Wayanad MP Karnataka polls on mind, BJP may keep issue on boil Opposition MPs form a human chain during a protest over the Adani issue at Parliament complex. PTI SPEAKING LANGUAGE OF ANTI-INDIA FORCES The language spoken by Rahul Gandhi is the same as spoken by those working against India. The Congress MP will have to apologise in Parliament. Kiren Rijiju, LAW MINISTER ❝ ‘PLANNED GROWTH HIT’ HC CHIDES OFFICIALS OVER GURUGRAM ENCROACHMENTS Critical of encroachments apparently permitted by the state officials in Gurugram, the Punjab and Haryana HC has minced no words to say that planned development has taken a backseat. INSIDE New Delhi, March 16 India has welcomed the confirmation of Eric Garcetti as the US Ambassador to New Delhi and said it looked forward to working with him to take forward the multifaceted bilateral relations. “We welcome the confirmation of Eric Garcetti as the US Ambassador to India. We look forward to working with him to take forward the multifaceted bilateral relations,” NOMINATION WAS PENDING SINCE 2021 ■ The US Senate voted 52-42 to confirm the former Los Angeles Mayor’s nomination on Wednesday ■ His nomination was pending before the US Congress since July 2021 when he was nominated by Biden ■ There were concerns among lawmakers that he did not ‘adequately handle’ allegations of sexual assault against a former senior adviser said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing. Garcetti was not confirmed for two years because of concerns by some lawmakers that he had not adequately handled allegations of sexual assault and harassment against a former senior adviser. There was drama when the US Senate continued on page 7 Anticipatory bail for Badal Sr More trouble for Sisodia, KOTKAPURA CASE No relief for SAD chiefSukhbir Tribune News Service Faridkot, March 16 The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Faridkot, today allowed anticipatory bail to former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the Kotkapura police firing case, but denied the relief to Sukhbir Badal. In his order, Judge Rajiv Kalra asserted that there was no legal impediment in extending the benefit of bail to the senior Badal, having regard to his age and medical condition. While denying the relief to Sukhbir, the court relied upon the SIT investigation report, according to which three sacrilege inci- SACRILEGE INCIDENTS JUNE 1, 2015: ‘Bir’ stolen from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara SEPT 24: Sacrilegious posters found at gurdwaras in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and Bargari OCT 12: Torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib found in a street opposite Gurdwara Sahib at Bargari OCT 14: Police, Sikh protesters clash at Kotkapura during a protest against sacrilege incidents APRIL 14, 2017: Govt sets up commission of inquiry, headed by Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh AUGUST 7, 2018: FIR registered dents were not “properly and professionally investigated with an intent to screen guilty dera premis from possible continued on page 7 named in ‘snooping’ case Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 16 The CBI has registered an FIR and named six persons, including arrested former Delhi Deputy CM and AAP leader Manish Sisodia, to initiate an investigation into the Delhi Government “feedback unit” (FBU) case. Taking note of the CBI FIR, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal alleged that PM Narendra Modi had a plan to slap several false cases against Sisodia to keep him in custody for a long period. The BJP and the Congress said the agency should probe the FBU snooping scandal from FACES CHARGES OF FORGERY, CRIMINAL BREACH OF TRUST the “sedition and internal security angles”. Already arrested by the CBI in the excise policy case and at present in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate, the trouble for 51year-old Sisodia aggravated after the agency registered a fresh FIR against him and five others on March 14, 2023, continued on page 7 For graft-free Punjab, not even ministers spared: CM ONE YEAROF AAP GOVT Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 16 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today said his government was successfully working for a corruption-free Punjab and the results were 26,797 YOUTH PROVIDED JOBS ■ Many Oppn leaders behind bars for ‘black deeds’, corrupt officers under lens too ■ AAP born out of anti- corruption movement, living up to people’s expectations ■ 14,000 temporary employees regularised, 26,797 youth provided jobs already showing. He was addressing the media on the completion of one year of the AAP government in the state. “We have set the right example by not sparing even our elected leaders, including ministers. Many leaders ■ The Delhi Police have issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi, seeking details of the victims who had ‘approached him’ on the issue of sexual harassment ■ Rahul, in a statement in Srinagar during Bharat Jodo Yatra, had said he had heard women were being sexually assaulted Partial court relief for Tejashwi in job case NEW DELHI: Tejashwi Yadav has told the Delhi HC he will appear before the CBI on March 25 after the agency assured the Bihar Deputy CM won’t be arrested this month. INSIDE Two cops convicted in 1992 kidnapping case MOHALI: A CBI court convicted a Punjab Police Sub-Inspector and a retired constable for criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and illegal confinement in a 1992 case pertaining to a man’s disappearance. TNS Tech giant TCS CEO Gopinathan resigns NEW DELHI: IT major TCS CEO tomorrow…What’s happening is a test of Indian democracy. Will I, as an MP get the , same space as those four ministers or will I be asked to shut up? If Indian democra- Garcetti new US envoy, India looks to taking forward multifaceted ties Tribune News Service POLICE NOTICE TO RAHUL New Delhi: The ruling BJP appears determined to escalate the offensive over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s alleged anti-India remarks ahead of the Karnataka elections which are due for announcement anytime now. Facing an aggressive Congress in Karnataka, the ruling BJP sees Rahul’s remarks on Indian democracy abroad as a handy political issue ahead of Karnataka and other state Assembly elections later this year. Accordingly, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference: “What special affection does Rahul have for China to praise its foreign policy when the entire world is viewing Beijing with scepticism?” — TNS IN BRIEF of the Opposition went behind bars for their ‘black deeds’. Corrupt officers are also under the scanner. Our party, led by Arvind Kejriwal, was born from an anti-corruption movement and we are living up to people’s expectations,” said Mann. He said, “We are on the way to reviving “Rangla Punjab” continued on page 7 cy is functioning, I will be able to say my piece in the Lok Sabha…. “This whole thing is an attempt to distract from the questions I asked recently about the ‘links’ between PM Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani and the ‘bending of rules’ to favour him,” said Rahul at a press briefing at the AICC head- quarters here. The BJP hit back with veteran leader Ravi Shankar Prasad demanding Rahul’s apology and accusing him of “habitually continued on page 7 Rajesh Gopinathan has resigned, and the company nominated its global head of the BFSI division K Krithivasan as the CEO-designate with immediate effect, the firm said. INSIDE