30032023-TTC-01.qxd 3/30/2023 12:46 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 143 NO. 87 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 WARRANTS AGAINST IMRAN FOR THREATS TO JUDGE WORLD /thetribunechd INVESTIGATION INTO CONMAN’S VISITS ORDERED J&K HURDLE CLEARED, ZEE TO MERGE WITH SONY BUSINESS DEMOCRACY NOT JUST STRUCTURE, BUT ALSO SPIRIT: PM BACK PAGE thursday | 30 march 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com IN BRIEF NCP leader Faizal’s LS membership restored NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha Sec- retariat has restored the membership of NCP leader Mohammad Faizal, who was disqualified after his conviction. BACK PAGE HC acquits accused in 2008 Jaipur blasts case JAIPUR: The Rajasthan HC on Wednesday acquitted four men awarded death sentence for the 2008 Jaipur blasts that killed 71 persons. PTI File report on ‘attacks’ on Christians: SC to govt NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to file a report on alleged attacks on Christian institutions and priests across India. TNS ~1,337-crore penalty on Google upheld NEW DELHI: The NCLAT on Wednesday upheld the order of the fair trade regulator CCI imposing a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Internet giant Google. BUSINESS Karnataka elections on On the run, Amritpal appears on video May 10, counting May 13 Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Mukesh Ranjan Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 29 The Assembly elections in Karnataka will be held in a single phase on May 10 and the counting of votes on May 13, the Election Commission announced today, setting the stage for a key electoral contest between the BJP and Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha showdown. DO OR DIE FOR CONG, BJP EYES A RECORD BACK PAGE The Janata Dal (Secular) is the third major player in the state, which has a 224-member Assembly. The BJP currently has 119 seats, followed by the Congress with 75. The JD (S) has 28 MLAs, while two seats are vacant. Announcing the schedule for the polls at a press confer- Bypoll for Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat same day 224-MEMBER ASSEMBLY BJP Congress JD (S) 119 75 28 Two seats vacant POLL PROCESS April 13: Notification April 20: Last date for filing nomination papers April 24: Last date for withdrawal 5.21 CRORE TOTAL ELECTORATE 2.62 CRORE MALE VOTERS CEC Rajiv Kumar BYELECTION TO 5 SEATS 2.59 CRORE FEMALE VOTERS 1 LS seat: Jalandhar 12.15 lakh voters above 80 years 16,976 voters 100 years and above 4 Assembly seats: Jharsuguda in Odisha, Chhanbey and Suar in UP & Sohiong in Meghalaya CEC: LOOKING INTO AAP STATUS AS NATIONAL PARTY ence convened by the ECI here, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the notification for the elec- tions would be issued on April 13 and the last date for filing nomination papers continued on page 9 Jalandhar, March 29 On the run since March 18 after the Punjab Police’s crackdown, pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh on Wednesday released a video statement — his first in 11 days — wherein he tries to woo the Sikh community and Akal Takht. In the five-minute clip, the fugitive does not give any clue to his whereabouts or why he was evading arrest. “If the government’s intention had been only to arrest me, they could have come to my house and I would have given up…. But the way they deployed thousands of police personnel and laid a cordon, the Almighty came to our rescue,” he said. Whereabouts not known I Security up at Golden Temple 348 DETAINEES ‘RELEASED’ JALANDHAR-RURAL SSP SHIFTED The authorities have reportedly ‘released’ 348 of the total 360 detainees.Akal Takht Jathedar’s PA said a government representative had called to inform them about it He said they had been assured the remaining would be set free too Video grab of Amritpal Policemen deployed outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. PTI Chandigarh: Days after Amritpal’s escape, the Punjab Government on Wednesday shifted six district police officers, including Jalandhar (Rural) SSP Swarandeep Singh, who has been posted as DCP (Investigation), Amritsar. The transfers had been made on administrative grounds ahead of Jalandhar LS bypoll. TNS Amritpal, against whom the stringent National Security Act has been invoked, is seen dressed in a traditional attire, sporting a black turban. His appearance is in contrast to the one in CCTV pictures released earlier that purportedly showed him donning trousers, jackets and sunglasses. In some, he had his hair open. Seemingly worn- out and sleepy and standing in front of a plain cemented wall, he tries to mobilise the community for a “larger religious cause”. He calls upon the continued on page 9 Hate speech will end the moment politicians stop using religion: SC Tribune News Service No govt study on shrinking glaciers in 7 decades Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 29 Despite an increase in extreme weather events in the Himalayan region, no study has been conducted in the government system in seven House panel warns of cataclysmic changes in Himalayan region decades to assess the loss of glacier volume or warming to be able to predict potential cataclysmic changes. This has been observed by the parliamentary standing committee on water resources in its report on “Glacier management in India” tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. The report was undertaken in the wake of frequent disasters in the Himalayan region and the most recent flash flood that occurred in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli in February 2021 due to glacial lake outburst continued on page 9 STATE IMPOTENT New Delhi, March 29 Terming hate speeches a “vicious circle”, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said these were a result of mixing politics with religion and wondered why states couldn’t develop a mechanism to check the menace. Calling for separating reli- This is going on ❝state is impotent,because the powerless and doesn’t act in time. Justice KM Joseph-led Bench gion from politics, a Bench led by Justice KM Joseph said, “A major problem arises when politicians mix politics with religion. The moment politics and religion are segregated, this will end. When politicians stop using religion, all this will stop. We have said in our recent verdict also that mixing politics with religion is dangerous for democracy.” “Everyday fringe elements are making speeches to vilify others on TV and public continued on page 9 INTERVIEW WAIT FOR US TOURIST VISA SHORTENED INSIDE