13022024-TTC-01.qxd 2/13/2024 1:04 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 43 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 PML-N, PPP DISCUSS POWER-SHARING FORMULA WORLD /thetribunechd RETAIL INFLATION EASES TO 3-MONTH LOW OF 5.1% BUSINESS JKCA SCAM: FAROOQ ABDULLAH GETS FRESH ED SUMMONS J&K DEFENCE TIES IN MIND, ARMY CHIEF BEGINS 4-DAY US TOUR BACK PAGE tuesday | 13 february 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Qatar releases 8 Indian ex-Navy men, 130 in favour, easy win for 7 return home; PM Modi to visit Doha Nitish as Oppn walks out Animesh Singh MEA welcomes Emir’s decision | Release comes days after $78 bn deal on LNG import Sandeep Dikshit WERE WORKING ON SENSITIVE PROJECT Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 12 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Doha on February 14 to meet the Emir of Qatar after Doha dropped the espionage charge against eight Indian ex-Navy men and released them. All but one of the freed Indians returned home late last night. Speaking on the case in which eight men were first given death sentences that were later commuted to imprisonment of varying durations, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said PM Narendra Modi personally supervised the developments in the case. “We are gratified by Qatar’s decision to release ■ 2018:Eight Navy veterans begin work- ing on a sensitive Qatar Navy project ■ Aug 30, 2022: They are arrested along with the owner of Al Dahra Global Tech company ■ Sept 30, 2023: All 8 allowed “brief telephonic contact” with families ■ Oct 26: All eight Indians sentenced to death by a Qatar court Former Indian naval personnel arrive in New Delhi on Monday. PTI ■ Dec 1: PM Modi meets the Emir of COMMANDER TIWARI STILL IN DOHA Qatar in the UAE ■ Commander Purnendu Tiwari ■ Meetu Bhargava, his sister who ■ Dec 28: Court of Appeal overturns (retd), who has been living in brought the case into public the death sentence Qatar for over 20 years, reportdomain via her posts on X, said ■ Feb 12, 2024:7 Indians return home edly needs some more time to her family had been provided after charges dropped against them wind up his establishment there information about his release the Indians,” he said. All major parties, including the BJP and the Congress, have welcomed their release. The news about their release came in the form a terse two-sentence MEA statement at 2.30 am stating that the government wel- comed the release of the octet, working for the Dahra Global company, who were detained in Qatar. “Seven out of the eight have returned to India. We appreciate the decision by the Emir of Qatar to enable the release and homecoming of these nationals,” it said. The Indians returned home 46 days after their death sentences were commuted to jail terms of varying durations. The release came less than a week after India signed its biggest-ever $78 billion deal to extend LNG imports from Qatar by another 20 years till 2048. NSA Ajit Doval is also understood to have played a role in the continued on page 12 edit: Back from Qatar Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 12 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar won the trust vote in the state Assembly after the Opposition, led by the RJD, Congress and the Left, staged a walkout. The final tally stood at 1300 in favour of the JDU-BJP alliance, which also managed to get the support of three MLAs of the Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD — Prahlad Yadav, Chetan Anand and Neelam Devi. The majority mark in the 243-member Assembly is 122. High drama ensued prior to the trust vote proceedings as Kumar stood up to seek the confidence vote. An angry Yadav peppered him with taunts, reminding him of his frequent flip-flops, which, he UPI services launched in Sri Lanka, Mauritius NEW DELHI: PM Modi along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wick- remesinghe and PM of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the launch of UPI services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius. BACK PAGE CHANDIGARH: His resignation not yet accepted, Punjab Governor Ban- warilal Purohit is set to embark on a border visit from February 20 to 23. He had resigned on February 3, citing “personal reasons”. INSIDE SC extends Ashish’s bail in Kheri violence case NEW DELHI: The SC on Monday extended the interim bail granted to Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra's son Ashish Mishra in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case that had claimed eight lives. INSIDE Maharashtra ex-CM Chavan quits Cong Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service 3rd jolt in a month after Deora, Siddiqui exit ‘BETRAYER’ BARB ❝ These betrayers don’t realise their exit opens up new opportunities to those whose growth they have stunted. — Jairam Ramesh, AICC GENERAL SECRETARY Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 12 Notwithstanding the heavy deployment of forces at the state borders, the “Dilli Chalo” protest by farmers will start on Tuesday morning as the negotiations between the farmer leaders and two Central ministers failed late tonight. The farmer leaders belonged to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. The talks between the two sides, lasting for over five hours, reached a deadlock as Union ministers Arjun Munda and Piyush Goyal did not agree to the three main demands of farmers. These included legal guarantee for MSP on all crops; debt waiver for farmers and farm labourers; and fixing the MSP of all crops according to the formula given in the Swaminathan Commission report. SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said the government repeated the proposals it had made during the first meeting on February 8. “Since they are unwilling to relent, the farmers have no continued on page 7 edit: Farmers’ protest Farmer leaders after the meeting with Union ministers in Chandigarh on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Haryana pulls out all stops to curb entry Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 12 With multiple-layer barricading, deployment of force, suspension of internet in seven districts and imposition of Section 144 in 15 of the 22 districts of Haryana in place, the Haryana Government has made elaborate arrangements to check the entry of the farmers from Punjab for tomorrow’s “Dilli Chalo” protest march. The partial closure of inter-district roads has also begun in the state to slow down traffic movement across the state. 114 companies of paramilitary forces, police deployed in state The district administration took stock of the arrangements through the day and held mock-drills, testing various equipment, including drones, water cannons and teargas shells, in the “sensitive” districts. Containers, spike strips, concrete blocks have been stocked along the GT Road right up to Sonepat to check the movement of the farmers. All districts which border Punjab or Delhi are on high alert and 114 companies (64 of the paramilitary forces and 50 of the Haryana Police), equipped with anti-riot gear, have been deployed at all strategic locations. Unlike the agitation over farm laws in which Punjab farmers received tremendous support from their counterparts in Haryana and the cooperation of the locals and khaps, the “Dilli Chalo” march to press for a law on the minimum support price among other things has failed to elicit a response from most quarters. continued on page 7 Sunny, Shatrughan among 9 MPs who didn’t utter a word in 17th LS Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 12 Actor-politicians Sunny Deol and Shatrugan Sinha were among nine Members of Parliament who did not speak at all during the entire tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha that adjourned sine die on February 10. First-time MP Sunny Deol, who represents Gurdaspur, did make some written submissions during these five years though. Shatrughan Bihar CM Nitish Kumar arrives for the floor test in Patna. PTI said, had earned him the sobriquet of “Paltu Kumar”. Tejasvi sought to know if PM Narendra Modi could “guarantee that Kumar won’t flip again?” “When you came out of Raj Bhawan after resigning, you said you weren’t ‘enjoying it’. Were we there to entertain you? We were there to support you,” chief on going with NDA ‘Dilli Chalo’ today; Sec 144 in Capital Ruchika M Khanna Punjab Governor to tour border areas from Feb 20 Aditi Tandon RJD MLA ousted as Speaker |No guarantee he won’t flip again: Tejashwi the RJD leader fumed, adding Kumar had taken oath as CM three times in a single term. Yadav also attacked the Centre for awarding the Bharat Ratna to former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur, alleging that it was part of a “deal”. Thakur was a mentor to both Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. After Yadav’s speech, the Opposition walked out of the Assembly. Kumar also came down heavily on Yadav, saying, “What was the shape of Bihar while it was ruled by his father (Lalu Prasad). There were no roads and people were afraid of venturing out after sunset.” Earlier, Awadh Bihari Choudhary of the RJD was removed as Speaker with 125 members voting to sack him. Talks with farmers fail, MSP sticking point Well-thought-out: RLD IN BRIEF New Delhi, February 12 The Congress on Monday suffered a third pre-poll setback in a month in Maharashtra with former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan resigning from the party’s primary membership and as MLA. On January 14, Milind Deora, MoS in the erstwhile UPA government, had quit the party to join the Shiv Sena. Five days ago, former minister Baba Siddiqui resigned from the party and joined Ajit Pawar-led NCP Chavan, . 65, a strongman from central continued on page 7 TRUST VOTE Sinha did not do even that. The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha commenced on June 17, 2019, after the General Election in May that year. Lok Sabha records reveal that out of 543 MPs, only nine (six from the ruling BJP two , from the All India Trinamool Congress and one from the BSP) did not take part in any Lok Sabha debate or discussion on the floor of the House in five years. These MPs are: BJP’s Ramesh Chandappa Jigaji- SIX OF THEM FROM RULING BJP ■ BJP: 6 (Sunny Deol, Ramesh Chandappa Jiga- jinagi, BN Bachegowda, Pradhan Baruah, Anant Kumar Hegde, V Sreenivasa Prasad) ■ TMC: 2 (Shatrughan Sinha, Dibyendu Adhikari) ■ BSP: 1 (Atul Kumar Singh) nagi (Bijapur SC, Karnataka); currently jailed BSP MP Atul Kumar Singh (Ghosi, UP); TMC’s Dibyendu Adhikari (Tamluk, West Bengal); BJP’s BN Bachegowda (Chikkaballapur, Karnataka); BJP’s Pradhan Baruah (Lakhimpur, Assam); BJP’s Sunny Deol (Gurdaspur, Punjab); BJP’s Anant Kumar Hegde (Uttara Kannada, Karnataka), BJP’s V Sreenivasa Prasad (Chamarajanagar SC, Karnataka) and TMC’s Shatrughan Sin- ha (Asansol, West Bengal). Sinha was elected to the Lok Sabha on April 16, 2022, in a bypoll. Deol had zero verbal references to his name. He did not take part in question hour/zero hour proceedings or debates on the floor of Lok Sabha. Speaker Om Birla, as a policy, called all first-time MPs to make maiden speeches in the Lower House. Sources told The Tribune today, “Speaker Birla called Sunny Deol twice and nudged c m y b him to speak in the House in whatever form he liked. But there was no success.” Sources also said that out of the above nine MPs, six, including Sunny Deol, did make a few written submissions for zero hour matters, starred and unstarred questions, though they did not speak. The remaining three (Shatrughan Sinha, Atul Singh and Ramesh Chandappa) had no participation in the 17th Lok Sabha in written or oral forms. New Delhi, February 12 Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Jayant Singh on Monday said the decision to go with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was taken following consultations with his party MLAs and workers after the Bharat Ratna was announced for his grandfather, the late Chaudhary Charan Singh. Asked if party MLAs were upset with the RLD joining the NDA, Singh said, “I talked to MLAs and workers and made a decision after that. We were forced to make a decision in a short time due to the circumstances.” “We have good intentions for our people and country. When the Bharat Ratna has been given we are very happy. It is not limited to our family or party. It is an honour for every farmer, youth, poor,” Singh said on RLD chief Jayant Singh. FILE NO FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT The RLD and the BJP have made no formal announcement, but both sides gave ample hints about the former switching over to the NDA since February 9, when the Bharat Ratna was announced for the late CM Charan Singh the sidelines of an event to mark the birth anniversary of his father Ajit Singh. Asked when he would announce his alliance with the BJP, he evaded a direct reply, and said, “Today is a momentous occasion, we are celebrating”. — PTI Shun cruelty, animals too have right to life: HC Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 12 In a significant judgment liable to change the way cases involving cruelty to animals are dealt with, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that they too have a right to life, bodily integrity, honour and dignity. The Bench also made it clear that the animals could not be treated merely as a property. The assertion came as the Bench refused to quash an FIR registered against a bus driver, following a buffalo’s death, merely on the basis of a compromise with its owner. Recognising their ability to experience emotions and equating their basic needs with those of humans, Justice Harsh Bunger of the high Refuses to quash FIR against driver for hitting buffalo SPEAK FOR THEM Animals may be mute. ❝we as society have to But speak on their behalf and no pain or agony should be caused to them… Animals breathe like humans and have emotions. They require food, water, shelter, medical care. — Justice Harsh Bunger court also emphasised that the animals, though mute, deserved protection, and society had a moral obligation to speak on their behalf. continued on page 12