16022024-TTC-01.qxd 2/16/2024 2:01 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 46 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ISRAEL RAIDS MAIN GAZA HOSPITAL AS RAFAH CONCERNS GROW WORLD VISA TOLD TO STOP CARD-BASED B2B PAYMENTS BUSINESS ARMY CHIEF DISCUSSES MILITARY TIES WITH US COUNTERPART BACK PAGE friday | 16 february 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com M Modi Sarkar ki G Guarantee Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat Modern farming, Prosperous farmers 3.5 fold increase in fertilizer subsidy in last 10 years; Increase from ₹ 71 thousand crore in 2014 to over ₹ 2.5 lakh crore now Government of India cbc 22201/13/0272/2324 /thetribunechd NC IN TALKS WITH CONG FOR THREE LS SEATS: OMAR J&K Scan for more information ‘Unconstitutional’:SCjunkselectoral bonds scheme, seeks info on donors In blow to Modi govt, says it Constitution Bench led by Asks bank to give details to violated right to information CJI orders SBI to halt sale election panel by March 6 Satya Prakash INSTRUMENT FOR FUNDING PARTIES Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 15 Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared “unconstitutional” the electoral bonds scheme that allowed individuals and companies to make unlimited anonymous donations to political parties. PAVES WAY FOR LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: OPPOSITION INSIDE Noting that voters have right to know, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud said the scheme violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guaranteed right to freedom of speech and expression and included right to information within its ambit. “We are of the opinion the information about funding to a political party is essential for a voter to exercise their freedom to vote in an effective manner. The electoral bonds Scheme and the impugned provisions to the extent that they infringe continued on page 11 edit: Electoral bonds ■ Electoral bond is a A five-judge Constitution Bench pronounces the judgment in New Delhi on Thursday. ANI ‘Shrinks democratic space’:Apex court on money power At 48%, BJP got lion’s share of donations via electoralbonds Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 15 The BJP got 48.4 per cent of all donations received through electoral bonds by 20 major political parties between 2017-18 and 202223, according to official data. Of approximately Rs 13,558 crore received by the 20 parties through electoral bonds during the period under review, the BJP received Rs 6,566 crore — 48.4 per cent of the total donations via bonds. New Delhi, February 15 Cautioning against the adverse impact of money power on the electoral process, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it created an exclusionary impact by reducing the democratic space for participation for both candidates and newer and smaller political parties. “One way in which money continued on page 11 Animesh Singh 20 major parties received ~13,558 cr from 2017-18 to 2022-23 Electoral bonds were struck down as unconstitutional by a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday. While the BJP received a whopping Rs 6,566 crore during the five-year period, the Congress in contrast received only Rs 1,122 crore as donation through electoral continued on page 11 financial instrument for donations to parties; issued as a promissory note, it doesn’t bear name of buyer/payee; its holder (party) is presumed to be owner ■ Comes in multiples of ~1K, ~10K, ~1L, ~10L & ~1 cr; citizens or domestic firms can donate these; under bond scheme, RP Act was amended allowing parties to withhold donor IDs in filing before EC NOTIFIED IN 2018 2017 Electoral Bond Scheme introduced in Finance Act, 2017 SEPT 14 Association for Democratic Reforms moves SC OCT 3 SC issues notices to Centre, EC on ADR’s PIL JAN 2, 2018 Centre notifies scheme MAR 26, 2021 SC refuses to stay sale of bonds ahead of polls OCT 16, 2023 SC Bench refers pleas to a five-judge Bench OCT 31 Constitution Bench led by CJI begins hearing on petitions FEB 15, 2024 SC declares scheme unconstitutional Members of farmers’ organisations block railway tracks at Rajpura on Thursday. PTI Deadlock persists over MSP , talks pushed to fourth round Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 15 Some breakthrough in talks between farmer union leaders and the Centre seems to have been achieved tonight. Though the former have refused to roll back their ongoing protest till they get an assurance from the Centre for a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, the protest will now be peaceful. The five-hour-long meeting between the union leaders and a central team comprising three Union ministers began here after a delay of over three hours. The meeting FARMERS TO MAINTAIN PEACE Talks held in a positive manner. There was a consensus on several issues. Farmers will maintain peace. I asked the Centre to tell Haryana not to use force. Bhagwant Mann, PUNJAB CM ❝ The meeting in Chandigarh. was convened to resolve the ongoing stand-off between the farmers and the Centre. A fourth round of talks will now be held between the two sides on Sunday. Information available with The Tribune revealed that there was an impasse for a long time during the meeting as the farmer leaders were adamant on getting a legal guarantee on MSP for all crops, while the central team, comprising Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Consumer continued on page 11 PM, Qatar Emir discuss ways to deepen ties Ajit Pawar faction is real IN BRIEF TMC’s Mimi Chakraborty quits as MP Sandeep Dikshit KOLKATA: TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty on Thursday said she Tribune News Service had resigned as a parliamentarian, asserting that “politics is not my cup of tea”. It was, however, not clear whether TMC leader Mamata Banerjee had accepted her resignation. TNS Soren remanded in judicial custody till Feb 22 A special PMLA court on Thursday remanded former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in judicial custody till February 22 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. The ruling JMM executive president is in the ED custody. PTI RANCHI: Hearing on plea against Gyanvapi puja on Feb 28 VARANASI: A Varanasi court has fixed February 28 as the date for hear- ing the Gyanvapi Masjid panel’s plea against the puja in a cellar of the mosque. The Varanasi district court had on January 31 ruled that a priest can perform prayers in the southern cellar of the mosque. PTI PM Modi to lay stone of AIIMS-Rewari today New Delhi, February 15 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to strengthen bilateral ties but neither side spoke on Doha freeing eight former Indian Navy personnel who were sentenced to death or the $78 billion deal to import Qatari gas from 2029 for the next 20 years, said to be the world’s largest-ever extension of a gas contract. “Had a wonderful meeting with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad. We reviewed the full range of India-Qatar relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation across various sectors. Our nations also look forward to collabo- COOPERATION IN TRADE, TECHNOLOGY India looks forward to scaling up cooperation in key sectors relating to trade, investment, technology and culture…. India and Qatar ties are growing stronger and stronger! PM Modi on X ❝ << PM Narendra Modi meets the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha. PTI rating in futuristic sectors which will benefit our planet,” posted the PM on X. PM Modi arrived in Doha on Wednesday night after a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates. Shortly after his arrival, Modi met Qatari Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. “The two leaders exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade, investment, energy, finance, and technology. They also discussed recent regional devel- opments in West Asia and emphasised the importance of upholding peace and stability in the region and beyond,” said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). “During the meeting, they discussed cooperation relations continued on page 12 NCP: Speaker echoes EC Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 15 Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday held that the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the antidefection provisions in the Constitution could not be used to stifle internal dissent. While dismissing disqualification petitions filed by the factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar against each other’s legislators, the Speaker noted that the Ajit group had “overwhelming legislative majority” of 41 out of 53 party MLAs when it decided to join the Rejects pleas seeking 41 MLAs’ disqualification Ajit Pawar Sharad Pawar Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra in July 2023. Citing last week’s Election Commission’s order recognising Ajit Pawar as leader of the ‘real NCP ‘ Narwekar rejected , petitions seeking disqualification of 41 MLAs who had rebelled against Sharad Pawar continued on page 12 Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 15 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday lay the foundation stone of AIIMSRewari and over the next 10 days, the PM will dedicate six AIIMS to the nation — AIIMS-Rajkot (Gujarat), Bathinda (Punjab), Kalyani (West Bengal), Mangalgiri (Andhra Pradesh), Rae Bareli (UP) and Jammu. The cost of these seven AIIMS is over Rs 10,000 crore. While the stone of AIIMSRewari will be laid tomorrow, the PM will dedicate AIIMSJammu to the nation on February 20 and the rest of the To dedicate 6 AIIMS to nation on Feb 20, 25 top central government institutions on February 25. As against seven AIIMS built over seven decades of independent India, 18 have been built in the past 10 years. The daily footfall at each AIIMS once the operations stabilise is estimated to be 10,000. People of Haryana and the adjoining states of Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will benefit from the affordable tertiary healthcare facilities coming up at AIIMS-Rewari. BJP springs a surprise, pits Mahajan against Singhvi in HP RS POLL Former Cong minister had defected to saffron party before 2022 Assembly elections Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service BJP’s Harsh Mahajan files his papers for the RS poll in Shimla. LALIT KUMAR Shimla, February 15 The contest for a Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal has become interesting with the BJP springing a surprise by fielding former Congress minister Harsh Mahajan as its candidate for the seat, which has fallen vacant on the completion of the term of JP Nadda. Despite having only 25 legislators in the 68-member c m y b LACKS NUMBERS, EYEING CROSS-VOTING ■ HP has three RS seats with Indu Goswami and Sikander Kumar being MPs in the Upper House ■ Election being held for third seat as BJP president JP House, the BJP is keen to make the contest interesting. The Congress has 40 MLAs and there are three Independents in the House. The Con- Nadda’s term is ending in April this year ■ BJP has only 25 MLAs in 68-member House against Cong’s 40 & 3 Independents; eyeing cross-voting gress has fielded Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi (65), who filed his nomination today, the continued on page 11 Indian-originmotel ownershotinUS Washington, February 15 A 76-year-old Indian-origin motel owner was shot dead by a customer in Alabama, US, following an altercation over a room, the latest in a string of tragedies to shock the community in the country. Pravin Raojibhai Patel, who owned Hillcrest Motel in Sheffield, was shot last week. According to Sheffield Police Chief Ricky Terry, William Jeremy Moore, 34, was arrested for the crime. — PTI