20022024-TTB-01.qxd 2/19/2024 11:56 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 50 | 18 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA PROBE INTO NAVALNY’S DEATH EXTENDED AMID COVER-UP CHARGE WORLD NIFTY AT ALL-TIME HIGH AS BULL RUN CONTINUES BUSINESS GLOBAL POSITIVITY FOR INDIA TODAY: PM MODI BACK PAGE tuesday | 20 february 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Prosperous Farmers, Prosperous Nation Hamara Sankalp Government of India Viksit Bharat Kisan Rail connecting farmers with new markets; Over 2300 Kisan Rails operationalised on 167 routes cbc 22201/13/0279/2324 /thetribunechd JAMMU-SRINAGAR NH SHUT AFTER LANDSLIDES J&K Scan for more information Not in our interest: Farmers reject MSP SC: Must prosecute RO for meddling in UT mayoral poll proposal, to go ahead with ‘Dilli Chalo’ Wants ballot papers by today |Terms ‘horse-trading’ disturbing Seek written assurance on 23 crops | Say still open to talks but march to start tomorrow Aman Sood Experts: Govt bid Patiala, February 19 to divert attention After consultations and discussions for the entire day today, from demands farmer unions have rejected Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Tribune News Service the Centre’s proposal for buying three pulses — arhar, tur and urad — besides cotton and maize, at the MSP Union lead. ers have announced that the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march will proceed on February 21 at 11 am. Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) chief Jagjit Singh Dallewal said after detailed discussions with various farmer unions and groups, the offer by the Central Government on the MSP for selective crops had been rejected. “The government has been delaying the issue and unless it offers and gives New Delhi, February 19 The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that the ballot papers and video recording of counting in the Chandigarh mayoral elections be produced before it on Tuesday to enable it to take a final decision on AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar’s petition against alleged bungling by the returning officer. A three-judge Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud, which had on February 5 termed the alleged defacing of ballot “murder of democracy”, expressed serious concern over reports of horse-trading and came down heavily on returning officer Anil Masih once again. “We direct that the ballot Neeraj Mohan Tribune News Service Protesting farmers at the Punjab-Haryana border in Shambhu near Patiala on Monday. PTI in writing about the MSP on all 23 crops, we will be left with no option but to protest. IN BRIEF Kejriwal ignores ED summons for sixth time NEW DELHI: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped the ED summons in a case linked to excise policy ‘scam’ for sixth time, saying it should’ve waited for court’s decision on the matter. INSIDE The government should fix the crop prices as per the Swaminathan Commission NEW DELHI: The SC on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe into violence in Bengal’s Sandeshkhali village, saying it cannot be compared to the savagery in Manipur. PTI Lt Gen Dwivedi takes charge as Army Vice Chief NEW DELHI: Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who has vast operational experience along the frontiers, on Monday assumed charge as Army Vice Chief, succeeding Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar. BACK PAGE NITI pitches for tax reforms, housing for elderly NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog has pitched for tax reforms, mandatory saving plan and housing plan for elderly, as their number is projected to reach 19.5 per cent of the population by 2050. PTI New Delhi, February 19 The disagreement between the Congress and Samajwadi Party over the sharing of seats in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming General Election on Monday cast a shadow over the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY) and came as another setback to the INDIA bloc unity. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Monday refrained from joining the ral- through UP – once the seatsharing deal between the two sides was finalised. The Congress has been offered 17 Lok Sabha seats in UP the SP said on Monday , and asserted that Akhilesh would join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Raebareli only if the proposal was accepted. “We have given a final offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav’s participation in the Nyay Yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday continued on page 13 Samajwadi Party has offered 17 LS seats to Cong Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi. PTI ly addressed jointly by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, saying he would join the Manipur-to-Mumbai “yatra” – currently passing NOT SUMMONED FOR 3 YEARS AFTER FIR Petitioners (Kochhars) were not interrogated or summoned for over three years from the date of FIR… Such routine arrest without application of mind amounts to abuse of power.— Bombay HC ❝ Jammu, February 19 After months of protests and deliberations, the Centre has agreed to discuss three major demands raised by leaders of Ladakh, including statehood for the region. The Central Government will also discuss inclusion of the Union Territory in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and setting up of an exclusive public service commission for the high-altitude region. The Leh Apex Body (LAB) ❝ papers which have been placed in the custody of the Registrar General be pro- ■ MHA panel, during a meeting ■ Ladakh leaders drop demand with a Ladakh delegation, also agrees to discuss on Feb 24 UT’s inclusion in Sixth Schedule & an exclusive public service commission for the region for new parliamentary seat as next delimitation of LS seats is slated for 2026; call off for the time being plan to go on hunger strike from Tuesday and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), during talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs, agreed to size down its four-point agenda to three by removing the demand for an additional parliamentary seat. The 14-member delegation met a high-powered committee comprising Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and other senior functionaries in New Delhi on Monday. The Ladakh delegation was represented by seven members each from both groups. The members dropped for the time being plan to hold a hunger strike to press for their demands. The protest was scheduled from Tuesday. continued on page 15 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 19 The last Budget session of the current BJP-JJP government, which is scheduled for February 20 to 28, is set to be a stormy affair as the Congress has prepared to corner the coalition government on a variety of issues. CM Manohar Lal Khattar, who holds the Finance portfolio, will present the Budget for 2024-25 on February 23. A no-confidence motion and 25 calling attention motions have been proposed to put the Khattar government in a spot. Besides, the ongoing farmers’ agitation is set to add fuel to the fire. The Congress will attack the BJP-led NDA for its “failure” to keep promises made to the farmers during their yearlong agitation against the three farm laws. The blockade of the highways by CM Khattar to present Budget on Feb 23 CONG STRATEGY ■ No-trust motion and 25 calling attention motions proposed To attack Khattar govt for blocking highways and suspending Internet services ■ Not enough time allotted for holding debate on Governor’s Address & Budget ■ the state government to prevent farmers to proceed to New Delhi and the suspension of Internet services in certain districts will be severely criticised. Accusing the BJP-JJP government of shying away from a debate, Congress chief whip BB Batra said it was perhaps for the first time that a debate on Governor’s Address was being held immediately after the address. “It seems the continued on page 13 NEWLY NAMED FINANCE PANEL MEMBER QUITS NEW DELHI: The newly set up 16th Finance Commission got off to a shaky start after one of the members named by the government recused himself. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Executive Director of Artha Global, was appointed member in the 16th Finance Commission via a notification on January 31. “Dr Rajadhyaksha has expressed his inability to take up this responsibility due to unforeseen personal circumstances,” stated official sources. The sharing of revenue between the Centre and the states is the major remit of finance commissions. TNS HP women’s role in economic activity far above national average Ambika Sharma years from the date of registration of the crime,” it said. In a detailed 32-page judgment, the bench highlighted that the arrests were made without due regard for the law, signalling an abuse of power. “Such routine arrest without application of mind and due regard to the law amounts to an abuse of power,” the court said, and emphasised that the continued on page 13 FILE PHOTO Arjun Sharma Chanda Kochhar NEW RETURNING OFFICER LIKELY What we propose to do is this... We will direct the DC to appoint a fresh returning officer, who is not aligned to any party. The process shall be taken to logical conclusion.— Bench Pradeep Sharma Shubhadeep Choudhury Abuse of power: HC on MHA agrees to talks on Ladakh statehood WILL CONSIDER 3 DEMANDS ON FEB 24 Kochhars’ arrest by CBI Mumbai, February 19 Right to remain silent cannot be equated with non-cooperation, ruled the Bombay High Court while terming the arrest of the Kochhar couple by the CBI in the ICICI loan fraud case as “abuse of power” lacking proper legal consideration. Making the judgment of February 6 public on Monday on granting regular bail to the ICICI Bank’s former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar, a Division Bench of the high court criticised the CBI for its failure to provide substantial evidence for the arrest. The Bench comprising Justices Anuja Prabhudessai (since retired) and NR Borkar highlighted that the FIR against the Kochhars was registered in 2019 and that they were summoned for questioning only in 2022. “Despite the gravity of the offence, the petitioners (Kochhars) were not interrogated or summoned for over three Anil Masih, returning officer. FILE Blow to INDIA, Akhilesh refuses to join Haryana session from Rahul’s yatra till seat-sharing plan sealed today; set to be stormy Tribune News Service SC no to PIL for probing Sandeshkhali violence report,” said Dallewal. continued on page 13 EDIT: MSP proposal New Delhi, February 19 The government’s proposal of ensuring procurement of five more crops — maize, cotton, arhar, tur and urad — at the MSP seems to have failed to impress farm experts and leaders, who have termed the move an attempt to divert attention from the core demands of farmers and spark a debate on diversification. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of 40 farmer unions which continued on page 13 duced before this court at 2 pm on February 20 by a judicial officer to be nominated by the Registrar General for the purpose of transporting the ballot papers to this court,” ordered the Bench, which also included Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra. “Proper security arrangements shall be made to ensure the safe transit of the judicial officer nominated by the Registrar General in pursuance of this order. Arrangements shall also be made to secure proper preservation and custody of the ballot papers with the judicial officer,” it said. “The judicial officer shall also produce the entire video of the counting of the votes continued on page 15 Tribune News Service Solan, February 19 At 54.8 per cent, even as the active participation of women in economic activity in Himachal Pradesh exceeds the all-India level of 37 per cent, only 11.9 per cent women in the state are regular wage or salary earners as compared to the all-India level of 16.5 per cent for 2022-23. While fewer women have wage earning jobs, fewer still are engaged as casual labour and a majority of them are engaged in self-employment activities, according to the recently released Economic Survey-2022-23. The all-India rate of women with regular wages is 16.5 per cent. The state fares poorly vis-à-vis neighbouring states in this criterion, which stands at 18 per cent in Uttrakhand, 37.1 per cent in Participation stands at 54.8%, country’s 37% BUT ONLY 11.9% REGULAR WAGE EARNERS ■ Only 11.9% women in Himachal regular wage earners vis-à-vis all-India level of 16.5% ■ The figure is higher at 18% in Uttarakhand, 37.1% in Punjab and 30.8% in Haryana Punjab and 30.8 per cent in Haryana. The status has remained unchanged for the c m y b state consecutively for 202122 and 2022-23. The government now intends to increase this rate by providing women more jobs by empowering them, undertaking “gender budgeting” and through job-oriented schemes as per the economic status report released by the government ahead of the Budget. In the case of casual women labour too, the state fares poorly at 3.4 per cent than its neighbouring states and the all-India level for 2021-22. The proportion of women further decreased to 1.7 per cent in 2022-23. According to the report on distribution of workers for 2021-22, more women in Himachal Pradesh are selfemployed as “own account workers”, while women employers constitute 46 per cent and unpaid helpers in home enterprises comprise 38.7 per cent. This proportion continued on page 13