27032024-TT-01.qxd 3/26/2024 10:49 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 85 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH CONGRESS ROLLS OUT 25 GUARANTEES, VOWS ‘JUSTICE FOR ALL’ J&K US ABSTAINS AS UNSC PASSES GAZA TRUCE RESOLUTION WORLD /thetribunechd CURRENT ACCOUNT ‘INDIA FIRMLY SUPPORTS DEFICIT DECLINES TO PHILIPPINES’: EAM TAKES SWIPE AT CHINA BACK PAGE $10.5 BN BUSINESS wednesday | 27 march 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Talks with Akalis fail, BJP to fight all 13 LS seats in Punjab Setback for Cong as 3-term party MP Bittu joins saffron ranks Aditi Tandon PROBABLE NAMES FOR JUNE 1 POLL Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 26 After days of parleys with the Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP on Tuesday announced its decision to go it alone in the June 1 Punjab Lok Sabha elections. This marks the end of the road for the BJP-SAD combine that has contested all parliamentary polls since 1998 together. In 1998, they had swept Punjab with 11 of the state’s 13 seats. In 2019, the performance had been dismal — two seats each for Preneet Kaur: Patiala | Avinash Rai Khanna: Anandpur Sahib | Sunil Jakhar or Rana Gurmit Sodhi: Ferozepur | Manpreet Badal: Bathinda Taranjit S Sandhu: Amritsar | Som Parkash: Hoshiarpur | Ashwani Sharma: Gurdaspur Som Parkash, Sunny Deol won on BJP ticket in ’19 NO CONSENSUS OVER SEAT-SHARING ■ It is learnt alliance Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joins the BJP in New Delhi on Tuesday. PHOTO: MUKESH AGGARWAL the BJP and the Akali Dal. Last week, the BJD-BJP pre-poll talks in Odisha also talks failed over disagreement on number of seats BJP and SAD would contest failed over lack of consensus on sharing of seats for the Assembly elections. ■ BJP sought not less than six of the 13 seats, while the Akali Dal was comfortable giving four Hours after BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar today continued on page 8 US bridge falls as ship with all-Indian crew rams into it BALTIMORE: Six persons are missing as a bridge collapsed after being hit by a container ship in Baltimore (US), sending cars and people plunging into the river below. The entire 22-member ship crew was Indian. BACK PAGE 5 Chinese nationals die in suicide bomb attack in Pakistan DELHI: Five Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide blast in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday. The suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers that was on way to their camp at Dasu from Islamabad. INSIDE NEW Now, US stresses ‘fair legal process’ for Kejri Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 26 The US has said it is closely following reports on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and encourages a fair legal process, a news agency quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying on Monday. “The US government is monitoring reports on Kejriwal’s arrest and has encouraged its Indian counterpart to ensure ‘a fair, transparent, and timely legal process’ for the jailed Delhi CM,” the US spokesperson said while replying to a Reuters’ email query. The US response comes days after Germany’s foreign office stressed that the India had protested Germany’s ‘interference’ Aam Aadmi Party leader, like any other Indian citizen facing charges, is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. “We assume and expect that standards relating to the independence of the judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case,” a German government spokesperson said on Friday. Germany’s reaction sparked a protest from India. India summoned a German envoy on Saturday to protest against his government’s remarks over the arrest. The MEA said the German deputy continued on page 8 Rebellion in HP BJP, ex-minister quits ‘Vote carefully’: Wangchuk on ending 21-day fast SHOW CHARACTER after 6 Cong rebels picked for bypolls We do not think of Modi and Arjun Sharma Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, March 26 A former BJP minister in Himachal today resigned as rebellion erupted in the party rank and file after the top leadership fielded all six disqualified Congress legislators for the June 1 Assembly Lahaul unit resigns; Mandi ex-MP upset over Kangana’s candidature byelections. The moment the BJP’s list of candidates for the Assembly byelections was released today, party leaders vented anger against the move to field the six Congress rebels who had recently joined the saffron party. Anticipating such a reaction, the party top brass had deputed senior leaders to accompany the six nominees — Sudhir Sharma (Dharamsala), continued on page 8 Jammu, March 26 Concluding his 21-day fast over the implementation of safeguards for environment and tribal culture ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, educationist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk asked the Ladakhi people to use the “ballot carefully”. Wangchuk had been ❝ Shah as just politicians, we’d rather like to think of them as statesmen and for that they will have to show some character. Sonam Wangchuk, CLIMATE ACTIVIST demanding Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for the UT to protect the fragile envi- c m y b ronment and tribal culture of the region, which many perceive was facing threat after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and formation of a separate UT of Ladakh. Wangchuk said it was “not the end, but start of new things”. The agitation would continue till Ladakhis got their rights, he said. “Thousands of people from across the country are supporting us and also holding one-day fasts as this is not the protest continued on page 8 IN BRIEF Ansari taken to hospital amid poisoning charge NEW DELHI: Jailed gangsterturned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was on Tuesday hospitalised for around 14 hours in UP’s Banda amid allegations levelled by his brother that he was poisoned in jail. PTI PM Modi speaks to BJP’s Sandeshkhali nominee NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday called up BJP candidate from Basirhat Rekha Patra, who had highlighted the plight of women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali. PTI Shrinate-Kangana row: NCW seeks EC action NEW DELHI: The National Com- mission for Women has written to the EC seeking action over Congress leader Supriya Shrinate’s alleged sexist comments against Kangana Ranaut. INSIDE