01042024-TTB-01.qxd 3/31/2024 11:53 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 90 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 DELHI PUTIN SIGNS DECREE FOR CONSCRIPTION OF 1.5L SOLDIERS WORLD /thetribunechd FAROOQ, MEHBOOBA SHARE STAGE AT OPPN RALLY J&K MECHATRONICS PROMISES EFFICIENT USE OF INPUTS INFOCUS SAREES AT THE CENTRE OF B’DESH ‘INDIA OUT’ CAMPAIGN BACK PAGE monday | 1 april 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ill-gotten INDIA puts up unity show in Capital, Will ensurePM’s dig atwealth is returned: Oppn urges people to ‘restore democracy’ Kicks off BJP’s LS campaign in UP with Meerut rally Neeraj Mohan Rahul accuses PM of taking to ‘match-fixing’ to win LS poll, cites arrest of 2 key Oppn players Shubhadeep Choudhury & Samad Hoque Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 31 Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition INDIA bloc constituents on Sunday put up a massive show of unity and strength at their “Save Democracy” rally held in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan to protest the arrest of serving Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren. The latter was arrested hours after he quit as the Jharkhand Chief Minister. Addressing the rally, successive speakers slammed the BJP for the arrest of the two opposition leaders and appealed to people to “vote out” the Narendra Modi government and “restore democracy in the country”. As many as 18 parties attended the rally. Kejriwal’s wife Sunita and Soren’s wife Kalpana attended the rally where the entire Congress top brass, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former presidents Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi were Continued on page 8 From left: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and NC chief Farooq Abdullah during the INDIA bloc’s rally in New Delhi on Sunday. PHOTO: MANAS RANJAN BHUI KEJRI’S WIFE READS OUT HIS 6 GUARANTEES BJP USING FORCE TO MUZZLE DISSENT: MANN Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal read out his six guarantees — 24-hour electricity, free power for poor, schools and mohalla clinics in all villages and colonies, MSP as per Swaminathan panel report and full statehood for Delhi. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said democracy was in danger in the country. “They have arrested Arvind Kejriwal, but how will they arrest his ideology? Let’s come together against those who are using force to muzzle dissent,” he said. Five demands to EC for ‘level playing field’ Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 31 The opposition INDIA bloc on Sunday urged the Election Commission to ensure a level playing field in the Lok Sabha polls and asserted that despite the BJP creating “undemocra- IN BRIEF Cong to release election manifesto on April 5 NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has said the party would release its manifesto on April 5. He took a swipe at the BJP over it setting up a manifesto committee at the ‘last moment’. TNS Officials search Telangana ex-CM KCR’s vehicle HYDERABAD: As part of poll duty, officials on Sunday inspected the bus in which former Telangana CM and BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao was traveling during his visit to Suryapet district. INSIDE 4 years on, flight ops resume at Adampur airport JALANDHAR: In a relief to flyers in the region, flight services from Adampur airport resumed on Sunday, bringing an end to a four-year postpandemic period during which no flights operated from here. INSIDE 4 killed as storm wreaks havoc in WB’s Jalpaiguri JALPAIGURI: Four persons were killed and at least 70 injured as a storm wreaked havoc in parts of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal on Sunday. “A rescue operation is underway,” an official said. BACK PAGE Red line must not be crossed: US envoy on ‘plot’ to kill Pannun New Delhi, March 31 Acknowledging that India and the US are working together in the investigation of the alleged foiled assassination plot against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said a “red line” should not be crossed between the two countries. Referring to Khalistani marches and threats issued by Pannun, Garcetti said the US system protected free speech “for better or for worse”, adding an American citizen could be convicted or deported only as per country’s laws. In an interview, Garcetti said: “Under our law, for an American citizen to be convicted in an American court or to be deported to have a criminal case in another country, it has to meet our law, and so we’ll continue working. And if anybody ever says something that steps over that line, and I know it’s gotten very close, we will be working together on that.” Last year, Pannun had ASKED BY BIDEN TO CUT VISA WAIT TIME ■ On wait time for student visa appointments, Eric Garcetti said President Joe Biden had asked him to bring down the period in India, adding it was the first such instance in any country ■ He said a part of green card backlog issue was a legislative problem, adding it was for the US Congress to address it. The wait period had been reduced by 75%, the envoy added threatened Air India would not be allowed to operate on November 19. Following this, he threatened an attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, the 2001 terror attack anniversary. Referring to the ongoing investigation into the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun, Garcetti said the fact that New Delhi and Washington were working together to Continued on page 8 tic obstacles”, the alliance was committed to fight, win and save the country’s democracy. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra read out the demands of the opposition alliance at the “Save Democracy” rally at the Ramlila Maidan here. SC to hear plea against puja at Gyanvapi today “Efforts to forcefully scuttle the finances of opposition parties should be immediately stopped,” Priyanka said, without mentioning the freeze on Congress funds and the latest Income-Tax notice. Action by the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and the Income-Tax department should also be stopped, she said, reading out the list of demands. The alliance also demanded a SCmonitored Special Investigation Team probe into what they called the BJP’s “extortion” of funds through the electoral bonds scheme. Tribune News Service Meerut, March 31 Kicking off the BJP’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday targeted the Opposition over corruption while promising the return of embezzled funds to the people. “Modi will not be stopped. Action will be taken against the corrupt,” he said in an apparent reference to recent arrests, including that of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged excise policy scam. The PM asserted those who had unjustly taken from the nation’s coffers would have to return every penny. “They are not even getting bail from the Supreme Court, after this some people are rattled and they have come together under the umbrella of INDI Alliance,” the PM said. Responding to criticism from the INDIA bloc over the arrests of Kejriwal and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Modi doubled down on his anti-corruption stance, saying: “We are engaged in a Top honour We are engaged in a battle against corruption…. I ❝just investigating corrupt, I am guaranteeing returnam not of ill-gotten wealth to people of country. — Narendra Modi, PRIME MINISTER WORKING ON ROADMAP FOR 5 YEARS PM asserted preparations for NDA government’s third term have already started. “We are making a roadmap for coming five years. Work is going on rapidly on major decisions to be taken in first 100 days. In past 10 years, you have seen only the trailer of development, now we have to take the country much further,” he said. battle against corruption to safeguard funds meant for the poor from being siphoned off by middlemen.” “I am not just investigating the corrupt, I am guaranteeing the return of ill-gotten wealth to the people of my country,” he added. Modi attacked the Congress over its decision to hand over the strategic Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in the 1970s, accusing the party of “weakening” the country’s integrity and interests, saying the island was extremely important from the perspective of national security. Setting a target of winning 400-plus seats out of 543 in the LS, Modi kick-started NDA’s campaign by addressing his first public rally in this Muslim Continued on page 8 Address Chinese transgressions: Kharge New Delhi, March 31 The Supreme Court will on Monday hear Gyanvapi mosque management committee’s petition against an Allahabad High Court verdict upholding a Varanasi court’s order allowing Hindu prayers at the southern cellar of the mosque, adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath Temple. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will on April 1 hear the petition of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which manages the Varanasi mosque. The Allahabad High Court had on February 26 dismissed the committee’s petition against the district court’s January 31 order allowing Hindus to offer prayers at the southern cellar. The prayers are being conducted by a Hindu priest nominated by Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust and petitioner Shailendra Kumar Pathak, who claimed that his maternal grandfather Somnath Vyas, Continued on page 8 BATTLE ON AGAINST CORRUPTION ‘Anti-national act’: PM targets Congress for giving island to Lanka Tribune News Service HC HAD ALLOWED HINDU PRAYERS AT MOSQUE Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented a plough at a poll rally in Meerut on Sunday. UP CM Yogi Adityanath is also seen. PTI Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service President Droupadi Murmu confers Bharat Ratna on veteran BJP leader LK Advani at his residence in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI BACK PAGE ED attaches ~17.82 crore assets of gangster Bishnoi’s money manager Sumedha Sharma HANDLED GANG’S PROCEEDS OF CRIME Tribune News Service Gurugram, March 31 In yet another crackdown against the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties of his close aide Surender, alias Chiku. The properties, worth around Rs 17.82 crore, are sit- ■ Surender, alias Chiku, is the key money manager and investor for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang uated in Narnaul (Haryana) and Jaipur (Rajasthan). The assets, registered in the names of Chiku’s family members, have been ■ He was “managing the gang’s crime proceeds and acquired properties in the names of his family members and relatives” attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Besides money laundering through Continued on page 8 New Delhi, March 31 Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu which will vote in the first phase on April 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the Congress for “callously giving away” Katchatheevu island in the Palk Strait to Sri Lanka in an act he called “anti-national”. The BJP will intensify the offensive on the issue with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar set to speak on the controversial matter on Monday and top BJP brass — party president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman — leading the attack against the Congress and accusing it of compromising India’s territorial integrity. “New facts reveal how the Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds — we can’t ever trust Congress!” the PM wrote in a post FRIENDLY COUNTRIES NOW TURNING FOES ❝ What is eye-opening and startling is how you raised the belligerence levels of even otherwise friendly neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives! — Mallikarjun Kharge, CONG CHIEF on X, referring to a media report about revelations in a Right to Information reply received by BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai. The revelations suggest India gave up its claim on the island in Sri Lanka’s favour despite officials at the time arguing in favour of India’s strong case. The PM raked up the issue in his Meerut rally. “Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been the Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting… the island was very important from the security point of view,” the PM said. Continued on page 8 Hillocks levelled as illegal miners deploy heavy machines in Una Lalit Mohan MINED MATERIAL FLOWING TO PUNJAB Tribune News Service Dharamsala, March 31 Illegal mining with the help of JCB and Poclain machines continues to be rampant in parts of Una along the Punjab border, so much so that hillocks have been levelled at several points. A few environmentalists said it was shocking to notice the extent of illegal mining in Shivalik hills, the mined material being allegedly smuggled to the neighbouring state. The maximum damage, they alleged, was in ■ The mined material is allegedly being smuggled from Una to neighbouring Punjab ■ Despite ban, heavy machines like JCBs and Poclains being used for the excavation of minerals ■ The ecology is under threat and several animal species have been facing loss of habitat << Hills flattened due to illegal mining in Una. KAMALJEET SINGH Una and Haroli Assembly constituencies of Una district. Talking to The Tribune, environmentalist Prabhat Bhatti said an entire hillock had been levelled in Bangarh Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b while considerable damage could be noticed in Polian and Kudharbit. “Due to level- ling of the hillocks, the ecology is under threat. Several animal species have been facing loss of habitat,” he said. The Himachal Congress government took a tough stance against illegal mining in the aftermath of the monsoon disaster last year. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had ordered the closure of 130 stone crushers located on the Beas basin, though 80 of these have since been allowed to operate. BJP leaders, including former Industries Minister Bikram Thakur, have been alleging that while crushers in Kangra were closed, those in Una and other parts of Himachal were being allowed to operate with impunity. Interestingly, the Himachal government’s mining policy doesn’t allow the use of JCB machines. The stone crusher industry has for long been demanding that it should be allowed to use up to 80 bhp machines for mining operations, as is the norm in Punjab. During the previous BJP government’s tenure, even a Continued on page 8 edit: Illegal mining
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).