10042024-TT-01.qxd 4/9/2024 11:07 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 99 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA UNACCEPTABLE: INDIA AT UN WORLD /thetribunechd YOGI ADITYANATH TO ADDRESS RALLY IN KATHUA TODAY J&K OLA TO SHUT OPS IN UK, WON’T INVOLVE, BUT WANT AUSTRALIA, NZ; TO FOCUS INDIA, PAK TO RESOLVE ON INDIA BUSINESS ISSUES VIA TALKS: US wednesday | 10 april 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ‘Enough material’: Delhi HC rejects ‘If we rename your locations’: Rajnath Kejriwal’s plea against arrest by ED hits back at China PTI Junks vendetta charge; says need to examine as per law, not poll timing Tribune News Service Satya Prakash ‘DON’T CAST ASPERSIONS ON JUDICIAL PROCESS’ Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 9 Spelling further trouble for beleaguered Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed his petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to Delhi excise policy scam, saying there was no violation of law or the Supreme Court’s verdicts. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody and later in judicial custody can’t be held to be illegal as the probe agency was in possession of “enough material” that led to his arrest, and the trial court remanded him in the custody of the agency by a wellreasoned order. Rejecting his allegation of political vendetta on the eve of Lok Sabha elections, Justice Sharma said, “Courts are concerned with constitutional morality and not political morality.” The ■ Delhi HC rebuked Kejriwal for ‘casting aspersions’ on judicial process with his claim about an approver in money laundering case making donations to BJP via electoral bonds ■ It said law on approvers was 100 years old and not enacted to implicate him; court was only responsible for applying provisions to case before it & not concerned with who bought bonds ■ It added casting aspersions on the manner of granting pardon or recording statements of approvers amounted to casting doubts on the judicial process WILL MOVE SC We respect the institution of HC but don’t agree with its order and will move the Supreme Court against it. ❝ Delhi CM and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal leaves a court after a hearing in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. FILE court had to apply the law as it existed, she added. “Material collected by the ED reveals that Kejriwal conspired and was involved in formulation of the excise policy and used the proceeds of the crime. He is also allegedly involved in his personal capacity in formulation of the policy and demanding kickbacks in the capacity of national convener of AAP ,” said Justice Sharma, dis- Saurabh Bharadwaj, DELHI MINISTER missing Kejriwal’s petition. It said there was evidence to show that the proceeds of crime were used for political campaigning in the 2022 Goa Assembly elections. The ED continued on page 8 Kavitha’s judicial custody extended, quizzed in Tihar Jail New Delhi, April 9 A Delhi PMLA court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of BRS leader K Kavitha till April 23 in connection with the excise policy money laundering case. The CBI, meanwhile, grilled her in Tihar Jail where she is lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. She was arrested on March 15 from Hyderabad on money laundering accusations and was sent to 14-day judicial custody last Tuesday. The agency had submitted before the court that Kavitha had made attempts to influence witnesses and tampered with evidence, and that was why the judicial custody was required. continued on page 8 New Delhi, April 9 Adopting a tough stance against China “renaming” a few places in Arunachal Pradesh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said changing names would not achieve anything and asked the neighbouring nation whether India renaming its locations would make these India’s. Addressing a rally at Namsai in Arunachal East constituency less than two weeks before the state votes in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Rajnath said, “This is our home. I want to tell our neighbour that changing names will not achieve anything. Tomorrow, if we change the names of some places or states in China, will it make them ours?” Advising China not to repeat the mistake, the minister said such steps could harm relations. To drive home his point, he cited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee statement’s that “one can change friends, but not neighbours”. “India wants to maintain good relationship with all its neigh- Indian student found dead in US, 11th this year IT’S NOT OLD INDIA India wants to maintain good ties with all neighbours. But if someone tries to hurt our self-respect, today’s India has strength to hit back. ❝ Rajnath Singh, DEFENCE MINISTER bours. But if someone tries to hurt our self-respect, today’s India has the strength to hit back,” he said. In a jibe at the Congress, the minister said large tracts of land were ceded to China before the BJP-led government came to power at the Centre. “No one can take India’s land now, I assure you. We have fixed the Congress’ mistakes and developed continued on page 8 New Delhi, April 9 An Indian student in the US died an unnatural death after he could not be relocated for over a month. “Anguished to learn that Mohammed Abdul Arfath, for whom a search operation was underway, was found dead in Cleveland, Ohio. ANOTHER STUDENT HAD DIED IN CLEVELAND LAST WEEK Our deepest condolences to his family,” posted the Indian consulate in New York on X without specifying the circumstances in which his body was found. According to his father Mohammed Saleem, who had appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for assistance, he last spoke to Arfath on March 7 and after that his mobile phone was switched off. Some days later, continued on page 8 Sudhir files court plaint MVA finalises seat deal, Uddhav Sena to Voters’ right to know over CM’s graft charge contest 21, Congress 17, Sharad group10 about nominee’s assets BJP MOVES EC AGAINST not absolute, rules SC REMARK ON BHUTTO Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service Animesh Singh Dharamsala, April 9 Congress rebel and BJP candidate for Dharamsala Assembly bypoll Sudhir Sharma here today filed a private criminal complaint against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate over alleged defamatory statements. The complaint has been filed under Section 199 of the Tribune News Service ■ BJP has approached the EC against Sukhu over alleged ‘Bhutto ko kutto’ remark ■ Bhutto is Cong turncoat & BJP nominee for Kutlehar bypoll ■ BJP alleged the remark has potential to create unrest CrPC, seeking prosecution of the CM for the commission of offences under Sections continued on page 8 IN BRIEF Paytm Payments Bank CEO Chawla resigns NEW DELHI: Beleaguered Paytm Payments Bank’s MD and CEO Surinder Chawla has resigned from the company, a regulatory filing said on Tuesday. Chawla’s resignation comes amidst Paytm Payments Bank facing prohibitory action from banking regulator RBI. PTI Woman pilot fails breath analyser test, suspended NEW DELHI: Air India has suspended a woman pilot for three months for failing the pre-flight breath analyser test recently, an official said. The Boeing 787 pilot, who is a first officer, failed the test when she was to operate a flight from Delhi to Hyderabad, the official said. PTI Ramdev, Balkrishna tender unconditional apology NEW DELHI: Yoga guru Ramdev and MD of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd Acharya Balkrishna have tendered an “unconditional & unqualified apology” before the SC over advertisements issued by the firm making tall claims about the medicinal efficacy of its products. BACK PAGE New Delhi, April 9 After days of intense discussions, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance on Tuesday managed to seal a seat-sharing deal in Maharashtra just 10 days before the first phase of the Lok Sabha poll, with Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) bagging the lion’s share of 21 seats, followed by 17 for the Congress and 10 for the Sharad Pawar group’s NCP (SP). For the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the elections SENSEX SCALES MT 75K, ENDS LOWER ■ Benchmark equity indices on Tuesday hit new peaks intraday before ending marginally lower ■ Sensex breached 75,000-mark for first time, touched 75,124.28 points, closed day at 74,683.70 ■ Nifty rose in tandem & touched record level of 22,768.40 before closing at 22,641.75 points ■ Analysts say IT and financial sectors drove rally, but gains offset by selling in stocks like Titan, Asian Paints Ex-Union minister Birender joins Cong NEW DELHI: Former Union minister Birender Singh and his ex-MLA wife Prem Lata joined the Congress on Tuesday, a decade after quitting the party. Earlier, their son Brijendra had joined the Congress after quitting the BJP INSIDE . Student ‘gangraped’ at Nabha college, two held Patiala, April 9 In a shocking incident, three youths allegedly gang-raped a first-year bachelor’s course student of Government Ripudaman College, Nabha, on the premises on March 27. Following a complaint by the victim, an FIR has been registered Victim names three youths in FIR against the three suspects, two of whom have been arrested by the Nabha Kotwali continued on page 8 Maharashtra Cong president Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray & NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai. PTI RAJ THACKERAY-LED MNS EXTENDS SUPPORT TO NDA will be held in five phases, beginning from April 19 and ending on May 20. After Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest number of 80 seats, Maharashtra comes second with 48 and holds the key to the fortunes of both the BJPled NDA and the INDIA alliance in the elections. The MVA reached the seat deal after it abandoned talks with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which had initially demanded five seats and later eight. An early indication of the MVA-VBA talks having failed was seen after the Congress fielded its candidate against Ambedkar from Akola. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the VBA had managed to garner six per cent vote share after it had entered into a pact with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and eaten continued on page 8 Surjewala put on EC notice over Hema remark; Kharge asked to list steps taken Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 9 The Election Commission on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to Congress leader Randeep Surjewala over his alleged controversial remarks against BJP MP from Mathura and actress Hema Malini and sought his response on the matter by evening of April 11. Calling the remarks as “undignified, vulgar and COMMENTS ‘VULGAR, UNCIVILISED’: POLL PANEL Randeep Surjewala Hema Malini uncivilised”, the EC in a separate letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has asked him to inform by April 12 as to what measures the party had taken to ensure strict compliance of its advisories relating to honour and dignity of women during public discourse. The letter to Kharge also had reference to Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate’s alleged objectionable comments on BJP’s Mandi Lok Sabha seat candidate continued on page 8 Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 9 Holding that voters’ right to know was not absolute and candidates need not disclose every moveable property owned by them, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the election of an Independent MLA in Arunachal Pradesh. “We are not inclined to accept the blanket proposition that the candidate is required to lay his life out for a threadbare examination by the electorate. His right to privacy would still survive as regards matters which are of no concern to the voter or are irrelevant to his candidature for public office,” a Bench of Justice Anirudhha Bose and Justice Sanjay Kumar said. “In that respect, the non-disclosure of each and every asset owned by a candidate would not amount to a defect, much less a defect of a substantial character,” Justice Kumar said. “It is not necessary that a candidate declare every item of moveable property that he or his dependent family members owns…, unless the same is of such value as to constitute a sizeable asset in itself or reflect upon his candi- Upholds Arunachal Pradesh MLA’s election WILL TAKE UP VVPAT PLEAS ON APRIL 16 ■ Three days before the sev- en-phase LS elections begin on April 19, the SC will take up on April 16 PILs seeking cross-verification of the votes cast in EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). ■ A Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday said it would consider all petitions on the contentious issue next Tuesday. dature in terms of his lifestyle and require to be disclosed,” the top court clarified. Setting aside the July 17, 2023 judgment of the Itanagar Bench of the Gauhati High Court, the top court upheld the election of Independent MLA Karikho Kri from the Tezu Assembly constituency in April 2019. The high court had declared continued on page 8 In poll season, Punjab politicians turn to shrines & deras to seek ‘blessings’ Archit Watts FOR DIVINE INTERVENTION Tribune News Service Muktsar, April 9 Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, candidates and ticket aspirants of most political parties in Punjab are flocking religious shrines to seek blessings and to woo voters as well. Over the past few weeks, several leaders of different parties have visited various shrines in Punjab, HP J&K and UP , . For instance, BJP’s Patiala ■ BJP candidate Preneet Kaur paid obeisance at the Ram Temple and Nazarbag Sahib Gurdwara in Ayodhya ■ Congress’ Charanjit Singh Channi visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan, Ayodhya temple, Beas dera & Valmiki Yog Ashram in Jalandhar ■ Aam Aadmi Party nominee Malwinder Singh Kang visited the Naina Devi Temple BJP’s Rana Gurmit Sodhi at Vaishno Devi shrine & Preneet Kaur at Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan. and Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib candidate Preneet Kaur recently paid obeisance at the Ram Temple and the Nazarbag Sahib Gurdwara in Ayodhya. She also visited the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan c m y b (DJJS) at Nurmahal and the Dera Radha Soami Satsang, Beas. Further, BJP’s Gur- daspur candidate Dinesh Singh Babbu recently visited the DJJS, Nurmahal. Similarly, BJP’s Jalandhar candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku went to the Dera Sachkhand Ballan and the Bhagwan Valmiki Yog Ashram at Nakodar in his own constituency. The saffron party’s Faridkot candidate Hans Raj Hans too paid obeisance at the Nakodar ashram. A ticket aspirant from Ferozepur, senior BJP leader Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi recently paid obeisance at continued on page 8