22052024-TTC-01.qxd 22-05-2024 US ‘UNABLE’ TO HELP PROBE RAISI’S CHOPPER CRASH WORLD /thetribunechd 01:04 Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 141 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 CONTOURS OF THEATRE COMMANDS READY BACK PAGE wednesday | 22 may 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Had it not been for Ambedkar, Nehru wouldn’t have agreed to quota: Modi Tribune News Service PM ‘jhoothon ka sardar’: Kharge at Haryana rally New Delhi, May 21 With two phases left for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday intensified his attack on the opposition Congress, firing salvos at late prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Invoking BR Ambedkar, the PM, speaking in Bihar’s Champaran, said Nehru would not have agreed to reservation had it not been for the Father of the Constitution. “Had Babasaheb Ambedkar not been there, Nehru would not have allowed reservation for the SCs and STs. He wrote to the chief ministers of the time oppos- yamunanagar, May 21 Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi jhoothon ka sardar and accused him of lying about Congress’ manifesto to mislead the public. Addressing a rally in Yamunanagar district, Kharge slammed Modi for saying that the Congress was planning to redistribute wealth and take away women’s mangalsutras. “If a PM says these things, then what should we say? Should such people be given votes again?... He is a jhoothon ka sardar,” he told the gathering. INSIDE Says Cong mindset has been anti-reservation Aditi Tandon Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public meeting in Maharajganj, Bihar, on Tuesday. PTI ing reservation. The Congress mindset has always been anti-reservation,” said the PM, countering the INDIA bloc charge that the BJP was looking for 400 plus seats in the Lok Sabha to “change the Constitution and scrap constitutional quotas”. Modi argued that reservation for the SCs, STs and OBCs was safe only under the BJP-led NDA, and cited a letter Nehru wrote to the chief ministers of the time to oppose quotas. The PM sought votes in the name of the NDA government’s continued on page 9 Their ‘Delhi chalo’ nixed by BJP, farmers threaten to block Khattar’s entry into LS Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Karnal, May 21 It’s farmers versus others in the villages of Karnal parliamentary constituency that is witnessing a direct contest between BJP candidate and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Divyanshu Budhiraja of the Congress. In an election where the battle lines are clearly drawn, the farmers, particularly Sikhs, are vociferous in their protests against Khattar and their disdain for the saffron party. On the surface, the Congress appears to be having the edge. But as one digs a bit deeper into the rural belts, the “silent” voter threatens to Haryana ex-CM banking on ‘silent’ rural voters Haryana’s Sheikhupura villagers discuss elections. PHOTO: VICKY alter the poll arithmetic. In Sheikhupura, sitting in the shade of the largest tree of the village, a group of farmers is playing cards. Asked if Khattar visited them to seek votes, they sharply retort, allowing Tehal Singh Virk to speak for all: “The BJP and their candidate can’t enter this village. He’s responsible for all the deaths that occurred during the farm agitation. We won’t let him set foot on our soil.” The former CM was bound to be rejected en masse by farmers, they speak in unison. “Though the government has faltered in ensuring development, creating basic facilities and providing jobs, these issues could have been ignored had the BJP supported us (during the protest),” asserts Sahab Singh. Most of the families here have migrated from Sheikhupura in Pakistan, choosing to keep alive their continued on page 9 Former WFI chief pleads not guilty NEW DELHI: BJP MP and WFI ex-chief Brij Bhushan Singh pleaded not guilty to the charges of sexual harassment framed against him in a criminal case filed by five women wrestlers on Tuesday. Earlier this month, a local court had framed the charges against him. BACK PAGE Viresh Kumar Bhawra, ex-DGP Was pressured to carry out illegal acts: Former Punjab DGPmoves HC Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 21 Punjab’s former DGP Viresh Kumar Bhawra today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court claiming that he was asked to participate in “illegal acts, which included, but were not limited to”, registration of cases against public figures. In his petition placed before the Division Bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Deepak Manchanda, Bhawra added he was also pressurised to relinquish the charge of the DGP’s post after the present government took over in March 2022. Bhawra, among other things, has challenged his removal from the DGP’s post under “the garb of transfer in total contravention of law settled by the Supreme Court”. Taking up the matter, the Bench fixed the case for further hearing on July 4 after the summer break’s conclusion. The petition, filed through counsel Bikramjit Singh Patwalia and Sukhmani T Patwalia, was argued before the Bench by senior advocate DS Patwalia. continued on page 9 c m y b Starving, can’t step out: Indian pupils’ SOS from Bishkek Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service Gurugram, May 21 “For the past three days, I have been surviving on tea and cucumbers. Nothing is normal here. We have been ‘locked inside’ since May 17. Many students like me don’t cook and eat from outside. They are starving now. On May 19, I tried getting some food from KFC. Local guys standing there chased me and hit me. I haven’t stepped out since then,” says Waquar, a sixth-year medical student in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek. “I can’t order online as delivery boys take money from local gangs and disclose our locations. I want to go home but the landlord refuses to let me go till I give her rent for the next three months. Our parents are arranging air tickets for us, but the problem is how do we get to the airport,” he says. While sharing his ordeal with The Tribune on a WhatsApp call, Waquar is startled by a thud on his door. Scared, he peeps through the door only to find a kind Russian neighbour giving him bananas. This is not a one odd case as an estimated 10,000 Indian students in Bishkek, including over 2,000 from Punjab and Haryana, are in panic and confined to their homes due to mob violence. The students claim they have been getting 2,000 STUDENTS FROM PUNJAB, HARYANA STUCK ■ An estimated 10,000 Indian students in Bishkek, including over 2,000 from Punjab and Haryana, are in panic and confined to their homes following mob violence ■ The students claim they have been getting warnings from their colleges and “student contractors” to stay quiet and not share their ordeal on the social media REMAIN VIGILANT: MEA The Indian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday posted on X that the situation in Bishkek was ‘normal’. It said, “The situation continues to remain normal. Students are, however, advised to remain vigilant and follow the guidelines laid down by the authorities in Kyrgyz Republic.” warnings from their colleges and “student contractors” to stay quiet and not share anything on the social media as it will impact the influx of new students from India in the next admission season, which is just a month away. While the mob violence on roads has subsided, Indian students claim they are targeted whenever they step out. Fearing an attack, many landlords are forcing them to shift while others are trying continued on page 9 Delhi HC dismisses Sisodia’s bail pleas Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 21 Holding that the possibility of evidence-tampering by him could not be ruled out, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed bail pleas of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in corruption and money laundering cases lodged by the CBI and the ED in connection with the excise policy case. “This court is of the opinion that petitioner has not been able to continued on page 9 SC JUNKS PLEAS SEEKING ART 370 VERDICT REVIEW The SC has dismissed petitions seeking a review of its December 11, 2023, historic verdict upholding the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to the erstwhile state of J&K.
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).