02072024-TTB-01.qxd 7/1/2024 11:44 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 182 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HARYANA SC SENDS TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE BACK TO LOWER COURT WORLD /thetribunechd POLICE REMAND OF HC BAR ASSOCIATION EX-CHIEF EXTENDED J&K POWER CONSUMPTION JUSTICE WITHIN 3 YEARS ROSE BY NEARLY 9% OF FIR UNDER NEW IN JUNE BUSINESS LAWS: SHAH BACK PAGE tuesday | 2 july 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Rashid Rahul takes ‘not Hindus’ dig at BJP in NIA okay withMP, court taking oath as Parl, PM calls it attack on community to pass directions today Medha Patkar gets In maiden speech as LoP, Cong MP accuses ruling party of spreading violence, hatred five-month jail in Animesh Singh INVOKES LORD SHIVA TO defamation case New Delhi, July 1 TARGET RULING PARTY Tribune News Service NEW DELHI: A court on Monday sentenced activist Medha Patkar to five months of simple imprisonment in a 23year-old defamation case lodged by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena when he headed an NGO in Gujarat. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Patkar. She has been given one month to file an appeal against the order. — TNS Under new laws, first FIR over bike theft in Gwalior NEW DELHI: Hours after the Delhi Police claimed they filed first FIR under provisions of the new criminal code Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Home Minister Amit Shah clarified the first case was about a bike theft registered in Gwalior at 10 minutes past midnight. He said the Delhi case against a street vendor was dismissed after an investigation. — TNS Congress MP Rahul Gandhi today launched a blistering attack on the BJP in the Lok Sabha, saying the leaders of the ruling party “were not Hindus as they were spreading fear and hatred” round the clock, in a statement that drew massive protests from the treasury benches that accused the opposition leader of calling the entire Hindu community violent. Armed with a picture of Lord Shiva, Rahul, in his maiden speech as the Leader of the Opposition, said the Lord symbolised fearlessness, tolerance and forgiveness, and that the “BJP leadership should espouse these feelings”. He said the ruling party “should not instil fear among sections of the society” and instead work for the betterment of the country with the spirit of tolerance, as espoused by Lord Shiva. Rahul’s speech saw interventions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice while several Union Ministers too intervened, seeking authentication of his com- Rahul invoked Lord Shiva to target the BJP, saying, “If you look at Lord Shiva’s image, you will know that Hindus can never spread fear and hatred. But the BJP spreads fear and hatred round the clock. ‘Aap Hindu ho hi nahin’ (you are not Hindus).” KHARGE REMARKS ON RSS EXPUNGED Congress MP Rahul Gandhi makes a point displaying Lord Shiva’s picture in the Lok Sabha. PTI ments on the “failure” of the Agniveer scheme, “lack of compensation” to the residents of Ayodhya whose houses and shops were demolished for building the temple and “denial of” MSP legal guarantee to farmers. Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bhupender Yadav and Kiren Rijiju intervened during Rahul’s almost two-hour-long speech, during which he blamed the Centre for its “all-out assault” on the Constitution. Led by the PM, the treasury benches accused the Congress MP of insulting all Hindus. This was after Rahul, armed with a copy of the Constitution and photos of religious figures, launched a fierce attack on the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS, claiming “neither of them truly represented all Hindus”. “If you look at Lord Shiva’s image, you will know that Hindus can never spread fear and hatred. But the BJP spreads fear and hatred round the clock. All religions and all our great men talk about non-violence and fearlessness, but those who call themselves Hindus only talk about violence, hatred and Kejriwal moves HC against CBI arrest; hearing today Akali leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Surjit Singh Rakhra and others during their meeting with Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh in Amritsar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Crisis in SAD deepens, dissidents submit apology letter to Akal Takht Seek atonement for ‘mistakes’ that led to party’s debacle GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 1 Dejected by the alleged “autocracy” in the Shiromani Akali Dal, a group of dissident Akali leaders today approached Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh with their written “admission of mistakes” and sought atonement for being part of the SAD regime during its two terms between 2007 and 2017. In the letter, they mentioned four major “mistakes” that led to the party’s debacle, politically and religiously. The Jathedar accepted the letter, but reserved his verdict. Later, the leaders, including Prem PAID ‘COURTESY VISIT’ TO AMRITPAL’S PLACE ■ Before visiting Akal Takht, SAD dissidents visited Jallupur Khera, native village of pro-Khalistan leader and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is in jail ■ Akali leader Chandumajra said the visit was apolitical. “It was just a courtesy visit,” he said; the Jathedar accepted the apology letter, but reserved his verdict Singh Chandumajra, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Sucha Singh Chhotepur, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Karnail Singh Panjauli and Manjit Singh, stood in front of Akal Takht and performed “ardas” for penance. Before visiting Akal Takht, some of them also visited Jallupur Khera, the native village of self-styled proKhalistan leader and newly elected MP from Khadoor Sahib Amritpal Singh, who is in the Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act. Amritpal’s mother Balwinder Kaur said four Akali leaders, including Chandumajra and Wadala, had come to congratulate them on Amritpal’s election as an MP . continued on page 6 New Delhi, July 1 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday moved the Delhi High Court challenging his arrest by the CBI and his subsequent custody in a corruption case linked to the Delhi excise policy ‘scam’. Kejriwal’s petition is listed for hearing on Tuesday before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna. He is currently in judicial custody, facing charges of corruption and money laundering. The Delhi CM was placed under the CBI custody for three days starting June 26 by Vacation Judge Amitabh Rawat, who held that the arrest was not illegal at this stage but cautioned the CBI against “overzealousness”. On June 29, Vacation Judge Sunena Sharma remanded Kejriwal in judicial custody till July 12, as the CBI did not seek his further remand. The CBI had examined Kejriwal in Tihar Jail on June 25. The Delhi CM has been lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a money laundering case investigated by the ED linked to the excise policy. His statement was recorded hours after the Delhi HC stayed the bail granted to him in the PMLA case. On June 26, after obtaining court permission, the CBI formally arrested Kejriwal. — TNS Called out, IOA members shun Paris travel perks THE TRIBUNE IMPACT Vinayak Padmadeo Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 Indian Olympic Association officials have decided not to avail perks they cleared for themselves for travel and stay during the Paris Olympics. The decision came during an executive meeting here today, a week after The Tribune highlighted how 12 HAD DOUBLED ALLOWANCE TO $300 ■ IOA executive council had doubled DA for 12 members to $300 for 5-day stay in Paris; players’ perks remained same at $50 ■ They have now decided not to take DA, business class tickets or other perks from IOA; will instead share 4 all-access venue cards executive council members would get $300 per day— around Rs 25,000 — each in dearness allowance for their five-day stay in Paris. The council members unanimously decided not to take the allowance, business class tickets or other perks from the organisation for the Games. They will now travel at their own expense. The members were further to be paid 1,000 euros — near- ly Rs 90,000 per day — for the duration of their trip. In contrast, the Indian athletes were to draw only $50 per day each from the IOA for stay. After an uproar, the council members decided to let go of the perks and emoluments, but have demanded an NOC (National Olympic Committee) card, an all-access permit for the Games venues. The catch, however, is India has been continued on page 6 c m y b Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in RS, slammed PM Modi for his poll speeches and attacked the RSS over its functioning. House Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar expunged most of his remarks, saying the RSS “is working for the nation”. falsehood. ‘Aap Hindu ho hi nahin’ (you are not Hindus),” the Congress leader said. The PM rose to rebut Rahul’s remarks. “Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue,” Modi said. His second intervention drew jeers from the Opposition benches as the PM declared that the Constitution had taught him to continued on page 6 Adil Akhzer Srinagar, July 1 Jailed Kashmiri leader and newly elected MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, is likely to take oath on July 5 after the NIA on Monday gave its consent before a special court in Delhi. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh will pass an order on the matter on Tuesday. Rashid, 56, a former MLA from the Langate Assembly constituency in Kupwara district, contested as an Independent MP from Baramulla in the recently held Lok Sabha elections and won by a huge margin. Last month, he moved the court seeking interim bail, or custody parole to take oath as an MP in Parliament. On June 22, a special court had adjourned the matter and asked the NIA to file its response. The NIA counsel said Rashid’s oath-taking should be subject to some conditions like not speaking to the media. He also said Rashid, who was in Tihar Jail, must complete the process within a day. The agency has been consulting Parliament and the Sheikh Abdul Rashid PROBE AGENCY’S RIDERS ■ The NIA counsel said Rashid’s oath-taking should be subject to some conditions like not speaking to the media ■ He also said Rashid, who was in Tihar Jail, must complete the process within a day jail authorities on the matter. While Rashid’s counsel had cited AAP leader Sanjay Singh being granted custody parole to take oath as a Rajya Sabha MP the court noted , that Rashid’s charges were different. The current session of Parliament is scheduled to end on July 3. Procedures allow MPs to take oath in the Speaker’s chamber even when Parliament is not in session. Ex-CM Omar Abdullah, whom Rashid defeated in the elections, said even as Rashid might take oath as an MP he would , not be able to work as the representative of the people of continued on page 6
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).