01072024-TTC-01.qxd 8/1/2024 12:59 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 8 NO. 212 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HARRIS SOLE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE LEFT IN PREZ RACE WORLD /thetribunechd VALLEY TURNS A NEW LEAF, SEES BOOM IN TOURISM J&K STEEL MINISTRY SEEKS PROBE INTO CHEAPER IMPORTS BUSINESS DOING NATIONAL GOOD: DHANKHAR ON RSS BACK PAGE thursday | 1 august 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Shah says Kerala forewarned,CM refutes claim as baseless; toll 167 Not the time for wrangling: Vijayan |191 missing, rescuers intensify search ops Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 31 The Centre and the Kerala Government were locked in a war of words as the death toll in the devastating landslides in Wayanad district of Kerala rose to 167 on Wednesday, while 191 are still missing even as rescue teams intensified efforts to find survivors trapped under the debris on the second day of the search operations. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Kerala Government was warned as early as July 23 regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rain. However, the state government did not heed the early warning. It also did not get alerted even by the arrival of battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Shah said. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refuted Shah’s remarks, terming these baseless and saying the rain warning was way off the mark and the “red alert” REUTERS HEAVY RAIN IN DELHI, RED ALERT ISSUED ■ Delhi witnessed a heavy spell of rain on Wednesday, leading to waterlogging & traffic chaos ■ The IMD issued a red alert following an ‘extremely intense spell of rainfall (5-10 cm/hr)’ ■ Over 10 flights were diverted. The road outside the Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre, where three students died on Saturday, was again flooded RAHUL, PRIYANKA TO VISIT WAYANAD TODAY ■ LoP Rahul Gandhi and Con- Rescue work underway after landslides in the Chooralmala area of Wayanad in Kerala. PTI came after the Wayanad tragedy had occurred. This “is not the time for a blame game”, said Vijayan, who was quoted by news agencies as saying, “What was stated in Parliament is not true”. The NDRF was sent, “but the fact is that we asked for it”. Shah said the Narendra Modi government was stand- ing like a “rock” with the Kerala Government and people of the state in this moment of tragedy. He also promised all help from the Centre. Intervening in a shortduration calling attention motion on the Wayanad landslide tragedy in the Upper House, Shah said an early warning was sent to the state seven days ahead. Another warning was given on July 24. “Nine NDRF battalions were dispatched on July 23 itself and three more were sent on July 30,” Shah said. Had the Kerala Government been on alert and had it acted as soon as NDRF teams landed there, the losses could have been minimised, the gress leader Priyanka Gandhi will visit Wayanad on Thursday and meet families affected by the natural calamity Home Minister said. In Kerala, Vijayan indicated that it was a case of too little, too late. “The predictions never mentioned a red alert in the affected area. In fact, the red alert came on Tuesday at 6 am, while the tragedy occurred several hours earlier.” continued on page 10 edit: wayanad calamity Oath Mannerism HAMAS CHIEF KILLED IN IRAN; ISRAEL BLAMED BEIRUT: Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in Iran. The group has blamed Israel. INSIDE Withdraw GST on life, medical cover premium: Gadkari to FM Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann greets new state Governor Gulab Chand Kataria after the oath ceremony in Chandigarh on Wednesday. In his first remarks, Kataria asserted the Governor’s post was not just decorative, but for serving people. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI INSIDE Channi for privilege motion against PM, submits notice Ruckus in LS over Anurag’s remarks against Rahul Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 31 Congress MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for posting on X a video that allegedly contained portions of remarks made by BJP MP Anurag Thakur against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi that were expunged from the proceedings of the House by the Chair. Thakur’s controversial comments against Rahul led to noisy scenes in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as Congress-led opposition members raised slogans and rushed into the well of the Congress MP Charanjit Channi speaks in the Lok Sabha. PTI House, which also led to a short adjournment during Question Hour. As soon as the House convened for the day and Speaker Om Birla called for the ED raids hospitals of two HP Cong leaders Question Hour proceedings to commence, Congress members stood up and raised the issue of Thakur’s comments against Gandhi and sought his apology. As Question Hour began, they jumped into the well of the House and raised slogans seeking a caste census, while showing placards. Besides the Congress, the DMK, the Samajwadi Party and the Shiv Sena (UBT) also protested. Papers were torn and thrown into the well, much to the chagrin of the Speaker. Amid noisy scenes, the Speaker adjourned the House at 11.36 am till 12 noon. Just before the adjournment, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju c0ndemned the continued on page 10 One Nagrota MLA, other from seat of CM’s wife Eye on Sikh votes before poll, BJP may send Bittu to RS from Haryana Lalit Mohan Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Dharamsala, July 31 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided several private hospitals in Kangra, Una and Kullu districts, including two owned by prominent Congress leaders, as part of a money laundering probe linked to the alleged Ayushman Bharat scheme fraud. In Kangra, the ED raided Fortis Hospital, which is owned by Congress’ Nagrota Bagwan MLA RS Bali, and Shri Balaji Hospital, owned by HPCC treasurer Rajesh Sharma. In Una, Banke Bihari Hospital was raided. Bali is also the Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. Sharma had contested the 2022 Assembly elections from Dehra. He gave up his ticket for the recent Dehra Assembly bypoll for CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur, which she won. When contacted, Bali said he had nothing to hide. “We have provided all documents Chandigarh, July 31 The name of Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Ravneet Singh Bittu is doing the rounds as the probable BJP candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana. Sources said Bittu’s candidature was being considered as the saffron party was eyeing the influential Sikh community votes in the Haryana Assembly elections. Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated by militants in 1995. As the BJP does not have any prominent Sikh face in Haryana, the party is looking to bank on the Union Minister of State. His nomination could also stem the criticism by Sikh outfits of giving them “inadequate” representation in Haryana. The Beant Singh assassination case also fit into the BJP’s “national security” narrative and Bittu’s Rajya Sabha nomination could continued on page 10 RS Bali Rajesh Sharma AYUSHMAN ‘FRAUD’ ■ ED probing alleged fraud of ~25 crore through misuse of Ayushman Bharat cards ■ It claims medical bills generated on ‘fake’ cards, causing a loss to exchequer sought by the ED. Fortis follows the best ethical practices and I am sure nothing will come out against the institution. Presently, I am out of station on vacation with my family and will be back soon. I will cooperate fully with the agency,” he said. Sharma could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Sources said the ED was investigating an alleged fraud of Rs 25 crore through the misuse of Ayushman Bharat cards in the state. They said according to the continued on page 10 Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 31 Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has requested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to withdraw the 18 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on life and medical insurance premiums. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said he was happy that Gadkari endorsed the demand that he made yesterday on the floor of House asking the Finance Minister to remove the 18 per cent GST levelled on health and life insurance premiums. “We are an underinsured country and we must encourage people to insure themselves,” he said. In his letter to the Finance Minister, Gadkari raised concerns of the Nagpur Division Life Insurance Corporation Employees Union, which had submitted a memorandum to him regarding the issues of the insurance industry. Referring to the memo, the minister said, “Levying the GST on life insurance premium amounts to levying tax on the uncertainties of life. continued on page 10 India, China meet 30th time, no LAC headway UPSC cancels Khedkar’s IAS candidature Ajay Banerjee New Delhi, July 31 The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday cancelled the provisional candidature of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar and debarred her from all future examinations or selections after finding her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the Civil Services Examination Rules. Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 31 Following two meetings in July between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, officials of the two sides met in New Delhi today to find an early resolution of the military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). At the 30th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), the Indian delegation was led by Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia), MEA. The Chinese team was headed by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was aimed at taking forward the discussions held between the two ministers in Astana (Kazakhstan) and Vientiane (Laos). “The two sides reviewed the TALKS TO CONTINUE The delegations agreed to maintain the momentum of talks through the established diplomatic and military channels. MEA statement ❝ situation along the LAC for finding an early resolution of the outstanding issues,” the MEA said in a statement. The statement echoed what Jaishankar had told Wang: “Restoration of peace and tranquillity, and respect for the LAC, are an essential basis for bringing back normalcy in bilateral relations.” The two sides agreed on the “need to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings”. They agreed to continue talks through diplomatic and military channels, the MEA said. BARS HER FROM APPEARING IN ALL FUTURE EXAMS In a statement, the UPSC said it had thoroughly examined the available data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates of the CSEs from 2009 to 2023 i.e. for 15 years with respect to the number of attempts availed by them. After this detailed exercise, barring the case of Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, no other candidate had been continued on page 10 Women athletes step closer to creating history — Lovlina, Sindhu & Deepika ROHIT MAHAJAN CHASING GLORY IN PARIS P V Sindhu, all adrenaline, rushed across the court like a storm against a hapless Kristin Kuuba, world No. 73, of Estonia; Lovlina Borgohain weighed her steps carefully, weaved and bobbed her head, and put weight behind her punches against Sunniva Hofstand of Norway; Deepika Kumari decimated Netherlands’ teenager Quinty Roeffen, who went to pieces at the biggest stage of her nascent career. In table tennis, Sreeja Akula beat Zeng Jian of Singapore to enter the women’s singles Round of 16. These women headlined the India news on Day 5 of the Paris Olympics; the men who mattered most were shooter Swapnil Kusale, who qualified for the 50m Rifle 3 Positions c m y b ■ In pursuit of her 3rd Olympic medal, shuttler PV Sindhu advances to next round ■ Boxer Lovlina Borgohain breezes into quarters; one win away from 2nd Olympic medal ■ Archer Deepika Kumari enters pre-quarterfinal stage PARIS 2024 MEDAL TALLY Lovlina Borgohain during the women’s 75kg round of 16 boxing match against Norway’s Sunniva Hofstad in Paris. PTI final, and Lakshya Sen, who crushed world No. 3 Jonatan Christie 21-18, 21-12 to make it to the pre-quarterfinals. The road ahead is tougher — no more amateur-like opponents from Estonia or teenagers from the Netherlands. Sindhu must beat a Chinese star, He Bingjiao — second-rung player by Chinese standards, but one who possesses a 11-9 career advantage over Sindhu. Lovlina’s next opponent is also a Chinese woman — the two-time Olympics medallist Li Qian. Lovlina INDIA 00 00 02 02 faced Li twice last year, and both won at home turf — Lovlina at the World Championships in New Delhi, Li at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Deepika’s opponent in the pre-quarterfinals is an Olympics medallist, continued on page 10