17082024-TT-01.qxd 8/16/2024 11:10 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 227 | 20 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH 7 INJURED IN UKRAINIAN STRIKES ON DONETSK CAPITAL WORLD /thetribunechd MAJOR REJIG BEFORE ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTIONS J&K FEAR, TEARS AND LAUGHS, TWICE OVER REVIEW ISRO EYES COMMERCIAL LAUNCH OF SATELLITES VIA SSLV BACK PAGE saturday | 17 august 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Yunus dials Modi, promises security of minorities in B’desh Long wait ends, J&K voting in three phases from Sept 18; Haryana goes to polls on Oct 1 Tribune News Service Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 16 Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus today called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and assured him of “prioritising protection, safety and security” of Hindus and all minority groups in his country. This comes a day after PM Modi in his Independence Day address spoke about 140 crore Indians being “worried about the safety of Hindus in Bangladesh”. The Ministry of External Affairs said PM Modi held a telephonic conversation with Prof Yunus — the first direct communication between the two leaders after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. “The PM underlined the importance of ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities in Bangladesh,” a statement said, adding “Prof Yunus, in turn, assured that the interim government would prioritise protection, safety and security of Hindus and all minority groups in Bangladesh.” Modi reaffirmed India’s support for a democratic, sta- Narendra Modi Mohd Yunus ATTACKS ‘EXAGGERATED’ Reports of attacks on minorities have been exaggerated and he (Yunus) is inviting Indian journalists to report from the ground on the issues of the minority protection. Bangladesh chief adviser’s office ble, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh. He emphasised India’s commitment to supporting the people of Bangladesh through various development initiatives. The two leaders also discussed ways for taking the bilateral relationship forward in line with the respective national priorities. In his address from the Red Fort, Modi had said 140 crore Indians were worried about the safety of Hindus in Bangladesh in the wake of attacks. continued on page 7 New Delhi, August 16 Polling for the Haryana Assembly will be held in a single phase on October 1 while Jammu and Kashmir will see voting in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, announced the Election Commission of India on Friday while saying time had come to build on the strong foundation of democracy laid in J&K during the recent General Election. The counting will be held on October 4. Haryana and J&K have 90 Assembly seats each. This will be the first election to the J&K Assembly in a decade and also the first since the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the erstwhile state into UTs of J&K and Ladakh on August 5, 2019. The 2014 J&K Assembly poll had returned a hung verdict with the BJP winning 25 seats, PDP 28, Congress 12, and J&K National Conference 15 in a House of 87 at the time. Since June 20, 2018, J&K has seen spells of Governor and President’s rule and has been without a Legislative Assembly. Chief Election Commis- LADAKH JAMMU & KASHMIR SEATS 90 GENERAL 74 | ST 9 | SC 7 TOTAL VOTERS Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu in New Delhi. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MUKESH AGGARWAL J&K POLL WELL WITHIN DEADLINE There is way one ❝well withinnotime periodcould have gone exactlyinon the day… it is and it will be finished time… It is not a day here and there which is important. What is important is that we go by the spirit. CEC Rajiv Kumar on SC’s Sept 30 deadline for J&K sioner Rajiv Kumar today said the elections in J&K were being conducted “well within the time period given by the Supreme Court and there was no delay”. The SC had in December 2023 asked the EC to conduct elections in J&K by September 30. With the EC paving the way for restoration of the elected Assembly in J&K, the Union Home Minister and top BJP brass led by JP Nadda hailed the move. “I welcome the announcement of the elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X. “In the past 10 years, the Modi government, through a series of initiatives, has created a new era of peace, development and strengthening democracy in J&K. The Assembly elections will fur- Modi speaks with Netanyahu, calls for de-escalation Swamy moves HC seeking to cancel Rahul’s citizenship NEW DELHI: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has approached the Delhi HC seeking directions for the MHA to decide on the cancellation of the Indian citizenship of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Swamy’s 2019 representation to the MHA alleged Rahul served as a director and secretary of a UK firm, Backops Limited. He alleged Rahul’s nationality was listed as British in the firm’s annual returns filed in 2005 and 2006, and again in a dissolution application in 2009. — TNS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 16 Punjab witnessed the doubling of UAPA cases in a year, rising from an average of just over one per month in 2021 to nearly two in 2022, reflecting a significant uptick in the application of the stringent law, although orders of courts indicate not all cases justified the use of the law’s provisions. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Pun- 90 GENERAL 73 | SC 17 TOTAL VOTERS 87.09 LAKH 2.03 CRORE POLLING STATIONS POLLING STATIONS 11,838 20,629 DATE OF POLL DATE OF POLL PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 SEPT 18 SEPT 25 OCT 1 SINGLE PHASE OCTOBER 1 COUNTING OF VOTES OCTOBER 4 ther strengthen the roots of democracy, opening the door to a new period of development for the region,” he added. Asserting that adequate security would be available for the three-phase J&K elections, CEC Kumar said the poll body’s confidence to hold the elections stemmed from J&K voters’ rejection of bullets and boycotts in favour of the ballot in the Lok Sabha West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at a Trinamool rally in Kolkata seeking justice for the doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered. PTI State’s failure: HC blasts Mamata govt over hospital vandalism; CBI grills ex-principal Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 16 A day after a mob vandalised RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Calcutta High Court on Friday slammed the West Bengal Government, calling the incident “an absolute failure of the state machinery”. Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, heading a Division Bench, expressed disbelief that the police intelligence lacked information about the assembly of 7,000 people at the hospital in the early hours of Thursday, as reported by IMA: Non-emergency services across states to remain shut today the state’s lawyer. The court demanded photographic proof of the safe condition of the hospital’s seminar room where the body of a woman doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was found. The court also said it could order closing down of the medical establishment. “This is an absolute failure of state machinery. So they (the police) couldn’t protect their own men. A sorry state of affairs. How will doctors there work fearlessly?” the court observed. It directed the police and the administrator of the hospital to file separate affidavits narrating the “true state of affairs” at the institute and all connected matters on August 21 when the matter will be heard again. A group of people, posing as protesters, entered the hospital and vandalised the emergency department, nursing station, and medicine store, while also continued on page 7 FIR within 6 hours of crime, hospitals told NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry has directed the heads of all government hospitals to get an institutional FIR lodged within six hours of any incidence of violence against any healthcare worker. Issuing the order, Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services, said, “Many doctors and other healthcare workers are exposed to verbal and physical aggression.... either by patients or their attendees.”— TNS New Delhi, August 16 In a major reshuffle, the Centre on Friday appointed new DoPT, Defence and Health Secretaries, while effecting changes in as many as 18 departments. Haryana-cadre IAS officer of 1989 batch Vivek Joshi has been appointed Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). He is currently Secretary, Banking, in the Ministry of Finance. The post of DoPT Secretary had been lying vacant for some time with Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla holding its additional charge. Kerala-cadre IAS officer of 1989 batch Rajesh Kumar Singh has been appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Defence. He will take charge as Secretary after the completion of tenure of incumbent Aramane Giridhar’s on October 31. Singh will have a fixed tenure of two years. He is currently Secretary, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Punya Salia Srivastava, an IAS officer of 1993 batch of AGMUT cadre, has been appointed OSD in the Ministry of Health. He will take charge as Secretary on September 30 continued on page 7 Punjab sees nearly two-fold rise in cases under stringent UAPA Saurabh Malik SEATS poll. “People are ready,” he said when asked if J&K was ready to vote given the recent spate of terror attacks in the Jammu region. The CEC flagged how the Valley reached a new peak, seeing a 30-point jump in poll participation this year over 2019 with the overall voter turnout of 58.58 per cent, the highest in decades. continued on page 7 edit: polls in J&K Adil Akhzer Srinagar, August 16 Political parties in the Kashmir valley on Friday welcomed the Election Commission’s announcement of three-phase elections to the J&K Assembly, but they demanded restoration of statehood to make the decision more meaningful. Will contest, Omar won’t, says Farooq Abdullah These are the first Assembly elections being held in J&K after the abrogation of the special status in 2019. The last Assembly elections were held in 2014. National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said the elections would bring relief to people and end a “long bureaucratic rule”. “People are fed up with the present system and they are facing problems everywhere. Officers are running the system,” he said, adding continued on page 7 In major rejig, govt names new DoPT, Defence Secys NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed the need for deescalation of the crisis in West Asia during a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders reiterated their call for immediate release of all hostages and continued humanitarian assistance. In a post on X, Modi said Netanyahu extended his warm wishes on India’s 78th Independence Day. — TNS HARYANA ‘Restore statehood too’, J&K parties welcome EC move jab recorded 25 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) cases in 2022, up from 14 in 2021, marking a 78 per cent increase. The statistics place Punjab ahead of other states like Haryana (11 cases in 2022) and Tamil Nadu (four), but behind Jammu & Kashmir (371) and Manipur (167). Punjab’s increase is part of a broader national trend as UAPA cases across India rose from 796 in 2020 to 1,005 in 2022. Gujarat, HOME MINISTRY DATA STATE/UT J&K PUNJAB HARYANA HIMACHAL CASES* 371 25 11 NIL *FIGURES FOR 2022 Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim reported zero cases throughout the same period. The data was made public by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in the Rajya Sabha recently. The authorities insist a rise in UAPA cases in Punjab reflects ongoing security concerns and a heightened legal response to perceived threats, underscoring the state’s intensified efforts to address unlawful activities and terrorism. UAPA cases are critical as these involve serious allegations that impact national security and individual liberties. But not all cases required the slapping of offences under the UAPA. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in December last year directed the police commissioners and SPs to ensure investigating officers exercised extreme caution before including UAPA offences in FIRs. The HC on August 6 granted bail to a UAPA accused citing the right to a speedy trial and “absence of adequate material to justify further incarceration”. In another c m y b case, the HC observed that an SSP invoked the UAPA without fully understanding its applicability, leading to a casual approach in the probe. Charges under the UAPA were dropped by Mansa Sessions Judge in December 2015 and the trial court acquitted all the accused, including police officials, vide judgment dated November 30, 2019. The allegations were regarding supply of arms and ammunition to Naxalites. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann speaks from behind a bulletproof glass shield on Independence Day in Jalandhar. SARABJIT SINGH A first, ~16L bulletproof glass shield used for Mann’s I-Day address Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 16 In a first, a Rs 16-lakh bulletproof glass screen was used to shield Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann when he delivered his speech at the state-level Independence Day function here on Thursday. The three-panelled bulletproof glass screen, encased in a stainless steel frame, was installed in front of the podium as the CM delivered his address at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium here. The glass screen was specially bought by the Punjab Police ahead of the function, said senior officials. Though the police denied receiving any intelligence input regarding a specific threat ahead of the event, unprecedented security steps were taken for the event that saw deployment of over 1,000 policemen. State DGP Gaurav Yadav also attended the function. ADGP (Special Protection Unit) AK Pandey said, “The CM is a special protectee and there is always a threat at such state-level events. The glass screen was installed as per demand from the state police headquarters. Punjab being a high-priority border state, this Step taken for foolproof security, says ADGP was a part of the standard protocol to ensure foolproof security for the CM.” “The screen was specially procured by the police ahead of the event. There was no special intelligence regarding any threat, etc. The decision was solely taken for the CM’s protection. Days before the event, the venue was checked meticulously by various teams.” The ADGP said the decision regarding using the bulletproof glass was taken by the police, not the CMO. Earlier bulletproof boards (covered with flowers) with a stand were used for such events, he said, adding that the protective glass screen cost Rs 16 lakh. On whether activities of gangs in the Doaba region prompted the decision, another official said, “These are routine activities and were not a concern.” Officials, who were earlier deputed with various CMs and high-ranking policemen during the days of terrorism, said there was no precedent of use of such glass screen in Punjab. continued on page 7