03092024-TTB-01.qxd 9/3/2024 12:06 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 244 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI NETANYAHU NOT DOING ENOUGH FOR PEACE, SAYS BIDEN WORLD /thetribunechd BJP’S FOURTH LIST OUT, RAINA TO FIGHT FROM NOWSHERA J&K CEA FOR AUTONOMY OF POLICY TO BOOST GROWTH BUSINESS BUCH DREW SALARY FROM ICICI WHILE BEING SEBI MEMBER: CONG NATION tuesday | 3 september 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 7,000 Punjab farmers converge on Chandigarh as House session begins SKM outfits leave after ‘mahapanchayat’ | BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) to stay put till Sept 5 Amit Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 2 Nearly 15 years after the Chandigarh Administration banned large protests in the UT, around 7,000 farmers from Punjab have arrived in the heart of the city to raise their demands. The protest coincides with the three-day Punjab Assembly session, which got underway today. Farmers from various unions, including the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), are camping at the Sector 34 ground on the Dakshin Marg after being granted permission by the Deputy Commissioner. This has led to significant public inconvenience and traffic disruptions. Questions are being raised over the UT decision since a similar protest by farmers and other groups was disallowed by the authorities in 2023. The court had to intervene to get a road reopened on the MohaliChandigarh border. A large group of farmers owing allegiance to the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) and Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union today marched down to the ‘Matka continued on page 8 Farmers hold a protest over their demands in Chandigarh on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 2 As several BJP-ruled states resort to bulldozer action against “illegal” houses of offenders, the Supreme Court on Monday wondered how someone’s house could be demolished just because the person happened to be an accused. It said it would lay down guidelines on the issue. “How can anybody’s house be demolished only because he is an accused? Even if he is a convict, it can’t be done without following the procedure as prescribed by law,” said a Bench led by Justice BR Gavai. While hearing petitions filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and others seeking directions to various states to stop demolition of properties of those accused rioting and violence, the Bench frowned upon such demolition action and said it should not be car- The SC on Monday set up a high-powered committee headed by Justice Nawab Singh, former judge of the Punjab & Haryana HC, to amicably resolve the grievances of farmers protesting at the Shambhu border. A Bench led by Justice Surya Kant said the other members of the panel would be PS Sandhu, ex-Haryana DGP; Devender Sharma, Professor of Eminence, GND University; Prof Ranjit Singh Ghuman; & Dr Sukhpal Singh, agri economist at PAU. BACK PAGE The UT move to allow a large farm protest in the heart of the city has come as a surprise. In 2009, the venue for large protests was shifted from Matka Chowk near Sector 17 to Sector 25 on the city outskirts. A similar protest by farmers and other groups was disallowed in 2023. The court had to intervene to get a road reopened on the Mohali border. However, smaller protests by employee groups, trade unions and political parties continued to be held. Can’t raze house even if person is convicted: SC on bulldozer move Satya Prakash SC forms panel to end Shambhu impasse FIRST BIG PROTEST IN UT SINCE 2009 FOLLOW PROCESS ❝ How can anybody’s house be demolished only because he is an accused? Even if he is a convict, it can’t be done without following the procedure as prescribed by law. SC Bench ried out without following the due process and without prior notice to the occupants. “We propose to lay down certain guidelines on a pan-India basis so that the concerns with continued on page 8 Punjab Speaker flags graft in House, DGPtosubmitreport NITESH NETS GOLD, ANTIL TOO Cabinet nod to 7 agri schemes worth~14Kcrore Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 2 In a significant decision aimed at improving farmers’ lives with the help of technology, the Cabinet on Monday cleared the proposal of launching a Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM), which has a seven-tier structure, with a combined outlay of Rs 13,966 crore. The mission will be undertaken on the public private partnership (PPP) mode. The DAM will have an outlay of Rs 2,817 crore and its key elements include an Agri Stack and Krishi Decision Support System. Apart from this, funds have been allocated to other components like crop science, agri education and sustainable livestock and horticulture practices. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw informed mediapersons after the meeting of the Cabinet that the Centre has cleared a total of seven agriculture projects worth Rs 13,966 crore. Agri Stack will include data related to farmers’ land and crops, village land maps and its registry, besides other information. The second component of DAM is the Krishi Decision Support System, the minister informed. Himachal in deep financial crisis, staff face delay in salary Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, september 2 Even as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu tried hard to dispel concerns about the deepening financial woes of the state, the worst fears of serving and retired government employees of getting delayed salaries and pension turned out to be true with no payment being made into their bank accounts on Monday. Normally, salaries and pension are credited into their bank accounts on the first of every month. However, with yesterday being a Sunday, the salaries should have been disbursed on Monday, which did not happen, causing much concern among over two lakh regular employees. There is still no official word as to when the salaries would be disbursed, but there is concern among the Congress leadership as well as the bureaucracy as to how to tide over the situation amidst a grave financial crisis. Though there have been instances in the past regimes when the treasury went into deficit, but the salaries and In Haryana, turncoat trouble for BJP, Cong Ruchika M Khanna Parties delay ticket, aspirants anxious Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 2 In a move that has raised eyebrows, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan today got the approval of the entire House to seek a report from the Director General of Police regarding a Kotkapura-posted ASI, who is accused of seeking graft from a gangster. The DGP is required to submit the report to the Speaker in private by Tuesday. Since CM Mann also holds the charge of the Home Department, he will have to answer the questions about the report when the issue of gangsterpolice nexus is raised by the Opposition in the House. Interestingly, this issue was not raised by any MLA, but by Speaker Sandhwan himself during Zero Hour on the first day of the monsoon session today. As the issue of corruption was raised by the Opposition, Sandhwan said he was pained by the malaise. INSIDE Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service India’s Nitesh Kumar (in pic) won the gold in the men’s singles SL3 badminton final in the Paralympics in Paris on Monday. Sumit Antil won the gold in javelin. REUTERS PARALYMPICS MEDAL TALLY HAUL INDIA 3 5 6 14 Chandigarh, September 2 Ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections, party hoppers have put not only the BJP and the Congress in a tight spot, but also made the ticket aspirants jittery. In the poll season, it is common to see leaders quitting one party to join the other. With both the main parties yet to name their candidates, senior leaders fear turncoats may ruin their chance of getting the nomination. In fact, the entry of the turncoats seems to have delayed the first list of candidates of both parties, which have already held multiple meetings to finalise ticket allocation. Talking to The Tribune, a BJP ticket aspirant said he feared that the entry of “outsiders” on the eve of the polls would adversely affect the chances of senior party leaders who had worked hard for decades to ‘OUTSIDERS’ HARDLY GET CADRE SUPPORT ■ During the LS poll, there was dis- sent among the BJP cadre fielding of turncoats on three seats ■ Naveen Jindal contested from Kuruskhetra, Ranjit Singh Hisar and Ashok Tanwar Sirsa ■ Jindal won, but the other two lost due to resentment among cadre over fielding ‘outsiders’ strengthen the party. In the last two days alone, four former JJP MLAs — Ram Kumar Gautam (Narnaund), Devinder Singh Babli (Tohana), Anoop Dhanak (Uklana) and Jogi Ram Sihag (Barwala) — and Ambala Mayor Shakti Rani Sharma have joined the BJP apparently in the hope of , getting the party ticket. Last month, two former JJP MLAs — Ishwar Singh (Guhla) and Ram Karan Kala (Shahabad) — switched sides to the Congress. Earlier, JJP continued on page 8 Treasury in deficit, no official word on disbursal pension were never delayed. However, this time the delay might become a routine as there is no provision to raise more loans and the state is totally dependent on the Centre. Ironically, the employees and pensioners of the HP State Electricity Board, who invariably got delayed salaries in the past, were the only ones to receive payments. “We are running on the ways and means, thereby meaning that the treasury is in deficit and delayed salaries might become a routine in the coming months,” admitted a senior official of the Finance Department, adding that the balance in the treasury was in deficit and “salaries and pension will be credited only if there is receipt of revenue, so we cannot fix a deadline for disbursal”. For the past three continued on page 8 MiG-29 crashes in Barmer, pilot safe JAIPUR:A MiG-29 fighter jet of the IAF crashed in Rajasthan’s Barmer on Monday due to a “critical” technical snag during a routine training mission. “The pilot is safe and no loss of life or property was reported. A court of inquiry has been ordered,” the IAF posted on X. Barmer SP Narendra Meena said: “The incident occurred away from any populated area. No loss of life was reported in the incident.” PTI Punjab soldier dies in mysterious firing JAMMU: A soldier was killed after he received mysterious bullet injuries at a sentry post inside the Sunjuwan military station in Jammu on Monday morning. Initial reports suggested a terror attack but the Army later refuted the reports. Naik Kuldeep Singh of Punjab was on guard duty when he was hit by a bullet in the head. He was taken to a a hospital where he died. INSIDE Beas dera names Gill as spiritual head, retracts hours later I&B Ministry summons Rebuts speculation over incumbent Dhillon’s health | Says he’ll continue as sect head, Gill to succeed him GS Paul DERA LINEAGE Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 2 In a dramatic turn of events, the spiritual head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), Gurinder Singh Dhillon (69), nominated his distant relative Jasdeep Singh Gill (45) as his successor with “immediate effect”, but later decided to continue to hold his position. RSSB secretary Devender Kumar Sikri, in an initial communication to the followers, said, “Revered Sant Satguru and patron of Radha Soami Satsang Beas Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon has nominated Jasdeep Singh Gill, son of Sukhdev Singh WHO IS JASDEEP SINGH GILL ■ Jasdeep Singh Gill, a distant rela- ■ Gurinder Singh Dhillon took over as the dera head at the age of 36 in 1990 from his maternal uncle Charan Singh, who died of heart failure ■ Dhillon has two sons — Gurpreet Singh Dhillon and Gurkirat Singh Dhillon. Both are settled abroad ■ PREVIOUS HEADS: Jaimal Singh (till 1903) | Sawan Singh (1903-48) | Jagat Singh (1948-51) | Charan Singh (1951-90) | GS Dhillon Gurinder Singh Dhillon (1990 onwards) Gill, as patron. He will succeed Babaji with immediate effect from September 2.” The communication read, “Gill shall also succeed Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon as Jasdeep Singh Gill the Sant Satguru and will have authority of giving initiation (naam)… Babaji has expressed that like he has received full support and love of the sangat after tive of Gurinder Singh Dhillon, is based in Mumbai ■ He worked with Cipla as chief strategy officer and senior management official from 2019-24 ■ Gill has done PhD from University of Cambridge, Master’s from MIT, Bachelor’s from the IIT-Delhi ■ Sources say his father Sukhdev Singh, an ex-serviceman, manages dera events across the country Huzoor Maharaj ji, he has wished and requested that the same love and affection be given to Jasdeep Singh Gill in carrying out his sewa as patron and Sant Satguru.” POLITICAL IMPORTANCE ■ High-profile politicians often visit the dera, especially during the elections ■ In November 2022, prior to the Himachal poll, PM Narendra Modi paid a visit to Beas ■ LK Advani, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Nitin Gadkari, Arvind Kejriwal, Mohan Bhagwat are among those who visited the dera OVER ~5,000 CR PROPERTY Sources say the dera has property worth over ~5,000 crore, including land of its centres Dera sources said due to some “miscommunication”, resentment brewed among the followers over the change of guard and they started gathering on the dera Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b premises in Amritsar. Consequently, the RSSB authorities had to make an announcement in the evening that Dhillon would continue to be continued on page 8 content head of Netflix New Delhi, September 2 As the web series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack” — detailing the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines plane — streamed on Netflix, the use of “pseudo names” of the Pakistan-based hijackers in the depiction has led to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting summoning the content head of Netflix. The incident has not only turned into a political controversy, but has also led to questions around the need to have a regulatory body like the Central Board of Film Certification that okays film for release in theatres. So far, content on OTT platforms like Netflix is not okayed by a body but is under self-regulation of the content creator. However, it has a grievance addressing mechanism. The controversy arose after several users on X alleged that the real names of the hijackers should have been used in the conversation depicted aboard the plane. Actually, the names under question match with a press continued on page 8