08092024-TTC-01.qxd 9/8/2024 12:28 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 249 | 22 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 BOEING STARLINER RETURNS TO EARTH SANS SUNITA, BUTCH WORLD /thetribunechd SHAH: TERRORISM WILL RETURN TO UT IF NC, CONG WIN J&K SARDARJI’S TAXI IN CALCUTTA: CARING, DEPENDABLE SPECTRUM ASSAM MANDATES NRC RECEIPT NO. FOR AADHAAR APPLICANTS NATION sunday | 8 september 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com FLYING COLOURS PTI May go solo: AAP as pact Alliance not beneficial, capable of going it alone, talks hit seat-sharing wall says Haryana Congress Bargains hard with Cong ahead of nomination deadline HARYANA ASSEMBLY POLL 2024 Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Cadets celebrate during their passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. BACK PAGE General Munir acknowledges Pak army’s role in Kargil misadventure Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 7 Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir has acknowledged direct role of his country’s military in the 1999 Kargil war against India. The rare admission came at an event to commemorate “Defence Day” at Rawalpindi on Friday. This may not be the first such admission by the Pak- SOLDIERS DIED IN WAR Be it the wars of 1948, 1965, 1971, Kargil or the Siachen conflict, thousands of soldiers sacrificed their lives for the country (Pak). ❝ General Asim Munir, PAKISTAN ARMY CHIEF istan army, but is significant enough as it comes 25 years after the war that led to fur- ther militarisation along the Line of Control (LoC). The Pakistan army had initially distanced itself from its role in the conflict, claiming “freedom fighters” were involved. “Pakistan is a brave nation, which understands the importance of freedom and how to pay for it. Be it the wars of 1948, 1965, 1971, Kargil or the Siachen conflict, continued on page 6 New Delhi, September 7 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday flexed its muscle in the midst of ongoing talks over a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Haryana, saying it was ready to contest all seats on its own. Both sides appeared to be bargaining hard ahead of the September 12 nomination deadline. Hours before AAP’s Raghav Chadha met AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria on Saturday for negotiations over seats, AAP leaders said no one should underestimate the party’s strength in Haryana. “We are ready to fight on our own on every seat. Those who are assessing us as weak are bound to repent in future,” AAP’s national general secretary organisation Sandeep Pathak said, indicating a hardening of the party’s stance a day after the Congress released its first list of 32 candidates. This list, The Tribune has learnt, included some seats AAP had sought. A Congress 7 killed in fresh Manipur Uncle Mahavir unhappy violence, CM briefs Guv over Vinesh’s Cong foray Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 7 Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh met Governor L. Acharya amid a spurt in violence in the state that left seven persons dead on Saturday, said officials. The CM’s meeting with Acharya was preceded by marathon high-level discussions between the state police authorities and the BSF over the recent killings. Biren Singh also held an emergency meeting with the MLAs of the ruling coalition to discuss the law and order situation in the state, sources said. Among the seven persons killed in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday, four were Kukis and three Meiteis, said the sources. Apart from the seven deaths on Saturday, an equal number of people have been killed in various incidents in the past week. During a high-level meeting between police and BSF officials, the use of drones Deepender Deswal Police deploy anti-drone systems in state and rockets by extremists was also discussed threadbare, said the sources. On Friday, a 70-year-old man was killed and five were injured when a rocket-like object fell on the house of late Mairembam Koireng Singh, Manipur’s first Chief Minister, in Bishnupur district. The violence has increased in the state since the September 1 incident, when drones were used to drop bombs at a village bordering a Meiteidominated area. Rockets and improvised guns have been increasingly used by extremists to attack each other. Even makeshift bunkers have been discovered by the police. The police on Saturday said it had deployed anti-drone systems in response to recent drone and rocket attacks on civilians. Briefing reporters in Imphal, Inspector General of continued on page 6 Tribune News Service Hisar, September 7 Sports and politics go hand in hand in the Phogat family of Balali village in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, known for producing internationally renowned women wrestlers such as Vinesh, Geeta and Babita. Vinesh (30) is the latest member of the Phogat family to step into politics. She joined the Congress on Friday afternoon and was hours later nominated the party candidate from Julana Assembly seat in Jind district. Her political foray, particularly her decision to join the Congress, however, hasn’t gone down well with her uncle Mahavir Phogat, a Dronacharya awardee who has coached the Phogat sisters. Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Mahavir said during her recent visit to Balali, he told Vinesh to stay focused on wrestling. “She should have aimed for an Olympics medal four years from now. I believe she still had a lot of Says should have stuck to wrestling or joined BJP VINESH, PUNIA PAWNS They (Punia and Vinesh) were faces... they were mohrey(pawns). They were used like pawns by the Cong. ❝ Brij Bhushan S Singh, FORMER WFI CHIEF wrestling left in her and should have continued in the sport,” he asserted. Mahavir claimed Vinesh’s decision to join politics was entirely her own and he wasn’t consulted. “I don’t think she should be in politics at this stage of her career. Even if she was keen on joining, she should have opted for the BJP , continued on page 6 ‘Divine intervention’ stalls century-old church’s sale Lid off after anonymous tip; ~200 cr shrine’s land was going for ~5 cr Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 7 A timely complaint by a Christian outfit saved the historic Golaknath Memorial Church, located at Mission Compound in Jalandhar’s Adarsh Nagar, from being sold off — at a price that wasn’t even 5 per cent of the property’s true value. An anonymous tip-off on the phone is learnt to have blown the lid off the illegal sale. The call was made to pastor Sarwan Masih, a member of the United Church of Northern India Trust Association, which manages the shrine. As the property in-charge, The Golaknath Memorial Church in Jalandhar. SARABJIT SINGH pastor Sarwan was the first to approach the police. He alleged that a resident of Mohyal Nagar in Jalandhar, claiming himself to be the association’s treasurer, had signed a sale agreement for the church land with one Jordan Masih of Ludhiana. Sources said the deal was Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including six-page Spectrum. struck by the real estate mafia for Rs 5 crore and a token amount of Rs 5 lakh had already exchanged hands. Realtors estimate that the 24kanal church land, situated on a prime commercial road near Football Chowk, could be worth more than Rs 200 crore. The complainant alleged that Jordan had no connection with the church. The pastor also provided evidence to show that the token amount of Rs 5 lakh had been transferred through a private bank, and that even the land registry had been planned in a few days. An FIR was lodged on the basis of a preliminary continued on page 6 CAN’T SEE US AS WEAK We are ready to fight on our own on every seat. Those who are assessing us as weak are bound to repent in future. Sandeep Pathak, AAP LEADER CLARITY SOON Negotiations are being held over sharing of seats. Nothing has been finalised yet. We will have clarity in a dayortwo.Deepak Babaria, AICC GEN SECY ❝ ❝ CONG IN A FIX OVER 24 TRICKY SEATS After the CEC failed to reach consensus on 24 tricky seats on Friday, it tasked the Congress sub-committee for Haryana poll with picking names for these segments. The Tribune learnt there are too many claimants on these seats, posing a challenge to the party. source said they could not have parted with winnable seats at any cost. On the outcome of the third round of talks (the first two were held between Chadha and AICC general secretary KC Venu- gopal, who speaks directly for Rahul Gandhi), Babaria said, “Negotiations are being held over the sharing of seats. Nothing has been finalised yet. We will have clarity in a day or two.” Congress sources said AAP was demanding “too many seats and was not being reasonable”. Asked how many seats AAP was seeking, a Congress source said, “Around 20.” Though the Haryana Congress unit is not keen on the alliance, the AICC leadership, especially Rahul, wants to honour the unity of INDIA bloc in which AAP and the Congress are partners. “The success of pre-poll alliance talks hinges on equal commitment on both sides. Talks have to be reasonable,” a Congress CEC member told The Tribune. AAP sources, meanwhile, said they were preparing to contest at least 50 out of Haryana’s 90 seats and might release their first list of candidates by Sunday. Some even said the alliance talks with the Congress were on the brink of collapse. On the prospects of the alliance, a CEC member said, “Prospects are touch and go. We are talking. It may happen. It may not.” Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 7 Haryana Congress leaders today objected to the ongoing alliance talks with AAP and said any pact with a party that had no base won’t benefit them. They conveyed their displeasure over the matter to the party top brass. Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “Though the Congress is capable of going it alone, the decision has to be taken at the top level.” Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, in a media interview, said, “We can fight on our own and be successful. But the leadership wants that as part of the INDIA bloc, all partners must be accommodated, whether needed or not.” The Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Haryana after 10 years, faces several challenges. It needs to strike a balance between different factions within the party while allocating seats. Additionally, selecting 90 candidates from over 2,500 ticket-seekers is proving to be a tough task. The party has played it safe so far, avoiding any major discontent. Its first list includes 28 MLAs, besides Bhupinder Singh Hooda Olympian Vinesh Phogat and two turncoats. However, a seat-sharing pact with AAP , if materialises, could lead to a revolt among party leaders, some of whom might choose to contest as Independents. The ongoing talks with AAP are also delaying nominations for the remaining seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, AAP had got just 0.36 per cent of votes, narrowly surpassing NOTA. In the last state Assembly elections, AAP contested 46 seats, but failed to win any. Its vote percentage was 0.48 per cent, lower than NOTA’s 0.52 per cent. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, AAP had a tie-up with the Congress for the Kurukshetra seat. However, AAP’s Dr Sushil Gupta lost to BJP’s Naveen Jindal by 29,021 votes, polling just continued on page 6