04022025-TTB-01.qxd 2/4/2025 12:13 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 34 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA PREZ TRUMP ‘AGREED’ TO CLOSE DOWN USAID, SAYS MUSK WORLD /thetribunechd WORKING ON UNIFORM NH TOLL POLICY, SAYS GADKARI NATION RUPEE FALLS 55 PAISE UPROAR IN RS AS KHARGE TO BREACH 87-LEVEL SAYS THOUSANDS DIED AGAINST USD BUSINESS AT KUMBH BACK PAGE tuesday | 4 february 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Parl erupts as Rahul claims Modi sought invite for Trump inaugural Slams govt on Chinese ‘incursions’ too |LoP damaging nation: Jaishankar SONIA FACES BREACH OF PRIVILEGE NOTICE SESSION BJP members in the Rajya Sabha have moved a notice for breach of privilege against senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for her "poor thing" remark against President Droupadi Murmu, demanding exemplary action. The notice was addressed to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 3 A heated political debate unfolded in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp critique on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning the government’s handling of foreign relations and domestic policies. During a discussion on the President’s Address, Rahul claimed that China was “sitting inside” Indian territory and criticised the government’s response to the situation. He alleged that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was sent to the US in December 2024 to secure an invitation for PM Modi to attend US Ex-serviceman shot, two others injured in Kulgamterrorattack SRINAGAR: An ex-serviceman was killed and his wife and another woman relative were injured in a militant attack in south Kashmir’s Kulgam, officials said on Monday. Police officials said the retired jawan, Manzoor Ahmad Wagay, was present with his wife and niece when they were fired upon at Behibagh village of Kulgam district by unidentified gunmen. INSIDE SC seeks report on Manipur CM’s ‘role’ in ethnic violence New Delhi, February 3 The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) to submit a sealed-cover report on the authenticity of “leaked audio tapes” that allegedly suggested Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s role in ethnic violence that has claimed more than 200 lives in the state. Asking the CFSL to submit its report in six weeks, a Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar posted continued on page 6 << LoP Rahul Gandhi speaks in the Lok Sabha on Monday. ANI President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. The remarks sparked a fierce exchange between the Congress leader and BJP MPs. Rahul argued that India’s lack of a robust production system was to blame. “If we had a strong production system and were working on these tech- nologies, the US President would have come here and invited the PM,” he said. Responding to Rahul’s charge, Jaishankar, in a post on X, said, “Rahul deliberately spoke a falsehood about my visit to the US in December 2024. I went to meet the Secretary of State and NSA of the Biden administration.” He emphasised that no discussions regarding an invitation for PM Modi took place during his visit. “Rahul Gandhi’s lies may be intended politically, but these damage the nation abroad,” he added. PM Modi was present in the continued on page 6 High-voltageDelhicampaign wraps up, voting tomorrow Ujwal Jalali PM likely to hold bilateral with US OVER 2 CR FOR 3rd ‘SHAHI SNAN’ Prez on Feb 13 Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 3 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are set to hold a meeting in Washington DC on February 13. Notably, the meeting comes just about three weeks after Trump began his second term as the US President. Though sources confirmed that the meeting had been planned for February 13, there was no official confirmation from both sides. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to be in the US from February 12 to 14. The meeting is happening in the backdrop of Trump having issued threats of imposing tariffs and deporting Indians staying illegally in the US. On Saturday, India announced a reduction in customs duties on high-end motorcycles, cars and smartphone parts, a move that would give a boost to US firms like Harley-Davidson, Tesla and Apple. Prime Minister Modi and Trump had spoken over the phone on January 27. The White House had then issued a statement saying, “The leaders of the two countries discussed plans for Modi to visit the White House.” Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 3 The high-octane Delhi election campaign came to a close on Monday as parties fielded top guns for the last-minute push ahead of the February 5 Assembly elections. While the BJP uploaded on X a video that showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing Delhi’s ruling AAP of failing Class IX students to prevent adverse impact on Class X results, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal claimed his party would comfortably win 55 seats. He also took the occasion to accuse Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of “surrendering to the BJP in pursuit of a post-retirement job”. Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrapped up the campaign for the saffron party, taking on former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the Jangpura segment. Shah claimed Delhi had lagged in the development race because AAP chose to stay in constant conflict with the Centre. On the last day of the campaign, Congress’ Rahul Gandhi held a roadshow in Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj at a roadshow during the last day of campaigning in New Delhi. PTI TOTAL SEIZURES 2025 ELECTIONS CASH ~220 CRORE ~39.87 CRORE DRUGS 2,780 ~88 CRORE PRECIOUS METALS FIRs REGISTERED 2020 ~57.5 CRORE ~81 CRORE AAP FAILING CLASS IX STUDENTS: MODI The BJP uploaded on X a video that showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing Delhi’s ruling AAP of failing Class IX students to prevent adverse impact on Class X results. favour of party candidate Alka Lamba who is taking on Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and BJP’s heavyweight ex-MP Ramesh Bidhuri in Kalkaji. Overall, the campaign was dotted with rigorous rallies, strategic social media continued on page 6 edit: Battleground Delhi Punjab probing two IAS officers over sale of village pathways to New Chandigarh builder THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 3 The Punjab Government has initiated an inquiry against two senior IAS officers — Dilraj Singh Sandhawalia and Paramjit Singh — for facilitating the illegal sale of village pathways to a private builder in New Chandigarh. The village pathways — called “rastas” — can’t be legally sold, unless these are declared abandoned by the Director, Consolidation, and the Director, Land Records. However, in this case, the sale was approved without the pathways being declared abandoned by the two officers in November 2024. Sandhawalia is the Secretary of the Department of Rural Development and Panchay- CONDITION VIOLATED? ■ Village pathways can’t be legally sold unless these are declared ‘abandoned’ by the Director, Consolidation, & Director, Land Records ■ The sale of the land was approved without these being declared abandoned by the two officers in November 2024 ats and Paramjit Singh is the Director of the department. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had given a go-ahead to the inquiry last week. The Tribune has learnt that the inquiry is being conducted by Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha. “The inquiry is almost over and the chargesheet will soon be issued to the two officers,” said a senior official in the government. He also added the Vigilance Bureau would be further probing the matter. “They may inquire as to who originally allowed the sale of the land in 2018. The sale was then stayed by a court. After the case was decided, the two officers allowed the sale at a price higher than what was originally determined in 2018. There are allegations of some builtup property in New Chandigarh being given to some higher-ups for facilitating the sale,” the senior official added. Despite repeated attempts, Sandhawalia and Paramjit Singh could not be contacted. It may be mentioned that a private builder had purchased patches of farm land in and around Saini Majra village, the area that is now part of New Chandigarh and is being devel- oped by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority. Apparently, in a bid to have a consolidated chunk of land for a housing project, the pathways, which were used by villagers, became inaccessible as these were allegedly cordoned off by the builder. In 2017, villagers had moved the Kharar court and got interim protection. Some villagers later agreed to sell the land at Rs 2 crore per acre to the builder. However, some of the shareholders of the village common land (jumla mushtarka malkan land) that lay along the pathways, refused to sign the sale agreement. Later, the matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which in 2021 ruled that pathways could only be sold if declared abandoned. Despite the order, the land was sold to the builder in 2024. c m y b Foreign devotees gather at Triveni Sangam on Monday for the third ‘shahi snan’ on the occasion of Basant Panchami at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. Over 2 crore pilgrims took the holy dip. ANI Two Chinese vessels in Arabian Sea, India keeps a close watch Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 3 The presence of two Chinese survey vessels in international waters of the Arabian Sea has been reported with Indian security agencies closing monitoring their activities. The vessels — capable of mapping the seabed for resources and identifying optimal submarine routes — have been operat- Delhi has flagged presence of 175 ships since Nov last year ing in the area since November last year, although these have remained outside India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends 370 km from the shore. Classified as “science vessels” and officially tasked with “fishing surveys”, these ships are also known to perform strategic roles for the Chinese Navy, including recording underwater submarine sounds, monitoring warships of other nations and intercepting radio communications on open channels. A similar Chinese survey vessel had conducted surveys around the Maldives in April 2024. It again returned continued on page 6