25022025-TTC-01.qxd 2/25/2025 12:36 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 55 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 INDIA, US ABSTAIN FROM UN RESOLUTION ON UKRAINE WAR WORLD /thetribunechd BECOME PEACE MESSENGERS: SHAH TO SCHOOL KIDS J&K SENSEX TUMBLES OVER INDIA IN SEMI-FINAL AFTER 850 POINTS ON WEAK NZ BEAT BANGLADESH IN GLOBAL CUES BUSINESS CHAMPIONS TROPHY SPORT tuesday | 25 february 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Modi releases ~22K cr PMKisan funds from election-bound Bihar Chooses Oppn bastion Bhagalpur for first major rally in state Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sounded an early poll bugle in Bihar where he launched multicrore projects and disbursed the 19th tranche of PMKisan scheme instalment worth Rs 22,000 crore. The money was sent directly to the bank accounts of 9.8 crore farmers nationally, including 75 lakh Bihar farmers, who received the amount on Monday. Reiterating the BJP-led NDA government’s commitment to farmers and the direct cash transfer through the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, the PM said it was now time for Bihar’s makhana (fox nut) to enter the global market. Flanked by NDA ally and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) and his colleagues, Modi said Bihar was on course to become a major centre for the food processing industry in eastern India. Among the major pre-poll announcements made by the PM were the establishment of the National Institute of B’desh airbase attackedafterbiker stopped; one killed DHAKA: A man was killed and several others injured in a clash between a group of locals and air force personnel at an airbase in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar on Monday. The Inter Service Public Relations, the media wing of the military, said the miscreants attacked the Bangladesh Air Force base near Cox’s Bazar’s Samitipara. The ISPR said the miscreants launched the attack on the airbase after a biker was stopped at a checkpoint as he was crossing the base area without any papers for the vehicle. BACK PAGE India, UK resume discussionsforfree trade agreement NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Bhagalpur on Monday during the release of the 19th instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme and launch of various development projects. PTI PROJECTS UNVEILED FOR STATE ■ The PM announced that National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship would soon be set up in Bihar ■ Three new Centres of Excellence in agriculture to be located in the state at Bhagalpur, Munger and Buxar Food Technology and Entrepreneurship in Bihar and three new centres of excellence in agriculture — one in Bhagalpur for the Jardalu variety of mangoes, and the other two in Munger and Buxar for tomato, onion and potato farmers. “Our government is leaving no stone unturned in drafting pro-farmer decisions. We are working on multiple levels to increase farmers’ income. Every kitchen in the world should have at least one product grown by Indian farmers,” said Modi, flagging efforts to boost self-reliance in oilseeds and pulses with a promise of enhanced MSP for pulses. Modi also spoke of the newly budgeted PM Dhan Dhanya Yojana under which 100 lowest agricultural production continued on page 8 India and the UK on Monday announced the resumption of negotiations for a free trade deal between the two countries. The announcement was made by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, who is in New Delhi. In November last year, PM Modi and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil to emphasise the need to restart trade talks at the earliest. INSIDE Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta greets her predecessor and Leader of Opposition Atishi on the first day of the Assembly session in New Delhi on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MUKESH AGGARWAL AAP ,BJPspar as pics of Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh ‘shifted’ in CM office Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 24 The first day of the Delhi Assembly session began on a stormy note on Monday as the opposition Aam Aadmi Party accused the BJP government of replacing the portraits of BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh with the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Chief Minister’s office, an allegation denied by the ruling regime. “Speaker Sir, I want to express sadness over the antiSikh and anti-Dalit act of 46 answer sheets ‘tampered with’ in Rohtak MBBS scam Tribune News Service Army officials with medical teams deployed to rescue trapped workers from the collapsed portion of a tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool. ANI Hope for survival of 8 in T’gana tunnel dims Hyderabad, February 24 After being trapped for over two days under debris and muck, the chances of survival of the eight persons in the SLBC tunnel, following a partial collapse, appear bleak, even as every effort is made to reach them. Despite relentless efforts by the Indian Army, Navy, NDRF and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far in the rescue operations as the teams had to navigate through thick muck, tangled iron rods and cement blocks to reach the accident spot in the tunnel to extricate the persons who have remained trapped for over two days inside the tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district on Saturday morning. A team of 584 skilled personnel of Army, Navy, Singareni Collieries and other agencies, along with central and state disaster response teams, have conducted tunnel inspections seven times, official sources said, adding gas cutters to cut the metal rod are continuously working. Sniffer dogs were also brought in to locate those inside the tunnel. However, due to the presence of water, continued on page 8 Rohtak, February 24 A total of 46 blank answer sheets of the MBBS examination held at Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences here in January-February 2024 had gone missing, according to the findings of a probe conducted by a three-member fact-finding committee. Some of these missing answer sheets were used during an examination conducted in the university in April-May the same year, the committee said in its inquiry report submitted to the university authorities on February 13. The committee, which was headed by Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College (Karnal) Director Dr MK Garg, found the discrepancy while reviewing the records of answer sheets provided by the centre superintendent, said sources. FIRST SUCH INCIDENT ■ It was the first time answer sheets were misused in the Rohtak varsity in this manner ■ Three varsity employees were placed under suspension ■ Trio was among 17 named in the FIR filed in connection with the Rohtak MBBS exam scam The inquiry report pointed out that the disappearance of the blank answer sheets raised suspicion about the involvement of employees at the examination centre, the university’s exam branch and the company responsible for supplying the answer sheets. The report suggested that the original answer sheets issued to students might have been replaced with the ones that went missing earlier. The sources said following the findings, Vice-Chancellor Dr HK Aggarwal acted swiftly and launched an internal inquiry to identify the offi- cials responsible for safeguarding the answer sheets. After the inquiry, three employees were placed under suspension and an FIR was recommended against them. The three employees are among the 17 named in the FIR filed in connection with the scandal. A university official said the scandal was particularly concerning as it was the first time that answer sheets were misused in this manner. “Earlier, it was found that students involved in a similar scam had used erasable ink to write their answers. After the examination, the answer sheets were allegedly taken out of the university, where students would erase their answers using hair dryers and rewrite them. The tampered answer sheets were then resubmitted for evaluation, enabling cheating in the examination process,” said the official. Kerala BJP leader PC George in jail in hate speech case Kerala, February24 A court in Kottayam district of Kerala remanded BJP leader PC George to 14-day judicial custody on Monday in a hate speech case. The Erattupetta Munsif Magistrate Court rejected George’s bail application earlier in the day. Senior police officials questioned George before he was sent to jail, the police sources said. George, a former MLA, surrendered before the Erattupetta Munsif Magistrate Court around 11.05 am. The case was taken up for consideration at 12.30 pm, followed by arguments from both sides. After hearing the submissions, the court adjourned the case for further consideration at 2 pm. George’s lawyer continued on page 8 Tribune News Service It’s a free market: SC bins plea over Internet prices Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 24 Noting that India’s a free market offering multiple options to consumers, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking regulation of Internet prices in the country. “It’s a free market. You get LAN, you get wired Internet and there is other Internet… BSNL and MTNL are also giving you Internet (services),” a Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said, dismissing the PIL filed by one Rajat, a petitioner-in-person. As the petitioner alleged that the majority of the market share was controlled by Jio and Reliance, the Bench said, “If you are alleging cartelisation, then go to the Competition Commission of India.” The top court, however, gave continued on page 8 Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 24 Nearly 53 per cent of posts of principal in government colleges across Punjab are currently vacant. Of 64 government colleges, including four colleges of education offering BEd courses, 34 are functioning without a principal. This information was shared by Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains during the Vidhan Sabha session that began on Monday. The issue was raised during the question hour by Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa. In response, the Education Minister revealed that the posts of professor in these 64 colleges were not permanently sanctioned. “Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, is currently managing the process of filling vacant positions and the government is actively consider- Omar, Mahindra roped in for anti-obesity drive New Delhi, February 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday nominated 10 persons from different walks of life, including Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, for his nationwide anti-obesity relay campaign. In his Mann Ki Baat address, PM Modi urged the nominees to further nominate 10 individuals each to amplify the drive. The campaign aims at combating obesity by spreading awareness about healthy lifestyles and eating habits. Responding promptly, Omar joined the campaign and also nominated 10 persons. “As mentioned in yesterday’s Omar Abdullah Anand Mahindra Manu Bhaker Nandan Nilekani PROMINENT PERSONALITIES UNITE FOR PM’S FIT INDIA CAMPAIGN ■ PM Modi launches an antiobesity campaign, urging healthier lifestyles and reduced oil consumption ■ He nominates 10 personal- ities, including Omar, Anand Mahindra, Mirabai Chanu and Sudha Murthy ■ Asks each nominated person to further nominate 10 individuals to expand the nationwide movement ■ Omar promptly joins drive, ropes in Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Deepika Padukone & others #MannKiBaat, I would like to nominate the following people to help strengthen the fight against obesity and spread awareness on reducing edible oil consumption. I also request them to nominate 10 persons each so that our movement gets bigger!” PM Modi said in a post on X. The PM’s list of nomi- nees included Omar, industrialist Anand Mahindra, former MP Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirhua, sports stars Manu Bhaker and Mirabai Chanu, actors Mohan- c m y b Speaker Vijender Gupta took exception to Atishi’s remarks, calling them an attempt to use the Assembly for political gains. “On the first day of the session, this behaviour is unacceptable. I strongly condemn it. You will have time to raise issues, but don’t disrupt proceedings,” he said. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also hit back, saying the AAP had “allied with those responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and, thus, had no moral ground to preach”. As Atishi continued on page 8 Over half of 64 Punjab govt colleges headless: Minister in Assembly Disappeared in Jan 2024, used in April exams: Probe Ravinder Saini removing BR Ambedkar and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh’s photos from the CM’s office,” said Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi in her opening remarks. The BJP countered the charge, accusing the AAP of trying to divert attention from Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports on alleged corruption during its tenure. The party has planned to table the CAG reports in the Assembly. The Delhi BJP also shared photos of the CMO showing both portraits still on the wall, though probably repositioned. lal and R Madhavan, technocrat Nandan Nilekani, singer Shreya Ghoshal and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murthy. “Collectively, let us make India fitter and healthier. #FightObesity,” Modi added. Omar said, “I’m very happy to join the campaign against obesity launched by the PM. Obesity causes a number of lifestyle-related health issues like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, strokes and breathing problems, not to mention mental health conditions.” He nominated Biocon founder Kiran Majumdar Shaw, industrialist Sajjan Jindal, actor Deepika Padukone, cricketer Irfan Pathan, and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule. Schools no better, 47% functioning without headmaster, says LoP ing steps to address these vacancies,” he said. Bajwa criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, stating that its education model had “failed completely”. He highlighted the alarming number of vacancies not only in colleges but also in schools, pointing out that over 40 per cent of the posts of principal in government senior secondary schools were vacant. Besides, nearly 47 per cent of the 1,723 government high schools in the state were without headmasters. Bajwa accused the government of focusing on “schools of excellence” while neglecting the pressing issue of staff shortage. In a separate development, New and continued on page 8 AAP may field MP Arora in Ludhiana West byelection ludhiana, February 24 Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora is poised to enter state politics by contesting the upcoming Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll, sources said. Additionally, AAP is reportedly considering replacing Arora in the Rajya Sabha with party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, though a final decision will be made after Arora’s election as an MLA. Other six AAP Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab are also learnt to have offered their seats to Kejriwal, the sources said, adding the former Delhi CM had not accepted any offer yet. — TNS