03122024-TTC-03.qxd 12/3/2024 12:41 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 8 NO. 334 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ISRAEL, LEBANON IN WAR OF WORDS OVER TRUCE BREACH WORLD /thetribunechd STOP ACTS THAT SPARK COMMUNAL TENSION: FAROOQ TO CENTRE J&K WINDFALL TAX ON FUEL EXPORTS SCRAPPED BUSINESS HOUSE LOGJAM ENDS AS NDA AGREES TO DEBATE ON CONSTITUTION BACK PAGE tuesday | 3 december 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Tankhaiya Sukhbir to clean toilets at Golden Temple Takht hands out 2-day penalty, tells SAD to accept his resignation GS Paul Strips Badal Sr of Fakhr-e-Qaum title Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 2 The Sikh clergy on Monday pronounced “tankhah” (religious punishment) for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other Akali leaders for “mistakes” committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, directing them to clean toilets and utensils at the Golden Temple for two days. Pronouncing the edict from the “faseel” (podium) of the Akal Takht, Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh directed the SAD working committee to accept Sukhbir’s resignation as party chief. He named a seven-member committee for holding elections to the post of SAD president and officebearers within six months. The Jathedar also announced the withdrawal of the Panth Rattan Fakhr-eQaum (pride of the Sikh community) title bestowed upon former CM late Parkash Singh Badal during whose tenure the “mistakes” were committed. Sukhbir, who recently got his foot fractured, sat on a wheelchair with folded hands as the Jathedar pronounced the edict. He was accompanied by senior Akali leaders, SAD CHIEF ADMITS TO MOST CHARGES ■ Sukhbir admitted to his role in facilitating pardon to dera chief Ram Rahim by pressuring the then Takht jathedars ■ Said “yes” to the charge of misutilisation of ~91 lakh “golak” money on advertisements to justify the pardon ■ Admitted to elevating “tainted officer infamous for fake encounters” to the post of Director General of Police MAJITHIA, JAGIR KAUR GET PUNISHMENT TOO Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders of the previous SAD government during the pronouncement of ‘tankhah’ (punishment) by Akal Takht. PTI including Daljit Singh Cheema, Sucha Singh Langah, Hira Singh Gabria, Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Gulzar Singh Ranike. Rebel SAD leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was also present. As per the edict, Sukhbir and other leaders will stand guard with a spear in hand outside the Golden Temple for one hour each for two days, starting Tuesday. They will later clean toilets and utensils for one hour each. The leaders will then recite Many Akali leaders, including Bikram Singh Majithia and Bibi Jagir Kaur, were also told to clean toilets at the Golden Temple for one hour for not opposing pardon to the dera chief Sukhmani Sahib “path” and listen to “kirtan”. In view their health condition, the Jathedar told Sukhbir and Dhindsa that they could sit on a wheelchair while performing the “sewa” of the guard. continued on page 8 Farmers go past police barricades during a protest march in support of their demands in Noida on Monday. PTI Don’t disrupt public life, SC tells farmers Major traffic jams on Noida-Delhi road as UP protesters march to Capital Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 2 Hundreds of farmers from about 20 districts of Uttar Pradesh marched towards the national capital on Monday, leading to massive traffic snarls on the Delhi-Noida border and causing inconvenience to commuters. In another development, the Supreme Court cautioned farmers against disrupting public life and asked Punjab farmer leader Jagjit TAKE UP FARMERS’ ISSUES WITH CENTRE, VP URGED ■ SKM (Non-political) convener Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Monday urged Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar to ask the Centre to accept farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee on the MSP implemen, tation of the Swaminathan report and farm loan waiver ■ The appeal was made by Dallewal from the Khanauri protest site where his indefinite fast entered the seventh day on Monday Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border point, to persuade the protesters not to obstruct highways. Acknowledging the right of farmers to peaceful protests, a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant said, “In a democratic setup, you can engage in peaceful protests but do not cause inconvenience to people. You all know that the Khanauri border is a lifeline for Punjab. We are not commenting on whether the protest is right or wrong.” The Bench told advocate Guninder Kaur Gill, who represented Dallewal, that Dallewal had previously persuaded a fellow protester to end hunger strike and expressed hope he could encourage others to organise demonstrations within the bounds of the law. It disposed of a habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of continued on page 8 edit: Stuck in traffic Deals for three subs, 26 Rafale aircraft likely next month, says Navy Chief BJP deputes Sitharaman, Rupani Himachalexhausts~6,200crloan to oversee selection of Maha CM limit, retd staff yet to get pension Tribune News Service Pratibha Chauhan Ajay Banerjee New Delhi, December 2 The BJP on Monday appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who is the saffron party’s in charge for Punjab, as central observers to oversee the election of the Maharashtra Chief Minister and the BJP legislature party leader on December 4. Approving the appointment of the central observers, BJP president JP Nadda set the ball rolling for the formation of the Maharashtra Government, days after the Assembly election results returned the ruling NDA coalition in the state to a four-fifth majority in a House of 288 MLAs. Sources in the party said former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis remained the frontrunner for the top post in the state, with the party inclined to name NCP chief Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde as Deputy Chief Ministers. Tribune News Service Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 2 Contracts to produce three additional submarines and procure 26 new fighter jets for the Navy are likely to be signed by next month, Indian Navy Chief Admiral DK Tripathi said on Monday. The Navy Chief, addressing a press conference ahead of Navy Day on December 4 — marking the Indian Navy’s attack on Karachi during the 1971 war — said structures were in place to monitor the presence of Chinese warships and submarines in Indian Ocean. He expressed “surprise” at the growth of the Pakistan navy, which was being aided by Beijing, given the state of economy of the western neighbour. The Navy Chief said the “repeat order of three Scoprene-class submarines is at an advanced stage. It’s just a matter of completing the formalities”. Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders THE TRIBUNE IMPACT PSHRC ISSUES NOTICES OVER RAT MENACE AT PATIALA HOSPITAL REPORT INSIDE Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi Limited in collaboration with the Naval Group from France has already constructed six such submarines and five have been commissioned into the Navy. The three new submarines will be in addition to the existing order of six. On the progress of Frenchorigin Rafale-M naval fighter jets, the Admiral said: “The case for approval will go to the Cabinet Committee on Security and could be signed next month.” The Navy is looking to procure 26 new Rafale-M jets. It currently operates continued on page 8 Aditi Tandon Maharashtra caretaker CM Eknath Shinde with Devendra Fadnavis. FILE Shinde was earlier learnt to be seeking the Deputy Chief Minister’s position for his son Srikant, who came out today to say “that was not the case”. “I am not in the race for the Deputy CM’s post,” said Shrikant. A final word on the powersharing agreement between the three allies and which party would keep how many and which ministerial berths is still awaited. Maharashtra can have the maximum 43 ministers, including the CM. In the outgoing govern- ment, Deputy CM Fadnavis had the home portfolio while Deputy CM Ajit Pawar had finance. In the current talks, Shinde has demanded home and Pawar has again staked claim to finance. The BJP said the new government would be sworn in on December 5 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Azad Maidan at 5 pm. The BJP is likely to keep over 20 ministerial positions, distributing the rest among NCP and Shiv Sena. Shimla, December 2 The cash-strapped Himachal Government raised a loan of Rs 500 crore last week, exhausting its limit of Rs 6,200 crore loan for the current year. Apart from exhausting the loan limit of Rs 6,200 crore for the current year (April 1 to December 31, 2024), the state government has also applied for a loan for the last quarter of the financial year 2024-25. In the financial year 2023-24, the loan raising limit for Himachal had been fixed at Rs 1,700 crore for the last quarter. The state government could use this last instalment of Rs 500 crore loan for footing the pensions of the retired government employees. The over 2.25 lakh government employees have received their salaries but the retired employees are yet to receive their pension. Faced with a grave financial crisis, Himachal requires Rs 2,000 crore per month to foot its committed expendi- Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ROAD AHEAD MAY BE TOUGHER ■ Himachal needs ~2,000 crore per month to foot expenditure on salary and pension ■ State restored old pension scheme for 1.35 lakh employees, putting an additional burden on exchequer ■ Next financial year 2025-26 can be tougher as the revenue deficit grant of ~6,258 crore, received from the Centre this year, will be reduced to almost half ture on salary and pension. With hardly any revenuegenerating sectors, the state government is heavily dependent on the Centre for allocations under various heads. In fact, the state made national headlines two months ago when its employees and pensioners received delayed salaries and pensions. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu claimed that this had been done merely to save the extra money that had to be paid on raising loans for giving salaries on the first of month. On an average, Himachal has a loan limit of about Rs 8,000 crore in a financial year but the state is barely able to meet its committed liabilities with this amount. “Earlier, we could raise an additional loan of Rs 1,500 crore in lieu of the New Pension Scheme (NPS) contribution, which is now not possible after restoration of the old pension scheme,” an official said. As part of the fulfilment of the 10 guarantees made by the ruling Congress in the run-up to the 2022 Vidhan Sabha poll, the state government restored the old pension scheme for over 1.35 lakh employees, putting an additional burden on the exchequer. In U-turn, Biden pardons son in gun &tax cases, spares him possible jail Washington, December 2 Outgoing US President Joe Biden pardoned son Hunter on Sunday night, sparing him a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members. The Democratic President had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House. It caps a long-running legal saga for the President’s son, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him. As recently as November 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.” In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” alleging that the prosecution of his son was politically motivated and a “miscarriage of justice.” “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son,” he said. c m y b Hunter was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. He was set to stand trial in September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanour and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin. — AP President Joe Biden with son Hunter Biden. FILE