11122024-TTB-01.qxd 12/11/2024 12:25 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 342 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA NETANYAHU TESTIFIES FOR 1ST TIME IN GRAFT TRIAL WORLD /thetribunechd IIT-DELHI TOPS INDIAN UNIVERSITIES IN QS RANKINGS NATION SEBI: TOP 500 STOCKS LANKA PREZ DISSANAYAKE TO HAVE SAME-DAY TO VISIT INDIA FROM SETTLEMENT BUSINESS DEC 15-17 BACK PAGE wednesday | 11 december 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Partisan: Oppn gives notice for no-trust vote against Dhankhar This is the first time such a resolution has come up in Upper House SC asks Allahabad HC to give details of judge’s disputed remarks at VHP function Satya Prakash Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 10 Taking note of the conduct of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court over his speech at a VHP event in which he allegedly endorsed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and made certain controversial remarks against Muslims, the Supreme Court on Tuesday called for details from the high court. “The Supreme Court has taken note of newspaper reports of a speech given by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. The details and particulars have been called from the high court and the matter is under consideration (sic),” an official statement issued by the top court said. Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal called for Justice Yadav’s removal as a judge over his alleged remarks against Muslims. Sibal said he, along with other MPs, would soon bring a motion of impeachment against Justice Yadav and expressed the hope that the New Delhi, December 10 A fractured Opposition on Tuesday united to submit a notice to move a motion of noconfidence against Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of bias in the conduct of House proceedings. This is the first such notice against an RS Chairman since the constitution of the Upper House on April 3, 1952. “All parties belonging to the INDIA group have had no option but to formally submit a no-confidence motion against the RS Chairman for the extremely partisan manner in which he has been conducting the proceedings of the Council of States,” Congress chief whip in the RS Jairam Ramesh said. The resolution mentions that the position of the RS Chairman is of pivotal importance but “Chairman Dhankhar had reduced the prestige of the position he occupies to that of a spokesman for the government of the day”. The notice was condemned by the government, which said it had been Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar arrives in the House during the winter session of Parliament. PTI OPPOSITION SHORT OF NUMBERS 231 effective strength of Rajya Sabha after recent byelections strength to 118, two more than the simple majority of 116 112 MPs belong to the ruling 85 is combined Oppn strength, NDA (95 from the BJP alone) govt in case of vote, taking NDA including 27 MPs from Cong If motion is moved, Oppn needs simple majority to get it passed brought by the Congress to “deflect attention from the party’s top brass links with Hungarian-American businessman George Soros and his anti-India agenda”. “The NDA has the majority. This notice which the Congress has brought to hide its sins and deflect attention from the connection between itself and George Soros and his anti-India actions will never succeed. We are proud of 6 nominated MPs to side with CONG BID TO HIDE MISDEEDS: RIJIJU ■ Union minister Kiren Rijiju said the notice was meant to hide Congress misdeeds and its “links” with George Soros ■ It would fail as majority have full faith in Dhankhar, he said Chairman Dhankhar, who comes from a humble farming background and has always espoused the cause of the poor,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju continued on paGE 10 Chandigarh-born Dhillon, a farm agitation votary, in Team Trump Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 10 US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Chandigarh-born IndianAmerican Harmeet K Dhillon as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice. Dhillon, 54, has been critical of India, especially over the alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and the action against farmers during their 2020-21 agitation at the borders of the national capital. During the police crackdown on the protesting farmers at Singhu and Ghazipur TOP JUSTICE DEPT JOB ■ Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice ■ She is first Sikh and the third of Indian descent in the new team that takes over on Jan 20 borders, Dhillon had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “hear them, meet ■ In his speech at a VHP event on Sunday, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadavof the Allahabad HC had allegedly endorsed the Uniform Civil Code and made certain controversial remarks against Muslims ■ Senior advocate and RS MP Kapil Sibal called for Justice Yadav’s removal as a judge ■ Sibal said he would soon bring a motion of impeachment against Justice Yadav ■ Srinagar MP Ruhullah Mehdi also said he would move an impeachment motion Prime Minister, the Home Minster and other leaders and MPs would also support action against Justice Yadav. Earlier, alleging breach of judicial ethics and constitutional principles of impartiality and secularism by Justice Yadav, SC Lalu wants Didi to lead INDIA; Cong says TMC weakening Oppn unity with them and compromise”. After the US Department of Justice indicted Indian nationals for facilitating the alleged attempt to kill Pannun, Dhillon had posted on X: “India’s American death squad indictment. America’s Sikhs want answers: who else at risk, and what is US government doing about assassination attempts on US citizens?” In the Pannun case, the Joe Biden administration has charged Indian citizen and former official of the external intelligence wing R&AW Vikas Yadav of hatching a plot to kill Pannun, chief of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). continued on paGE 10 After HC rap, preacher Dhadrianwale booked for 2012 sexual assault, murder JUSTICE YADAV HAD ‘ENDORSED’ UCC lawyer and convener of the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms Prashant Bhushan wrote to CJI Sanjiv Khanna seeking an “in-house inquiry” into his conduct. In a purported video of his speech widely circulated on social media, Justice Yadav can be seen saying that the law should work according to the majority. Condemning Justice Yadav’s remarks, the Bar Association of India called upon him to retract his statements and tender an apology. It also urged the CJI and companion judges of the SC to deal with this issue in a stern and emphatic manner. “The Bar Association of India disapproves and condemns the recent remarks made by a high court judge while giving a lecture at an event organised by the legal cell of an organisation,” the association said in a statement. However, it was not clear if the SC would take up Justice Yadav’s matter on the judicial side — as was done in the case of Justice Srishananda — or invoke the “in-house procedure” on the administrative side to deal with the issue. Tribune News Service Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. ANI INDIA-RUSSIA TIES ‘DEEPER THAN OCEAN’ ■ Defence Minister Rajnath ■ They noted that India-Russia New Delhi, December 10 The disquiet over leadership within the INDIA bloc has been growing with the RJD on Tuesday demanding that Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lead the alliance instead of the Congress. RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav replied in the affirmative when asked by journalists in Patna what he thought of Mamata’s recent indication of her willingness to lead the opposition alliance. “Yes, she should lead,” said former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu, a staunch Congress ally who caused a flutter with his statement. Incidentally, the RJD-Congress rift may not augur well for the INDIA bloc in Bihar where the Assembly elections are to be held in less than a year. Asked about the Congress’ reservations, Lalu said these “amounted to nothing”. “The Congress’ opposition will not YSRCP too supports Bengal CM in top role make any difference. Mamata should be given the leadership role,” he said. The terseness displayed by Lalu towards the Congress came a day after AICC secretary Shahnawaz Alam, the co-in charge for Bihar, had hinted that the party was no longer willing to play the role of “little brother” in the Mahagathbandhan, the state’s prototype of the INDIA bloc. The YSR Congress Party, which is currently not a part of the INDIA bloc, too, has backed Mamata, calling her the “most capable leader to lead the bloc”. “Didi will handle INDIA bloc more effectively and lead it to power,” YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP Vijayasai Reddy told reporters outside Parliament. The Congress, however, reacted strongly, with its West Bengal chief Subhankar continued on paGE 10 Ex-Foreign Minister Krishna dies at 92 NEW DELHI: Former Karnataka CM and former External Affairs Minister SM Krishna died in Bengaluru on Tuesday, leaving behind a rich legacy of statesmanship and public service that saw the 92-year-old leader scale heights of political achievements. Suave and a man with enviable academic credentials, Krishna started his political innings as an Independent MLA from Maddur in 1962. BACK PAGE Part of 185-year-old mosquedemolished FATEHPUR (UP): Amid tight security, a portion of the 185year-old Noori Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district was demolished by the authorities on Tuesday claiming it was illegally constructed two-three years ago and was obstructing the widening of the Banda-Bahraich highway. The mosque panel claimed it was built in 1839. BACK PAGE Farmers’ foot march to Delhi on Dec 14 PATIALA: The next “Marjeevda Jatha” of 101 farmers will begin its foot march towards Delhi on December 14, said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher at the Shambhu border on Tuesday. He said the decision was taken following a meeting of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political). INSIDE Cheatingcase:Court calls Dharmendra NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has summoned Bollywood actor Dharmendra (89) and two others in a cheating case related to the Garam Dharam dhaba franchise. Judicial magistrate Yashdeep Chahal passed the order on a complaint filed by Delhi businessman Sushil Kumar, who alleged he was lured into investing in the franchise.— PTI Patiala, December 10 Weeks after the Punjab and Haryana High Court rapped the Punjab Police in the case, an FIR has been registered against preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale on the charges of “sexual assault and murder of a woman at his dera” 12 years ago. The FIR was lodged at Passiana police station in Patiala on December 7 under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 376 Blast outside clubs in Gurugram, 1 held Once a go-to spot, Ferozepur’s British-era bookstore a closed chapter Aman Sood Tribune News Service (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The woman’s brother had complained to the Punjab DGP on November 26. The complainant, a resident of Bhawanigarh Road at Samana in Patiala, had continued on paGE 10 GURUGRAM: Days after blasts at singer Badshah’s pub in Chandigarh, a low-intensity explosion took place outside two nightclubs in Sector 29 here on Tuesday. The suspect reportedly hurled two “sutli” bombs at the clubs. There were no casualties. A scooter and a signboard were damaged. Sachin of Meerut was arrested when he was about to hurl another bomb. A countrymade weapon and two crude bombs were seized from his possession. Preliminary investigations suggest the Bishnoi gang was behind the explosion. INSIDE Singh met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday and said the friendship between the two nations was “higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest ocean”. Anirudh Gupta A file photo of The English Book Depot in Ferozepur Cantonment. Ferozepur, December 10 Marking the end of an era, the town lost its iconic book shop, which was founded during the British rule in 1923. Once a rendezvous for people from various walks of life, including the British during the prePartition era, The English Book Depot finally gave in to the pressures of change. Started by Lala Narain Dass, this shop stood testimony to a bygone era when bibliophiles used to hang out here for their regular copies of magazines, novels and literary classics. partnership held immense potential and combined efforts would pave the way for “remarkable outcomes”. Rajnath said India had always stood by Russia and would continue to do so in future. Senior bureaucrats posted in the town during the sixties and seventies still remember this place, which was not just a bookstore but a hangout place for socialising. “Even after superannuation, many bureaucrats would never miss a chance to visit this place,” recalls AS Rai, a senior police official, whose father was a regular visitor to the store during his posting here. At one time, the entire family of Dass was involved in this trade. Even now his fourth generation is running book shops in various parts of the country. However, no c m y b NOT THE FIRST ONE TO FADE INTO OBLIVION ■ The English Book Depot, founded by Lala Narain Dass in 1923, has been taken over by a stationery trader ■ Prem Book Depot, another landmark of Ferozepur, also couldn’t stand the pressures of change and shut down ■ Nutan Dass & Co, set up in 1943, also had to down the shutters as its owner found it tough to make ends meet one from his family is settled here, said Siddhant Arora, his great grandson who owns a book shop in Dehradun. He said the digital boom had taken a toll on bookstores. The English Book Depot has been taken over by a local businessman, Rakesh Bansal, who renamed it to Kewal Book Depot and is selling stationery items there. “More and more people are giving up reading in today’s fast evolving digital era juxtaposed with the emergence of social media and OTT platforms. Book shops are no more a viable venture as there has been a striking decline in the avid reading culture,” said Harish Monga, a reader. Besides, the online book business had adversely hit the brick and mortar shops as people were getting books at cheaper prices than what was available in the market, he added. Old timers recall that in this border town which was once a huge garrison during the erstwhile colonial regime, there used to be a lot of book shops, including Nutan Dass & Co and Prem Book Depot. The town’s elite and defence officials were regular customers. Most of the old bookshops have either shut down or are on the verge of closure. continued on paGE 10