23022025-TTB-01.qxd 2/23/2025 12:42 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 53 | 20 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 KASH PATEL TAKES OATH AS FBI CHIEF ON BHAGWAD GITA WORLD /thetribunechd KARAN SINGH SEEKS RESTORATION OF J&K STATEHOOD NATION HUMAYUN’S TOMB MUSEUM SETS NEW STANDARD SPECTRUM USAID ACCUSATIONS WORRISOME, SAYS EAM BACK PAGE sunday | 23 february 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com No headway as farmers firm on MSP demand, Chouhan lists Centre’s sops Next round of talks in Chandigarh on March 19 | Dallewal rejects appeal to end fast FARM UNIONS TO DECIDE ON FEB 25 MARCH TODAY Tribune News Service ■ Farm unions will decide on Sunday whether to go ahead with Delhi march on Feb 25 ■ Union leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said they would hold an internal meeting of all unions to take a call on this DON’T GIVE IN TO GOVT PRESSURE: SKM PANEL An SKM panel comprising Buta Burjgill, Ruldu Mansa and Buta Shadipur has warned the unions engaged in talks with the Centre against going soft on their demands << Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Pralhad Joshi greet farm leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher. PTI Plan to check distress sale of crops in works: Centre New Delhi, February 22 Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said the government was working on a scheme to prevent distress sale of farm produce. The minister mentioned the sale of fruits and vegetables at throwaway prices. “Jahan bhi takleefein dekh rahe hain, hum yojana bana rahe hain (we are framing schemes wherever we are witnessing irritants),” he said. He was speaking after inaugurating the Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela. The fair that opened today will continue till February 24. The minister said new seed varieties and farm technolo- gies would be taken to farmers to boost their income. Flagging a series of meetings he has had with farmers directly and through organisations, Chouhan said the ministry was trying to understand the problems of the sector and would accordingly frame schemes. He said some issues were Mayville, February 22 A New Jersey man was on Friday convicted of attempted murder for stabbing author Salman Rushdie multiple times on a New York lecture stage in 2022. Jurors, who deliberated for less than two hours, also found Hadi Matar (27) guilty Tribune News Service Says there’s need to revisit existing laws ed growing social concerns around freedom of expression being misused to peddle obscene, vulgar, violent content on digital platforms. It said certain provisions existed in the current laws but equally there was a growing chorus for a stricter and more effective legal framework on social media content. “This ministry has taken note of these developments and is in process of examining current statutory provisions and need for a new legal framework,” said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting representatives citing directions of the SC and several high courts on the issue besides references by parliamentarians and the National Commission for Women. Allahbadia is facing criminal cases in Assam and Maharashtra for his remarks that were pulled off YouTube. continued on page 7 under the Centre’s consideration. “Prices are low at the farm gate level but consumers are paying higher rates. Farmers are getting paid less for the produce and consumers are shelling out more. Who is taking the profit in the middle? These profit margins need to be reduced,” he said. — TNS Telangana Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy (right) visits the tunnel at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project site in Nagarkurnool on Saturday. PTI Punjab, J&K workers among 8 stuck in Telangana tunnel Hyderabad, February 22 Eight persons, including those from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, were trapped inside after a portion of roof collapsed in the under-construction stretch of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel project in Telangana, state Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Saturday. Speaking to the media at the accident site in Nagarkurnool district, Reddy said the state government was taking the help of experts, including those who rescued the trapped workers in an incident in Uttarakhand last year. He also sought the help of the Army and the NDRF Among . those trapped are two engineers, two machine operators and four workers. They belonged to Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, said sources. The personnel were trapped 14 km inside the tunnel. The sources said the way was clear up to 13 km even as the rescue teams remained apprehensive continued on page 7 Under flak, Centre to revise draft Bill on Advocates Act NEW DELHI: Amid opposition to its various provisions from Bar bodies, the government on Saturday said it would revise the draft Advocates (Amendment) Bill as it ended the public consultations on it that started earlier this month. The Department of Legal Affairs in the Law Ministry floated the draft Bill on February 13 for public consultations. The government plans to amend the Advocates Act, 1961. The draft Bill, which faced criticism, proposed sweeping changes in the definitions of a “legal practitioner” and a “law graduate”. In a statement, the Law Ministry said the Bill was put in the public domain, demonstrating the government’s commitment to transparency. — PTI Cops on toes, punters bet big on frenzy over India-Pak tie Deepankar Sharda ANTHEM GAFFE AT OZ-ENGLAND TIE Tribune News Service Skipper Rohit Sharma with Virat Kohli & Shubman Gill at a practice session on the eve of India’s ICC Champions Trophy tie against Pakistan in Dubai. ANI New Delhi, February 22 Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, who demitted office in December 2024 and headed the central bank during the Covid pandemic, was on Saturday appointed the second Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will be the first time in the country’s history that the Prime Minister will have two Principal Secretaries at the same time. The post was created in 1971 by then PM Indira Gandhi, who named PN Haksar her Principal Secretary. Modi will now have two Odisha-born top advisers in the PMO — Principal Secretary PK Mishra (77), born in Sambalpur, and Principal Secretary-2 Das (68), born in Bhubaneswar. Das, a 1980-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, was handpicked to helm the RBI in 2018 post-retirement. The appointment was necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Urjit Patel. As Das, the first non-economist RBI chief in 28 years, took control of the central bank, sceptics asked how a bureau- Shaktikanta Das SUPPORTED DeMo, STEERED GST REFORMS ■ Das was a vocal supporter of the 2016 demonetisation ■ Was principal driver of the GST reforms that kicked off on July 1, 2017 ■ First non-economist to helm the RBI in 28 years 2 PRINCIPAL SECYS IN PMO FOR FIRST TIME It’s the first time the PM will have two Principal Secretaries. Both are Odisha born — PK Mishra (77), Sambalpur; and Das (68), Bhubaneswar crat with an academic background of history (Das is BA history from St Stephen’s College, Delhi) would handle currency, that too at a time of strained Centre-RBI ties. Over the next six years since assumption of charge as the continued on page 7 Vatican:PopeFrancis in critical condition ROME: Pope Francis (88) was in a critical condition on Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. The Pope, who has been hospitalised for a week with lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anaemia. — AP Mallya to challenge UK bankruptcyorder LONDON: Embattled businessman Vijay Mallya has instructed his lawyers in the UK to pursue an annulment application against his bankruptcy order, with his legal team set to argue that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement in Parliament in December gives the order an “unreal quality”. — PTI Kumbhpilgrimcount touches 60-cr mark PRAYAGRAJ: The UP Government on Saturday said 60 crore devotees had taken the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam during the Maha Kumbh. The mela, which started on January 13, will continue till February 26 (Maha Shivratri). Over half of India’s 110 crore Sanatan followers had bathed in the holy confluence. — PTI Rushdie stabber found guilty of attempted murder Centre ‘studying’ legal provisions to regulate obscene digital content New Delhi, February 22 Amid an advisory to OTT platforms against transmitting obscene content, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has said that there is a need to revisit the existing laws on the subject. The admission was made before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology this week. Making a deposition before the panel, the ministry said it was in the process of reviewing existing statutory provisions and considering requirements for a reworked legal framework on regulation of harmful content on digital platforms. The move follows the controversy over vulgar remarks made by YouTube influencer Ranveer Allahbadia during a show on the digital platform. The Supreme Court had issued directions on the regulation of such content. Presenting its stand to the panel, which took up the agenda this week, the ministry cit- Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Ruchika M Khanna Chandigarh, February 22 No headway could be reached in the second round of talks between the protesting farmers and a central team comprising three ministers here tonight as the farm unions remained adamant on their demands, including a legal guarantee on the MSP of crops. The two sides decided to hold further discussions on March 19. The central team, comprising ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture and Farmers Welfare), Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry) and Pralhad Joshi (Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution), insisted that the government was “committed to not only purchasing crops on the MSP but also support, ing farmer welfare schemes”. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Chouhan said the discussions took place in a cordial atmosphere. “We heard the views of farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher. A very good discussion took place. The talks will continue continued on page 7 Shaktikanta Das, who helmed RBI in Covid, is Principal Secy-2 to PM Chandigarh, February 22 There’s no smoke without fire, similarly there’s no India-Pakistan cricket clash without illegal betting. Not only the cricket buffs, but punters are also eagerly waiting for the face-off between the two well-known rivals. With the two teams set to clash on Sunday in Dubai, punters are placing their bets on India as “hot favourites” against Pakistan. However, Pakistan too can’t be overlooked — given the Lahore: In a major blunder ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy match between Australia and England at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, the Indian national anthem was played for a few seconds instead of Australia’s national anthem. Champions Trophy history between the two teams. Considering the high-voltage clash, the police have also increased its vigil to stop illegal betting in the region. Today’s issue is of 20 pages, including six-page Spectrum. Sources claimed crores of rupees would be at stake with punters operating in Chandigarh, NCR and various districts of Punjab. Not only is the old system of betting, which mostly deals in cash, active across states, online portals are also openly accepting bets from the interested people. “The dabba (rate for betting) will be known just before the game. However, as per online betting figures, the margin is not much considering the past profits. continued on page 7 of assault for wounding a man who was on stage with Rushdie at the time. Matar ran onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution where Rushdie was about to speak on August 12, 2022, and stabbed him more than a dozen times before a live audience. The attack left the 77-year-old prizewinning novelist blind in one eye. Rushdie was the key witness during seven days of testimony, describing in graphic detail his life-threatening injuries and long and painful recovery. Matar, sitting at the defence table, looked down but had no obvious reaction when the jury continued on page 7