21042025-TTC-01.qxd 4/21/2025 OMAR FUMES OVER DELHI FLIGHT DIVERSION J&K /thetribunechd 12:28 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 9 NO. 109 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 UKRAINE, RUSSIA ALLEGE TRUCE VIOLATIONS WORLD monday | 21 april 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 3 die as rain wreakshavoc in Ramban Tariffs, visa, tech sharing on RSS chief Bhagwat calls for Hindu unity Over 100 rescued| Houses, roads damaged| Landslips block Jammu-Srinagar NH ALIGARH: Arjun Sharma Jammu, April 20 Three persons were killed, over 100 rescued and scores of houses and roads damaged in Ramban district of Jammu division after heavy rain triggered landslides early this morning. The vital Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was also closed due to mudslides. A rescue operation was launched by the Disaster Response Force, the J&K Police, local NGOs and the Army as soon as information about a cloudburst was received. A landslide, triggered by a flashflood in a nullah, hit the Bagna panchayat in Ramban, resulting in the death of three persons. They have been identified as Aqib Ahmed and Saqib Ahmed, continued on page 8 Gurdwara defaced with pro-Khalistan graffiti in Vancouver OTTAWA: A gurdwara in Cana- da's Vancouver has been vandalised with pro-Khalistan graffiti, with its leaders blaming a small group of Sikh separatists for the act, a media report said. The police said they were investigating graffiti sprayed at the Ross Street Gurdwara. Vancouver police spokesperson Steve Addison said the police did not have a suspect. The Khalsa Diwan Society said the act was an attempt to instil fear among Sikh community. — PTI table as Vance arrives today US Vice-Prez to meet Modi amid talks to seal trade pact Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service Vehicles stuck in the debris after heavy rain triggered flashfloods in Ramban district of J&K on Sunday. PTI New Delhi, April 20 India is looking to flag tariffs, rejection of visas to genuine students and slow pace of technology sharing as US Vice-President JD Vance holds talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his four-day visit starting Monday. Vance will be accompanied by his Indian-origin wife Usha and three children. Vance’s maiden visit to India comes weeks after US President Donald Trump imposed and then paused a sweeping tariff regime against nearly 60 countries, including India. New Delhi and Washington are now holding negotiations to seal a bilateral trade agree- JD Vance ment that is expected to address a variety of issues, including tariff and market access. Trade negotiators of both sides are set to kick off the second round of virtual talks this week and will lead to a physical meeting in May. Rejection of visas to Indian students is US’ domestic matter, but India will still flag it, say sources. The matter of legal mobility of students and professionals was discussed when Modi and Trump had met in Washington DC in February. After the meeting, a joint statement said “both leaders… (called) for putting in place innovative, mutually advantageous and secure mobility frameworks. In this regard, the leaders committed to streamlining avenues for legal mobility of students and professionals”. The issue of technology sharing is integral to India’s strategic partnership with the US. The India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) had met in January, during Joe continued on page 8 Seeking an end to caste differences, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has called upon members of the Hindu community to strive for social harmony by embracing the principle of “one temple, one well and one cremation ground” for all. He emphasised that achieving true social unity was paramount for India. BACK PAGE Talkson: RautonRaj, Uddhavreunionbuzz MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said “emotional talks” between his party and the MNS were going on. He said party chief Uddhav Thackeray had not set out a precondition for rapprochement with MNS president and his cousin Raj Thackeray, but there was no ammouncement yet. INSIDE Degrading judiciary: Oppn hits 250 Gurdaspur cops shifted in a day to ‘fight drugs’ VEHICLES OF ASI, out at BJP over MPs’ comments CONSTABLE IMPOUNDED Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 20 The Congress on Sunday rejected BJP chief JP Nadda’s efforts to disown party MPs Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma’s controversial remarks on the Supreme Court, calling it a “damage control” exercise, even as key NDA allies remained tightlipped on the matter. The Congress said the BJP lawmakers’ remarks were aimed DUBEY TARGETS EX-CEC BJP MP Nishikant Dubey targeted SY Quraishi, saying he wasn’t an Election Commissioner but a ‘Muslim commissioner’, after the latter flayed the Waqf Act as a ‘sinister plan of the govt’. The BJP distanced itself from remarks. LAWYER SEEKS CONTEMPT ACTION AGAINST BJP MP BACK PAGE at undermining the judiciary. Dubey on Saturday blamed CJI Sanjiv Khanna for “all civil wars” in the country, saying Parliament “should be shut if the judiciary makes laws”. Sharma too opposed judicial overreach, stating no one could dictate Parliament or the President. The controversy prompted Nadda to clarify that the BJP did not endorse such views. He said he had instructed the MPs not to make such statements. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav came down heavily on the controversial comments, continued on page 8 Gurdaspur, April 20 The district police chief has shifted 250 police personnel in a day, with scores of them having served at the same place for the past several years. The transfers have been effected by SSP Aditya under a two-pronged strategy aimed at the “long-pending” rationalisation of the force and enhancing the intensity of its fight against the scourge of heroin in the border district. The move is unprecedented as never before have so c m y b Gurdaspur SSP Aditya interacts with cops at the Police Lines. many officials been shifted in one go. More transfers are reportedly on the cards. A majority of these police personnel have been sent to each of the 12 police stations in an attempt to strengthen the force there. The remain- Gurdaspur SSP impounded the cars of two policemen — an ASI and a constable — for allegedly violating traffic rules. During a check, the officer came across the vehicles which had been modified by bending rules. “The guardians of law should not bend the laws they are bound to protect,” said the officer. ing have been sent to the Police Lines. Three SHOs, too, have been shifted. continued on page 8