23072025-TTB-01.qxd 7/23/2025 SHIVRAJ TARGETS OPPN ON FARM ISSUES NATION /thetribunechd 12:36 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 202 | 18 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI wednesday | 23 july 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Govt notifies Dhankhar’s resignation after surprise exit; Harivansh takes RS charge Buzz over former V-P’s likely rift with govt on motion to remove judge Law provides for Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 22 The government on Tuesday notified the resignation of 74year-old Jagdeep Dhankhar from the position of VicePresident, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishing the veteran leader from Rajasthan “good health”. By Tuesday evening, buzz had grown around Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh as a probable contender for the V-P’s post. Harivansh’s meeting with President Droupadi Murmu fuelled this talk, as did the fact that he belongs to election-bound Bihar and the ruling BJP could gain in the eastern state by fresh political signalling around the second-highest constitutional office of India. That said, politicians across parties spent most of the day speculating as to why Dhankhar resigned. The government backed the former 14th V-P’s “excuse” of health, but an unamused Opposition — mainly the Congress, led by chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh — flagged “far deeper reasons” behind Dhankhar’s exit than those cited. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh calls on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday. ANI Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha JP Nadda, however, dismissed Ramesh’s claims that he and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had absented themselves from the RS Business Advisory Com- SC notice to Centre, states over deadline to clear Bills Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 22 The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre and all states on the Presidential Reference on issues arising out of the top court’s recent verdict setting a deadline for assent to bills passed by state Assemblies. A five-judge Constitution Bench led by CJI BR Gavai posted the matter for appearance of the parties on next Tuesday. The Bench, which also included Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, proposed to hear the matter next month. On behalf of the Kerala Government, senior counsel KK Venugopal raised the issue of maintainability of the Presidential Reference. Invoking Article 143 of the Constitution, President Droupadi Murmu had in May sought the Supreme Court’s opinion on 14 questions arising out of its April 8 verdict fixing deadlines for Governors and the President to take a call on bills passed by Assemblies. In an unprecedented verdict, the apex court had restricted the President’s discretionary powers on bills referred by Governors under Article 201 and set a threemonth timeframe for her to continued on page 8 ~1,247-cr loss & counting, HP bears monsoon brunt Shimla, July22 Natural disasters triggered by torrential rains have caused Himachal Pradesh a loss of Rs 1,247.34 crore since the onset of monsoon this year. As heavy rainfall continues to wreak havoc across the state, 378 roads, including three national highways, remain closed. The Public Works Department has borne the brunt with a loss of Rs 552.27 crore, followed by the Jal Shakti Vibhag (Rs 453.69 crore) and the Power Department (Rs 139.46 crore) since June 20. As many as 255 roads in Mandi district, 78 in Kullu, 13 in Shimla, 11 each in Kangra and Sirmaur, three in Una and one each in Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti remain closed for traffic. As many as 326 distribution transformers, mittee meeting chaired by Dhankhar last evening without intimation and so Dhankhar had “rightly taken umbrage”. “This is not correct, the V-P office was informed,” Nadda said on Tuesday, after PM Modi posted a very matterof-fact message on Dhankhar’s resignation. “Jagdeep Dhankhar has got many opportunities to serve our country in various capacities, including as the Vice-President of India. Wishing him good health,” the PM said on X, in a post read as curt and cold — one that mirrored a souring of ties between Dhankhar and the government. The former V-P’s Monday move of accepting and then mentioning in the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition-led motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma in the cashat-judge’s-house matter was the last straw for the government. This changed the government’s entire calculus. It had planned to pilot the Justice Varma removal proceedings in the Lok Sabha and had spoken openly about it through Rijiju. But Dhankhar accepted a parallel, solely Opposition-led motion in the Rajya Sabha after 152 MPs of the Lok Sabha submitted a similar notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday. This upset the continued on page 8 edit: Dhankhar’s exit pickingnewV-P‘as soon as possible’ Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 22 With President Droupadi Murmu accepting Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, the process for electing his successor has to be completed “as soon as possible”. Article 68(2) of the Constitution mandates that “an election to fill a vacancy in the office of the Vice-President occurring by reason of his death, resignation or removal, or otherwise shall be held as soon as possible”. The provision further says “the person elected to fill the vacancy shall, subject to the provisions of Article 67, be entitled to hold office for the full term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office”. The Vice-President works in a dual capacity as he presides over the Rajya Sabha and also acts as the President in certain contingencies. While the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson is expected to perform his duties continued on page 8 Pb sweetens land pooling deal, offers plots for 1-kanal land too AAP govt revamps policy amid increasing pressure Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 22 Facing mounting opposition to its land pooling policy, the AAP government in Punjab has announced revised incentives to placate protesting farmers. Under the amended policy, landowners with less than one acre will also be eligible for residential and commercial plots if they voluntarily participate in land pooling. For every kanal of land offered, farmers will receive a 125-sq-yd residential plot and a 25-sq-yd commercial booth site. Similarly, larger land contributions will yield proportionally bigger plots — two kanal will fetch a 250-sq-yd residential plot and a 50-sq-yard shop site, while three kanal will get two residential plots INDIA SETS TONE FOR PM’S UK VISIT BACK PAGE BENEFITS TO FARMERS UNDER REVISED SCHEME LAND RESIDENTIAL PLOT 1 kanal 125 sq yd (1) 25 sq yd (1) 2 kanal 250 sq yd (1) 50 sq yd (1) 3 kanal 250 sq yd (1) & 125 sq yd (1) 75 sq yd (1) 4 kanal 500 sq yd (1) OR 250 sq yd (2) 100 sq yd (1) 5 kanal 500 sq yd (1) & 125 sq yd (1) OR 250 sq yd (2) & 125 sq yd (1) 100 sq yd (1) 6 kanal 500 sq yd (1) & 250 sq yd (1) OR 250 sq yd (3) OR 500 sq yd (1) & 125 sq yd (2) 100 sq yd (1) & 50 sq yd (1) 7 kanal 500 sq yd (1), 250 sq yd (1) & 125 sq yd (1) 100 sq yd (1) & 75 sq yd (1) (250 and 125 sq yd) and a 75-sqyd commercial space. Benefits scale up further for contributions of up to seven kanals. A decision to amend the land pooling policy was taken in a meeting of the Council of COMMERCIAL SITES Ministers, chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Tuesday. An approval for enhanced compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers was also given. It has also continued on page 8 Air India completes Boeing checks, finds no fuel switch snags Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 22 Air India has completed precautionary inspections on all Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft in its fleet and found “no issues” with the locking mechanism of the fuel control switch (FCS), the airline confirmed on Tuesday. The checks come in the wake of a directive issued by the aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which had ordered inspections of the FCS locking mechanism on most India-registered Boeing commercial aircraft by July 21. In a statement, the airline also clarified that the process had been initiated proactively even before the DGCA’s deadline. “Voluntary inspections were started on July 12 and completed within the prescribed time limit. The same was communicated to the regulator,” the airline added. Reaffirming its position, Air India asserted that it remains fully committed to passenger and crew safety. The DGCA’s instruction followed global concern after foreign operators of Boeing aircraft undertook Move follows DGCA directive after fatal Ahmedabad crash TribunaljunksCong’s ~199-cr tax petition NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has dismissed the Congress’ appeal against a tax demand of Rs 199.15 crore for the assessment year 2018-19, citing noncompliance with filing timelines and statutory conditions under Section 13-A of the Income Tax Act. It said the petition did not qualify for exemption. — TNS SCnotostayKanwar YatraQRcodeorder DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the QR code directive for eateries along Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and directed all hotel owners along the route to display their licences and registration certificates in line with the statutory requirements. BACK PAGE NEW The AI crash site in Ahmedabad. FILE AI FLIGHT CATCHES FIRE AFTER LANDING IN DELHI In a post-landing scare at the Delhi airport, Air India flight AI315 arriving from Hong Kong reported a fire in its auxiliary power unit (APU) just moments after docking at the gate. The fire broke out while passengers had already begun disembarking. voluntary inspections based on a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB). The urgency was triggered by the preliminary findings of the catastrophic crash of Air India flight AI171 on June 12. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its early report, revealed that both continued on page 8 edit: safety matters Rashid gets custody parole to attend Parl NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday granted custody parole to jailed Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid from July 24 to August 4 to attend the monsoon session of Parliament. Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 after he was arrested by the NIA under the UAPA in a 2017 terror funding case. INSIDE Maha challenges in SC acquittal of 12 train blast convicts 52 lakh Bihar voters face ouster from list Tribune News Service Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 22 The Maharashtra Government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Bombay High Court’s verdict acquitting 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts case in which 187 persons were killed and 824 injured. “It is a serious matter. The special leave petition (SLP) is ready. Please list it tomorrow. There is urgency,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a Bench, led by CJI BR Gavai, on behalf of the Maharashtra Government. “We read that eight accused have been released already,” the CJI said as he agreed to take it up on Thursday. Noting that the prosecution “utterly failed” to prove the case, the Bombay High Court on Monday set aside the continued on page 8 New Delhi, July 22 Even as the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar has triggered a political row, with opposition parties alleging that the exercise is aimed at leaving out a huge chunk of voters — several of them either migrants or from backward communities — around 52 lakh of the state’s electorate face the possibility of being omitted from the voter list. According to figures released by the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday, as many as 52,30,126 Bihar voters, who constitute 6.62 per cent of the state’s electorate, have not been found at their addresses even as the SIR is nearing its end on July 25. Of them, 18,66,869 — 2.36 per cent of the voters — have been reported as dead, while Not found at addresses during revision of rolls 26,01,031 (3.29 per cent) are reported to have shifted permanently. Besides, 7,50,742 voters have been found to be enrolled at multiple places, while 11,484 voters are not traceable. All these figures add up to a whopping 52,30,126 voters, who face the possibility of getting deleted from the electoral rolls of Bihar. The poll body, however, said “as per the SIR order, dated June 24, from August 1 to September 1, a full month will be available to any member of the public to file objections for any addition, deletion and rectification in the draft electoral rolls”. The EC said in the ongoing SIR, efforts had been made to ensure that all eligible electors were included in continued on page 8 135 DEATHS SO FAR The death toll has risen to 135 this monsoon, with 76 fatalities being directly attributed to rainrelated incidents, including landslides, flashfloods and cloudbursts, and 59 caused by road accidents, the State Emergency Operation Centre has said. including 201 in Mandi and 113 in Kullu, have been damaged, while 314 water supply schemes, including 63 in Chamba and 62 in Mandi districts, have faced disruptions. Heavy rain at isolated places and light to moderate rain at most places continued across the state during the past 24 hours. Amb in Una district received 90 mm rain, the highest in the state, followed by Bharari in Hamirpur (70 mm) and Kasauli (44 mm). — TNS Army receives first batch of 3 Apache attack copters from US Ajay Banerjee & Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service An Apache attack helicopter from the US being offloaded from an aircraft in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI Today’s issue is of 18 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b NewDelhi/Chandigarh, July22 The first batch of three AH64 Apache attack helicopters meant for the Army arrived in India on Tuesday. The helicopters, made by US company Boeing, were transported from the US on a Soviet-origin AN-124 cargo aircraft. The Army had signed a Rs 5,691-crore deal with the US in 2020 for procuring six Apache attack helicopters. The delivery was initially expected in mid-2024. The remaining three helicopters Three more expected by year-end; Aviation Corps’ operational capability set to get boost GUNSHIP OFFERS LETHAL FIREPOWER The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a heavily armed, twin-engine ground attack helicopter that can carry a combination of air-to-ground missiles, rockets and a chin-mounted machine gun to engage tanks, vehicles, troop concentrations, communications and logistics centres. It can also fire short-range air-to-air missiles like the Stinger. are expected to be delivered by the end of the year. The delay in sending the helicopters was recently flagged by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over a phone call with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth. Today, Rajnath post- ed on X, “These advanced helicopters will enhance the Army Aviation wing’s operational effectiveness, especially in challenging terrains.” These helicopters are armed to attack enemy troops and continued on page 8