18082025-TTC-01.qxd 8/18/2025 12:30 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 227 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 AHEAD OF OLI’S INDIA VISIT, MISRI MEETS NEPAL LEADERSHIP NATION /thetribunechd BEAS BREACHES BANKS AS WATER RELEASED FROM DAM PUNJAB EUROPE LEADERS TO WORLD CHAMPION GUKESH JOIN ZELENSKYY FOR FACES STAR PLAYERS AT TRUMP FACE-OFF WORLD SINQUEFIELD CUP SPORT monday | 18 august 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com EC indulging in ‘vote chori’ for BJP, govt brought law to shield it: Rahul starts Bihar campaign Vote theft charge baseless if no proof given in7days: CEC to Oppn Shekhar Singh Animesh Singh Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Sasaram (Bihar), August 17 The opposition INDIA bloc on Sunday launched its 1,300km ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram in Bihar, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that the Election Commission was working hand in glove with the BJP to manipulate electoral rolls and steal elections. The march, spread across more than 20 districts, is the bloc’s coordinated campaign to highlight what it calls “vote chori” through the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Addressing a gathering at the end of first day of his march in Aurangabad, Rahul hit out at the Election Commission after its press conference. He alleged that the Narendra Modi government brought in a law in 2023 to ensure that no one could take action against the poll body as it was “helping” the BJP and “indulging in vote chori” along with them. “Today, they (EC) held a press conference. I want to ask them why did the government change the law on CCTV footage of election process. Do New Delhi, August 17 Stung by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of “vote theft”, the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday said “those accusing voters of being criminals” should either submit a signed affidavit backing their claims within seven days or apologise to the nation. Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said failure to provide an affidavit would mean that the allegations were baseless. “Either apologise to the nation or substantiate your vote theft allegations under oath. If no affidavit is submitted within seven days, it will confirm that the accusations are unfounded,” Kumar said. However, the CEC evaded the questions on why Rahul Gandhi was asked for an affidavit while no such demand was made when BJP leader Anurag Thakur accused the Opposition of vote theft in constituencies like Wayanad, Kannauj, and Rae Bareli. In fact, he said if anyone RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav drives Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a rally as part of the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Sasaram on Sunday. PTI you know that no case can be initiated against the election commissioners. In no court in India can there be a case against them. This law was made in 2023. Why was this law made? It was made because Narendra Modi and Amit Shah want to ensure that no one can take any action against the EC as it is helping them and is indulging in ‘vote chori’ along with them,” said Rahul. He said it was a fight to protect Ambedkar’s Constitution and the principle of ‘one person, one vote’. Addressing the flag-off rally at Sasaram earlier in the day, Rahul Continued on page 8 Says call on Bihar-like special poll roll revision in WB only after discussion ALL PARTIES EQUAL every political ❝ As per the law,registering with party is born after the EC. So how can the EC be biased against any party? For the EC, there is no Opposition and no ruling party. For us, all are equal. Gyanesh Kumar, CEC ‘NO VOTER DELETION WITHOUT PROOF’ Answering a volley of questions on fears of deletion of names of voters from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said without any proof, no valid voter’s name would be deleted. “The EC is standing like a rock with every voter,” he said. BLATANT BIAS: CONG SLAMS EC MULTIPLE VOTER IDs DUE TO MIGRATION: KUMAR The Congress alleged the EC was “thoroughly exposed” for both “incompetence and blatant partisanship”, shortly after the poll body criticised the party over its allegations of “vote chori”. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “A short while after Rahul launched the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, the CEC and two ECs held a media briefing targeting him. The LoP had simply stated facts. The EC stands exposed.” INSIDE The CEC said instances of a person holding multiple voter identity cards arose due to migration or administrative lapses and the poll body was working to rectify such mistakes. He said exercises like the SIR would rectify such discrepancies. wished to file a complaint without being a voter of that constituency, it could be done only as a witness under oath. Answering a volley of questions on fears of deletion of names of voters from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls, Kumar reiterated that without any proof, no valid voter’s name would be deleted. “We stand as a rock with voters... If anybody thinks that by giving one PPT, which does not contain our figures, one can claim that people might have voted twice, that is not the case. How can we remain quiet on such serious allegations?” Kumar said. He claimed that the poll body was being used as a launchpad to target voters for political motives. “Neither the infirmities in electoral rolls are being highlighted within the prescribed time frame nor any election petition is filed in the high court within 45 days of voters selecting their representatives. Wrong words like ‘vote chori’ are used to mislead the citizens. Isn’t this an insult to the Constitution?” Kumar said. Further attacking the Opposition for its allegations regarding the addition of “fake” voters in Maharashtra, where the state Assembly elections were held in November 2024, the CEC sought to know from the Opposition why no objections were filed when the draft voters’ list was declared. “When the results Continued on page 8 edit: opposition vs eci Wang Yi to meet PM during two-day visit NEW DELHI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to India beginning Monday, according to the MEA. The meeting, to be held on Tuesday, assumes significance as it is taking place days before Modi's planned trip to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. — PTI Firing at YouTuber Elvish Yadav’s home GURUGRAM: Two masked men fired more than two dozen shots outside YouTuber Elvish Yadav’s residence in Sector 57 of Gurugram early Sunday morning, the police said. The YouTuber is facing heat for promoting betting apps. Meanwhile, ‘Bhau gang’ has claimed responsibility for the firing. INSIDE Maha Guv Radhakrishnan, Another J&K cloudburst kills old RSS hand, NDA’s V-P face 7 in Kathua, 5 of them minors BJP seeks Oppn support for TN leader| INDIA ally DMK in a bind Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service MoS for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh receives Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on his return to India on Sunday. ANI Space hero Shukla lands to cheers; LS to discuss ISS sojourn Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 17 Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla arrived in India early Sunday to a grand reception, with crowds waving the Tricolour and beating the drums at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here. His landmark journey to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 mission made him only the second Indian to venture into space. Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and ISRO Chairman V Narayanan greeted Shukla and back-up astronaut-designate Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair upon arrival at the airport. Shukla’s wife Kamna and son Kiash were also present to welcome him home after a nearly oneyear stay in the US training for the space flight. On Monday, the Lok Sabha will hold a special discussion on India’s space progress, highlighting Shukla’s ISS mission and the role of space exploration in achieving a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Shukla is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before heading to his hometown Lucknow. The government will mark India’s space milestones on August 22-23, coinciding with the National Space Day. Shukla’s Axiom4 mission launched from Florida on June 25, docked at the ISS the next day and concluded with his return to Earth on July 15. Along with three other astronauts — Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) — Shukla conducted over 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions during the 18-day mission. Shukla and Nair participated in the Independence Day celebrations at the Indian Consulate in Houston on Friday. Addressing the 79th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, Prime Minister Modi on Friday said India was developing its own space station and noted that Group Captain Shukla had returned from a space mission. “Our Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned from the space station. In the coming days, he is returning to India,” Modi had said. New Delhi, August 17 The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) today picked Maharashtra Governor and veteran party leader from Tamil Nadu CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the September 9 vicepresidential election. BJP chief JP Nadda made the announcement after a three-hour meeting of the party parliamentary board attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah. With this, the BJP seems to have put a spanner in the plans of the Congress-led INDIA bloc to field a nonpolitical joint candidate for country’s second highest constitutional office. Since Radhakrishnan hails from Tiruppur in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, the state’s ruling DMK will find it hard to oppose his candidature and CP Radhakrishnan RAJNATH DIALS KHARGE Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, under whose supervision the NDA has decided to contest the V-P poll, dialled Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to build a consensus on CP Radhakrishnan’s candidature. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will be Radhakrishnan’s election agent. OPPN MEET TODAY INSIDE may prevail on INDIA bloc partners to back him. The state is scheduled to go the polls next year. “We have been in touch with our NDA partners and other political parties, and hope to reach a consensus on the name of Radhakrishnan, who has 40 years of active public life behind him and is respected across party lines in Tamil Nadu. We will talk to the Opposition,” said Nadda. Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, 67, was sworn in as the Governor of Maharashtra on July 31, 2024. He had earlier served as the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly one and a half years. During his tenure in Jharkhand, Radhakrishnan had also discharged the functions of the Governor of Telangana and Lt-Governor of Puducherry. Starting his political life as an RSS swayamsevak, Radhakrishnan became a state executive committee member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1974. In 1996, he was appointed BJP secretary in Tamil Nadu. He got elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Coimbatore in Continued on page 8 Arjun Sharma Jammu, August 17 Seven persons, including five minors, were killed after a flashflood and landslide triggered by a cloudburst struck their houses in two villages of Kathua district on Sunday. The incident comes three days after a cloudburst in Kishtwar claimed over 60 lives. The road and rail connectivity came to a standstill for hours before the administration, Army and NDRF swung into action. The Centre is closely monitoring the situation to avoid any further loss of lives in the backdrop of the Kishtwar incident. Surmu Din (30) and his sons Fanu (6), Shedu (5), Tahu (2) and Zulfan (15), all from Jodh village, were killed after a flashflood hit their village following the cloudburst. On the other hand, Renu Devi (39) and her daughter Radhika (9) from Janglot village died in a landslide. The injured have been identified as Gogli Begum An Army man consoles a victim at Kathua’s Jod Ghati village. PTI (26) and her daughter Nageena (3 months), and Karoon Begum (26) and her daughters Rafia (4) Aisha (6) and Parveen Akhter (8). In a post on X, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Spoke with the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir regarding the cloudburst in Kathua. Relief and rescue operations are being carried out by the local administration and NDRF teams have also been rushed to the site. Assured every support from the government. We stand firmly behind our sisters and brothers of J&K.” The landslide triggered by rains also hit Changda village under the jurisdiction of the Kathua police station and Dilwan-Hutli in the Lakhanpur police station area, but no major damage was reported. The Kathua police station was also inundated due to the heavy rain. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the loss of lives and extensive damage caused by the cloudburst and landslides in several parts of Kathua. To provide immediate relief, he announced exgratia assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund that would be in addition to the support from the State Continued on page 8 36 cloudbursts & 74 flashfloods, monsoon scars Himachal Subhash Rajta Tribune News Service Flashflood debris flows on to the Chandigarh-Manali highway at Panarsa in Mandi on Sunday. PHOTO: JAI KUMAR c m y b Shimla, August 17 Two more cloudbursts hit Himachal Pradesh early Sunday in Mandi and Kullu, pushing this monsoon’s tally to 36 across six districts of Chamba, Kinnaur, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Mandi and Shimla. To make the matters worse, the state has also seen 74 flashfloods, many triggered by these cloudbursts, and 63 landslides. So far, 17 persons have died in Mandi due to cloudbursts, with another 18 killed in flashfloods and landslides. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the latest incidents in Kullu and Mandi, although significant damage to public and private ~2,000-CR loss, experts blame reckless construction, climate change MANDI BEARS BRUNT DISTRICT MANDI KULLU CHAMBA SHIMLA LAHAUL & SPITI KINNAUR CLOUDBURSTS 17 8 4 3 3 1 property has been reported. Government estimates peg losses at over Rs 2,000 crore. Mandi remains the worst-hit, enduring 16 of the 36 cloudbursts this season. Over the last few years, cloudbursts, followed by flashfloods and landslides have become rampant in the state. Environmentalists and weather officials say a combination of reasons are behind this unnatural spike in extreme weather events, ranging from indiscriminate cutting of fragile mountain slopes for roads and highways to rampant felling of trees and climate change. Renowned environmentalist OP Bhuraita emphasised the fragility of the Himalayas, saying that excessive human intervention in the region must be curtailed. “The Himalayas are ecologically sensitive and large-scale infrastructure projects like four-lane Continued on page 8