19122025-TTB-01.qxd 12/18/2025 11:57 PM 13 7-YR JAIL FOR HATE SPEECH, K’TAKA CLEARS BILL NATION /thetribunechd Page 1 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 349 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA friday | 19 december 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Lok Sabha clears G RAM G Bill amid tearing of papers by Oppn Attack on Gandhi’s ideals, says govt| Cong pushed for sending it to Parl panel Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 18 Amid scenes of disruption and a sustained vociferous Opposition protest lasting almost 40 minutes, the Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, a legislation that replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The Bill was cleared after Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan delivered his reply under extreme din, with Opposition MPs continuously raising slogans, entering the well and, at one point, tearing and throwing papers in the air, forcing Speaker Om Birla to intervene sternly. “The people have not sent you here to throw papers. I gave adequate time for discussion. This is against parliamentary culture,” Birla said, repeatedly urging members to return to their seats as the minister struggled to be Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan speaks as Opposition members throw papers in protest in the LS. PTI DEMOCRACY TO ‘MOBOCRACY’ PARL PASSES NUCLEAR ENERGY BILL Through their behaviour, the Opposition Parliament on Thursday passed the Sustainable Energy for disgraced democracy, tore parliamentary Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclearopen the Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, to traditions to shreds and turned democracy tightly controlled civil nuclear sector for private parinto mobocracy. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, UNION MINISTER ticipation amid concerns voiced by the Opposition. ❝ heard. Before Chouhan could begin his address, Congress leader KC Venugopal rose and requested the Speaker to send the Bill to a parliamentary committee for further scrutiny. However, his request was rejected as Birla said sufficient time was awarded to everyone for a discussion a day back. Opening his reply, Chouhan said he had patiently listened to members till 1.30 am the previous night and asserted his right to respond. “This is not in keeping with democratic traditions. Not allowing a reply is an attack on the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi,” he said. continued on page 8 AAP wins rural body NGT grants interim stay poll in 17 Punjab dists on Pb farmhouse policy Ruchika M Khanna Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 18 The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has emerged as the leading party in 17 of the 22 Punjab districts in the zila parishad and in 18 districts in the panchayat samiti elections conducted on December 14, the counting for which started on Wednesday. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal claimed the party had won around 70 per cent of the seats, calling it an “endorsement of the state government’s policies”. However, despite leading in most of the districts, AAP has won a clear majority in only 12 of the 22 districts (in zila parishad continued on page 8 edit: aap’s rural sweep Chandigarh, December 18 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday granted an interim stay on the implementation of the Punjab Government’s policy to allow approval and regularisation of low-impact green habitats in areas abutting forests. The policy has been stayed until the next date of hearing — February 4. The policy affects nearly 55,000 hectares of land taken out of the purview of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900. The policy was aimed to benefit VIPs, including politicians and serving and retired bureaucrats. Environmentalists and foresters alleged that the policy had been brought to regularise ALL TRANSPARENT: CM CM Bhagwant Mann said hue and cry of the Opposition was baseless as the results reflected that the entire process of election was transparent, free and fair. ELECTION RESULTS ZILA PARISHAD AAP Cong SAD BJP BSP Ind 218 62 46 7 3 10 PANCHAYAT SAMITI AAP Cong SAD BJP BSP Ind 1,529 611 449 73 28 144 THREE’S COMPANY WAS MEANT FOR VIPs’ BENEFIT: ECOLOGISTS ■ The policy of the state has been stayed until the next date of hearing — February 4 ■ It was meant for the benefit of VIPs, including politicians and serving and retired bureaucrats ■ Environmentalists alleged that it was brought to regularise farmhouses of bigwigs in areas abutting forests farmhouses of bigwigs in areas abutting forests with rich flora and fauna. The petitioners — Kapil Dev, Ganesh Khurana and Mohit Jain — challenged the policy, alleging that it violated the Supreme Court’s directions regarding land taken out of the purview of the PLPA. continued on page 8 HC terms Amritpal plea infructuous, MP misses session Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Students scamper to reach school in time as fog envelops Chandigarh on Thursday. PARDEEP TEWARI SC to meet parents of comatose man before ruling on passive euthanasia Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 18 After perusing a report submitted by AIIMS, New Delhi, on the condition of a 32-yearold man who has been in a vegetative state since 2013 after a fall from a building, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it would meet his parents on January 13 before deciding whether to allow passive euthanasia to end his agony. “It’s a very sad report. We cannot keep this man in this stage,” a Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan said as it perused a report containing Harish Rana’s medical history filed by a secondary medical board of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). It scheduled a meeting with the patient’s parents at 3 pm on January 13. The court will decide on his father Ashok Rana’s petition for passive euthanasia by withdrawing artificial life support. The patient has been lying in a comatose condition for more than 12 years. The Bench directed that the report be shared with petitioner’s counsel Rashmi Nandakumar and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati. “We have reached a stage wherein we will have to take a final call. So your thorough assistance will be required. We will ask the Registry to provide you with one copy of the report. It’s a very sad report and it will be a big challenge for us also,” the Bench said. “We request them (Bhati and Rashmi) to jointly speak to continued on page 8 AFTER UK, INDIA INKS FTA WITH OMAN BACK PAGE Chandigarh, December 18 Detained MP Amritpal Singh will not be able to attend the ongoing winter session of Parliament, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court holding that his petition seeking permission to do so had virtually become infructuous. At the very outset, a Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu questioned the very executability of any order, even if it were to be passed in the petitioner’s favour. The Bench noted that the logistical reality of transporting the detainee from Dibrugarh in Assam to Delhi made the relief impracticable, observing that the distance was such that it would take at least 10 hours even by helicopter, if not more. In these circumstances, the court observed that the petitioner could always approach the court again when a fresh cause of action arose, effectively suggesting that the issue could be discussed in a future parliamentary session. In its detailed order, the Bench also recorded that an effective hearing could not take place on December 15, 16 continued on page 8 c m y b