22032026-TT-01.qxd 3/21/2026 11:09 PM Page 1 c m y b DIDI FLAGS ‘THREAT’ TO VOTER RIGHTS NATION /thetribunechd 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 79 | 22 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH B’DESH GOT ~1.5K CR AID IN 10 YEARS BACK PAGE sunday | 22 march 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com SHANDAAR 4 SAAL, BHAGWANT MANN DE NAAL For everyone above 50 years LALIT KUMAR DIPR, Punjab Free Teerth Yatra For more information, scan here Iran fires surprise 4,000-km missiles Blamedforofficial’ssuicide, Pb minister Bhullar resigns at US-UK joint base in Indian Ocean Mann orders probe, says won’t tolerate misconduct Tehran’s nuke site attacked, no leak Additional 20% commercial LPG for migrants, dhabas & restaurants Ajay Banerjee & Ujwal Jalali CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ahead of presenting the Budget in Shimla. Blames grant cut as debt crosses ~1L-cr mark Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, March 21 Facing financial stress and the looming discontinuation of the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today presented Rs 54,928crore Budget for 2026-27, marking a first-ever Rs 3,586 crore reduction in its size compared to last year. He also announced deferment of up to 30 per cent in the salaries of continued on page 8 New Delhi, March 21 Iran expanded the ambit of the West Asian conflict and launched an unsuccessful twin missile attack on Diego Garcia, the joint US-UK military base some 3,800 km away in the Indian Ocean, even as the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed that key Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz was targeted in a fresh strike on Saturday. Iran also claimed to have hit an Israeli F-16 fighter jet. The Diego Garcia attack showed Tehran’s hidden ability that it had missiles continued on page 8 IRAN Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service SAUDI ARABIA INDIA KM 4,000 Austere Sukhu trims outlay, defers salaries of top brass Tribune News Service DIEGO GARCIA INDIAN OCEAN MODI DIALS PEZESHKIAN PM Modi spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and condemned the attacks on critical infrastructure in West Asia, while stressing the need to safeguard the freedom of navigation. Modi also extended Eid and Navroz greetings. BACK PAGE New Delhi, March 21 The Centre will from Monday allocate an additional 20 per cent commercial LPG to states for further distribution to US eases for a month restrictions on Iranian oil cargo stranded at sea Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 21 In a limited and time-bound move, the US has eased sanctions to allow the sale and delivery of Iranian-origin Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including six-page Spectrum. c m y b migrant workers, restaurants, dhabas and subsidised canteens. The targeted allocation is meant to ease the pressure on commercial establishments engaged in food delivery and continued on page 8 crude oil and petroleum products already loaded on vessels before March 20. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued “General continued on page 8 Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 21 Punjab Transport and Jails Minister Laljit Bhullar stepped down on Saturday following Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s directions after a Punjab Warehousing Corporation (PWC) official ended his life accusing Bhullar of abetment to suicide. The Chief Minister announced Bhullar’s resignation around noon to the media, a few hours after PWC official Gagandeep Singh Randhawa died by suicide. Mann said he had directed the Chief Secretary to conduct an impartial inquiry into the matter and asked the minister to step down for a fair probe. He stressed no continued on page 8 Laljit Bhullar MANN CALLS SPECIAL SESSION ON SACRILEGE Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said a special Assembly session will be convened on April 13 to amend the 2008 law to impose stricter punishment for sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts. The proposed legislation will include heavy fines, property confiscation and cover offences committed through digital content.