18072026-TTB-03.qxd 7/18/2026 WANGCHUK LOSES 9 KG AS FAST ENTERS DAY 20 NATION /thetribunechd 12:07 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 197 | 22 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI CHINA MEDDLED IN 2020 ELECTION: TRUMP WORLD saturday | 18 july 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com PM slams AAP over law & order, graft; Japanex-ministersaysIndiaviolated bullet train pact; MEA rejects charge attack on Akalis signals solo poll run Makihara blames Delhi’s ‘pursuit of self-interest’ for project delay claimed that what stood out during international meetings and negotiations on the project was “the sheer recklessness of the Indian side”, alleging that India repeatedly failed to keep its promises and constantly pursued its own interests. “They keep pushing their own self-interest right up to the very end. The minister in charge was especially awful— if the top guy is like that, there’s no way to have any continued on page 6 Kejriwal counters Modi citing donation theft, seeks Punjab’s ~50K cr dues Ujwal Jalali Deepkamal Kaur New Delhi, July 17 The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday dismissed criticism by former Japanese Justice Minister Hideki Makihara over the MumbaiAhmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, describing his remarks as “an individual opinion” and “at considerable variance with facts”. The response came after Makihara shared on X an opin- It is an individual opinion and at considerable variance with facts. Randhir Jaiswal, MEA Andy Burnham is Labour head, set to be next UK PM Removal from electoral list doesn’t mean loss of citizenship, clarifies SC Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 17 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday criticised the AAP government in Punjab over the alleged poor law and order situation and corruption, dubbing the ruling regime as “kattar beiman” (utterly dishonest). The PM was addressing a rally after inaugurating the revamped Jalandhar Cantonment railway station and laying stones for infrastructure projects worth Rs 5,470 crore. Modi said, “Punjab was a land ruled by Maharaja Ranjit Singh under whose rule there was prosperity, security and harmony among all communities. Everyone knows what is happening here now. The law and order situation has deteriorated. Incidents of firing, extortion, gang war and drug smuggling have become rampant. It has become increasingly difficult to run business in this state.” Attacking AAP the PM said, , “The party in power had claimed that it will change the politics of the country. Their Health Minister was removed on corruption charges. Another minister is caught up in charges of money laundering. The funds that the Centre has been pumping have been misused. The budget of the state is being used to pay interest on loans that it has acquired. continued on page 6 Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives a portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from Punjab BJP leaders during an event at the Jalandhar Cantt railway station on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH First hydrogen train chugs off from Jind as Modi lauds success of ‘Make in India’ Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service The PM flags off the hydrogen train at Jind. CM Nayab Saini is also seen. Jind, July 17 PM Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the country’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train from Jind, terming it the “longest and most powerful such train in the world”. Addressing a gathering at the HUDA ground after inaugurating the train, the PM equated the moment with the launch of the first-ever train in continued on page 6 edit: hydrogen train Tribune News Service London, July 17 Andy Burnham was on Friday confirmed as the newly elected leader of the UK’s governing Labour Party, becoming the Prime Minister-designate to take charge at 10 Downing Street next week. The 56-yearold MP from Makerfield in northern England, on track to become Britain’s seventh PM in a decade, admitted that it was the “last chance” for Labour to deliver the change promised at the last general election in July 2024. On Monday, Burnham will be invited by King Charles III to form a new government continued on page 6 Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b INDIVIDUAL OPINION ❝ ion article by Isao Tsujimura, a Japanese railway engineer, and endorsed its conclusions, accusing India of failing to honour commitments under the flagship India-Japan bullet train project. In his post, Makihara Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 17 The Supreme Court on Friday clarified that removal from electoral roll didn’t mean loss of citizenship as it agreed to examine the exclusion from welfare schemes of persons deleted from the list during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. The SIR is currently underway in several parts of the country, including Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant reiterated that deletion from the electoral roll after SIR exercise would Process underway in Punjab, Haryana, Chd not automatically result in the loss of citizenship status. The Bench – which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana — pointed out that it had made it clear in the Bihar SIR judgment that the ultimate authority to determine citizenship was not the Election Commission and that the removal from electoral rolls cannot, by itself, result in the deprivation of citizenship. “Our judgment (in the Bihar SIR case) is clear. continued on page 6 Gary Sobers, one of cricket’s greatest, passes away at 89 BRIDGETOWN: Cricket lost one of its tallest icons on Friday with the death of Sir Garfield Sobers, the peerless West Indian whose breathtaking all-round brilliance made him one of the greatest players the game has ever known. He was 89. Sobers played 93 Tests and scored 8,032 runs at 57.78 with 26 centuries and 30 half-centuries between 1954 and 1974. INSIDE Grewal named national minorities panel chairperson NEW DELHI: Harjit Singh Grewal, member of Punjab BJP core committee and the party's central national council, was appointed chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities on Friday. He will be the ninth chairperson of the panel set up in 1993. This is the first ever back-to-back appointment of a Sikh in the key role. Grewal will succeed Iqbal Singh Lalpura. INSIDE