28092024-TT-01.qxd 9/27/2024 11:27 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 269 | 18 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH MAGGIE SMITH OF HARRY POTTER FAME DIES AT 89 WORLD /thetribunechd NC, CONG IGNORED JAMMU REGION FOR DECADES: NADDA J&K GOVT: PLAN READY FOR 6 CR JOBS IN TEXTILES SECTOR BUSINESS ‘ASKED TO DECLARE FAITH’, JAGAN CANCELS TIRUPATI VISIT BACK PAGE saturday | 28 september 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Chinese seek ‘unreasonable’ patrolling rights at two LAC spots along Arunachal Yangtse area & Subansiri valley sites firmly under Indian control for decades THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE Keki Daruwalla, celebrated poet, passes away at 87 New Delhi, September 27 Poet, writer and former IPS officer Keki N Daruwalla, whose magic with words gained him national and international repute, has died at a Delhi hospital after a prolonged illness and a spell of pneumonia. He was 87. Daruwalla, one of India’s best-known writers in English, died on Thursday night. “He had a stroke a year ago and hadn’t been keeping well since then. There were strokerelated complications. However, it wasn’t a stroke this time, he basically died of pneumonia,” his daughter Anaheita Kapadia said. Daruwalla, also known for his short stories, is survived by Anaheita and his other daughter Rookvain, sons-in-law and four grandchildren. — PTI Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 27 As India and China discuss a potential resolution of their dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that has been ongoing for four years, Chinese negotiators have suggested to New Delhi that their troops be allowed to patrol in two sensitive areas along Arunachal Pradesh. The two spots — one in the Yangtse area north-east of Tawang, where the two sides had a deadly clash in December 2022, and the second in central Arunachal along the Subansiri river valley — have been firmly under Indian control for decades. The recent Chinese demand came in response to the 21 rounds of talks that have been held between the two sides over the past four years, to discuss the existing dispute on the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Here, Chinese soldiers have denied access to Indian troops to “patrol points” 10, 11, 12 and 13 (also known in military jargon as PP) on the LAC. All of these originate from “the bottleneck”, a geographical feature on the eastern flank of the 972 sq km Depsang plateau. Chandigarh, September 27 All vitals of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are “completely” stable, said the director and head of the department of cardiology of a private hospital in Mohali in an official statement released this evening. Mann was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday evening after he felt an uncomfortable pressure on his heart. The hospital today conducted some heart-related tests and examined Mann. The results are awaited. The statement said due to increase in pressure in the pulmonary artery, there was pressure on Mann’s heart, leading to irregular blood pressure. — TNS ■ In eastern Ladakh, the dis- pute is about patrolling by Indian troops along four locations near the LAC ■ EAM Jaishankar during his ongoing US trip termed ‘patrolling the LAC’ an important pending issue ■ India has suggested to China a graded three-step process for resolving the eastern Ladakh issue Government sources, speaking to The Tribune on the condition of anonymity, said the Chinese demands were “unreasonable” and “devoid of logic”. “The last Indian Army patrol to the PP areas was in January 2020,” a source said. The government sources reiterated that the so-called Chinese demand to allow its troops to patrols these two spots in Arunachal Pradesh was not a “quid pro quo”, as both had been in Indian control for decades. On the other hand, the issue of patrolling PP 10, 11, 12 and 13 in eastern Ladakh is a dispute that cropped up in April 2020. Ever since, the two armies have been locked in a military standoff. External Affairs Minister S Bengaluru/Mysuru, Sept 27 The Lokayukta police on Friday registered an FIR against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case following a court order. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge came to Siddaramaiah’s defence, stat- Bhartesh Singh Thakur Chandigarh, September 27 Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is likely to embark on a yatra across several districts of Haryana from September 30 till October 3, the last day of campaigning in the poll-bound state. Polling for the 90-member state Assembly will take place on October 5. The Congress, aiming to regain power after a decade, has been less active in campaigning as compared to the BJP which has been going all , out to woo voters with party bigwigs leading from the front. The state has so far seen three programmes, including two rallies, by PM Narendra Modi and seven rallies by Home Minister Amit Shah. Besides, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari have held several public meet- SWEATING IT OUT ■ PM Narendra Modi has so far addressed two rallies in Haryana and Home Minister Amit Shah seven ■ Yogi, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari too have held several public meetings ■ For the Congress, former CM Bhupinder Hooda is primarily running the campaign ■ Rahul has so far addressed two rallies; Priyanka Gandhi is yet to make an appearance ings. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma and Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav have also been camping in the state. continued on page 7 In patriarchal state, BJP banking on 47% women voters to buck anti-incumbency Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service Women voters at an election rally in Mullana, Ambala. FILE Chandigarh, September 27 In patriarchal Haryana, the ruling BJP is banking on the support of 47 per cent women voters to beat anti-incumbency in the high-stakes poll battle In fact, it is the increasing participation of women in the elections that has prompted the party to shift its focus to 95.82 lakh female voters. continued on page 7 ing that the party was standing with him and would support him. Siddaramaiah, who began his three-day visit to his home district of Mysuru, claimed that he was being targeted on the MUDA issue as the Opposition was “scared” of him. He said it was the first such “political case” against him. SC notice to Centre on Hawara’s plea for transfer to Punjab jail Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 27 The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre and governments of Delhi and Punjab on a petition by Beant Singh assassination case convict Jagtar Singh Hawara, who has sought his transfer from Tihar Jail to any jail in Punjab. No case pending in Delhi, claims Beant assassin A Bench led by Justice BR Gavai asked them to respond to Hawara’s petition, which also sought a direction to produce in the court the entire record regarding his conduct in prison since his incarceration. The court posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks. In an apparent reference to the January 22, 2004 jailbreak incident in which Hawara had escaped from high-security Burail jail, Justice Gavai asked senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, who represented the petitioner, “How were you able to dig such a large tunnel in the jail?” Gonsalves said 20 years had passed since that incident and almost 30 years since the assassination. Hawara (54), who was re-arrested after a year and put continued on page 13 Nuh locals bet big on poll, with affidavits Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service Gurugram, September 27 Punters in Mewat are betting big on the results of the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections with some of them even getting special affidavits made to back their bets. The results of the elections will be announced on October 8. The passion among gamblers in Nuh, Sohna and Palwal is so high that besides placing bets in cash, some are even putting their properties Jaishankar, speaking at an event in the US on Tuesday, for the first-time admitted that a part of the continuing IndiaChina dispute along the LAC was to do with access to patrolling areas. “The main issue right now is the patrolling,” Jaishankar said, pointing out that the patrolling arrangements since 2020 had been disturbed. He went on to describe the India-China relationship as “significantly disturbed”. Military sources have separately confirmed that since April 2020, Chinese troops have not allowed Indian soldiers to patrol areas — PP 10, 11, 12 and continued on page 13 As BJP bigwigs press the K’taka CM booked in MUDA case throttle in Haryana, Cong plans Rahul’s poll yatra Tribune News Service CM Mann’s vitals stable, continues to be in hospital EASTERN LADAKH DISPUTE PENDING Punters even put properties, vehicles at stake and vehicles at stake on victory of various local candidates. To offer guarantee of promising to pay in case they lose, punters are getting special affidavits made. One such affidavit accessed by The Tribune revealed that an INLD worker and a Congress activist had placed bets on the victory INLD candidate Tahir Hussain and Congress candi- date Aftab Ahmed, respectively, from the Nuh seat. At stake is Rs 6 lakh cash and a four-axle truck. The affidavit has been signed by a notary and witnesses. “Betting or satta during the elections is popular in Mewat, but people started cheating. In the last Lok Sabha elections, people recorded videos of promising to pay in case they lost the bet. However, a major- ity reneged after the declaration of the results. This led to disputes and some parties even approached panchayats,” said a betting agent from Salaheri. “This time, we have decided to make bets legally binding by taking affidavits from the bettors. We have roped in advocates from our own villages to make these documents. Now people cannot run away from their promises,” said the betting agent. Claiming to have made 15 such continued on page 7 c m y b He reiterated that he won’t resign following the court ordering a probe against him in the case as he had done “no wrong”. He asserted that he would fight the case legally. While Siddaramaiah is accused number one in the case, his wife BM Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna continued on page 7 A thick blanket of smog covers New Delhi. FILE Silent spectators: SC raps air quality panel over NCR pollution Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 27 The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) for its failure to curb air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) due to stubble burning by farmers in Punjab and Haryana. “Not a single committee has been formed to tackle the issue. Every year, we witness stubble burning, indicating total non-compliance of the CAQM Act. Have any committees been constituted? Show us one step taken. What directions have you utilised under the Act? You are merely silent spectators,” a Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka said. The Bench, which also included Justice Augustine TOTAL NON-COMPLIANCE ❝ Every year, we witness stubble burning, indicating non-compliance with the CAQM Act...You are merely silent spectators. SC Bench George Masih, asked the commission to work proactively after its chairman Rajesh Verma, who appeared through video-conferencing, said three sub-committees had been convening one meeting every three months. “We wonder how it (commission) can effectively perform its tasks with such infrequent meetings,” Justice Oka said. Amicus curiae Aparajita Singh pointed out that the CAQM was not doing enough continued on page 7