06112024-TTC-01.qxd 11/6/2024 12:35 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 8 NO. 307 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 CITING ‘CRISIS OF TRUST’, ISRAELI PM DISMISSES DEFENCE MINISTER WORLD /thetribunechd OMAR COMMENDS VAJPAYEE’S APPROACH TO KASHMIR J&K TAX OFFICERS ALLOWED TWO JUDGES OBJECT TO TO WAIVE PENDING CJI CHANDRACHUD’S REMARKS INTEREST BUSINESS ON JUSTICE IYER BACK PAGE wednesday | 6 november 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Talks on restoring patrols at Depsang hit roadblock Chinese military ‘drags feet’ over finalising routes, distance THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE THE DEPSANG PATROLLING POINTS Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service People vote in the 2024 US presidential election in Springfield, Ohio, on Tuesday. Nearly 186.5 mn Americans are eligible to vote. REUTERS Americans vote in cliffhanger Democrat Harris, Republican Trump locked in neck-&-neck race for Prez Washington, November 5 The dizzying race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris for the 47th President of the US hurtled toward an uncertain finish on Tuesday as millions of Americans headed to the polls to choose between two sharply different visions for the country. A race churned by unprecedented events — two assassination attempts against Trump, President Joe Biden’s surprise withdrawal and Harris’ rapid rise — remained neck and neck as the election day dawned, even after billions of dollars in spending and months of frenetic campaigning. HOW ELECTORAL COLLEGE WORKS ■ Americans don’t vote directly for president, they vote for presiden- tial electors in their state. Electors from all states together form a 538-member electoral college that picks president for four years ■ Each state has certain number of electors based on representation in House or Senate. Candidate winning more popular votes in a state takes all electoral college votes there. The winner must get 270 votes The first ballots cast on Tuesday mirrored the nationwide divide. Overnight, the six registered voters in the tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, split their votes between Harris and Trump in voting just past midnight. Across the East Coast and Midwest, Americans began arriving at polls Tuesday morning to cast their votes. In Raleigh, North Carolina, Taylor Grabow, a 27-year-old nurse, said she voted for Harris after previously voting for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020, favouring Harris’ opposition to criminalising abortions. “I woke up in such a good mood and feeling excited,” she said. In Asheville, North Carolina, Ginny Buddenberg, a 38year-old stay-at-home moth- er, brought her two twin daughters with her to vote in Haw Creek. She voted for Trump. “There’s just a lot of politics in the classroom, and I feel like there’s too much of a push about politics and introducing different kinds of sexual education at a younger and younger age,” she said. “Let’s go to school and learn how to read.” Trump’s campaign has suggested he may declare victory on election night even while millions of ballots have yet to be counted, as he did four years ago. The former President has repeatedly said any defeat could only stem from widespread fraud, continued on page 8 New Delhi, November 5 The military talks between India and China to work out the modalities of patrols have reached a deadlock over the “extent and routes of patrolling” at Depsang along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Sources said the Chinese military negotiators, tasked with working out the “patrolling arrangements”, had been “dragging their feet” on coordinating the schedule of Indian Army patrols at points patrolled in the pre-April 2020 period. The Chinese side has also expressed reservations over the extent of patrolling. The brigade commanderlevel officers of either side have been tasked with working out the modalities after “patrolling arrangements” for reopening of patrolling routes at Depsang and Demchok were announced on October 21 by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The two sides are negotiating the modalities of patrols at patrolling points (PPs) 10, 11, 11-A, 12 and 13 on the eastern edge of Depsang. The sources said the Chi- Parliament’s winter session from Nov 25 NEW DELHI: The winter session of Parliament is set to commence from November 25 till December 20, Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Tuesday. The session will be convening just two days after the declaration of results of Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand (November 23). The outcome of the elections will decide the momentum of the session. INSIDE Pawar:Maynotseek anothertermasMP MAP NOT TO SCALE BEIJING’S RESERVATIONS ■ Sources said the Chinese side had raised two issues. It had reservations about the Indian Army going full extent on the routes of patrolling points 10 and 11 ■ Secondly, it also had reservations about the extent (distance) of patrol on patrolling points 11A, 12 and 13 nese side had raised two issues. Firstly, it had reservations about the Indian Army going full extent on the PPs 10 and 11 routes. Secondly, it had reservations about the extent (distance) of patrol on PPs 11A, 12 and 13. Last evening, the Indian Army had stated that it had successfully conducted a patrol to one of the points at Depsang. Yesterday’s patrol was to one of the latter three routes, the sources said, but did not specify which one. Patrolling is being coordinated in a manner that troops of both sides inform each other before a patrol party is launched. The coordination is part of the measures to prevent a face-off. The LAC — the de facto border between the two neighbours — is undemarcated on the ground. Claims of India and China overlap at several places. All patrolling points east of Depsang are in areas were the claims overlap. India sticks to the claim line of 1959, while China goes by its own claim line of 1962. PPs 10 and 11 both culminate at separate mountain tops that overlook the new continued on page 8 PUNE: Hinting at retirement from parliamentary politics, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said he would have to think about whether he should seek another Rajya Sabha term after his current tenure ends in 2026. Speaking at a rally in the Baramati Assembly seat, the 83-yearold leader said he had to stop at some point and make way for the new leadership. — PTI Haryana session to resume on Nov 13 CHANDIGARH: The second sitting of the first session of the newly constituted 15th Haryana Vidhan Sabha, beginning on November 13, is likely to be a stormy affair with the ruling BJP set to take on the Congress, which has failed to arrive at any consensus on the Leader of the Opposition even a month after the declaration of the election results. INSIDE All private properties Canada levelling allegations SC upholds validity can’t be taken over by without giving specifics:EAM of UP madrasa law state, rules top court Slams it for allowing political space to extremist forces Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Hemant Soren and Mallikarjun Kharge release the manifesto in Ranchi. ANI INDIA vows 10L jobs, ~15L health cover in J’khand Ranchi, November 5 The INDIA bloc on Tuesday unveiled its manifesto for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, promising 10 lakh jobs for youth and health insurance coverage of up to Rs 15 lakh for the poor. The manifesto includes social justice by enhancing reservation for the STs to 28 per cent, SCs to 12 per cent and OBCs to 27 per cent from 26 per cent, 10 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. “The INDIA bloc will ensure 10 lakh jobs for youth and Rs 15 lakh health cover for the poor,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said while jointly releasing the manifesto with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and RJD’s JP Yadav. Kharge said, “Whenever we talk about guarantees, Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately criticises it... During his speech here, he said there is no reliability of Congress’ guarantees... the party fulfils all its guarantees but Modi’s guarantees never get fulfilled.” The INDIA bloc promised to increase the free monthly ration for the poor to 7 kg from 5 kg and make available gas cylinders at Rs 450. The elections to the 81member Assembly will be held on November 13 and 20, and the counting will take place on November 23. — PTI New Delhi, November 5 Amid the raging debate over redistribution of wealth, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that not all private properties can be termed “material resources of the community” under Article 39(b) of the Constitution and taken over by the state to subserve the “common good”. A nine-judge Constitution Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud said, “Not every resource owned by an individual can be considered a ‘material resource of the community’ merely because it meets the qualifier of ‘material needs’.” Writing the verdict for himself, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Manoj Misra, Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice SC Sharma and Justice AG Masih, the CJI, however, said, “Theoretically, the answer is yes, the phrase may include privately owned resources” even as he sought to emphasise that “this court must not tread into the domain of economic policy, or endorse a particular economic ideology while undertaking constitutional interpretation.” Justice Nagarathna wrote a partially concurring verdict while Justice Dhulia delivered a dissenting judgment. To decide if a particular private resource was a “material resource, the court must determine if its distribution would subserve common good”, the CJI said while pronouncing the verdict. “Whether the resource in question falls within the ambit of Article 39(b) must be context-specific and subject to a non-exhaustive list of factors such as the nature of the resource and its characteristics; the impact of the resource on the well-being of the community; the scarcity of the resource; and the consequences of such a resource being concentrated in the hands of private players,” the CJI said. The majority continued on page 8 New Delhi, November 5 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday accused Canada of giving “political space” to “extremist forces”. This comes after a Hindu temple was attacked by Khalistan supporters in Brampton on Sunday. Separately, on the recent accusations against Indian officials of being involved in the killing of Khalistani Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the minister said Canada was making “allegations without providing specifics”. Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong were part of the IndiaAustralia Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue in Canberra. After the meet, Jaishankar said at a joint press conference, “What happened yesterday at the Hindu temple in Canada was obviously deeply concerning.” The EAM referred to the videos of the violence in Canada and added “political space is being given to EAM S Jaishankar with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong during India-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue in Canberra. ANI CANADIAN COP SUSPENDED FOR TEMPLE PROTEST Ottawa: A Canadian police officer has been suspended for participating in a pro-Khalistan protest outside the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton, according to a media report. On Sunday, protesters carrying Khalistani flags clashed with people at the temple and disrupted a consular event co-organised by the temple authorities and the Indian Consulate. extremist voices there”. He said “India too believes in freedom. We also believe freedom should not be abused.” He added the same has been brought up with the Australian side too. Answering a question, he said, “You should have seen the statement by our official spokesperson and also the expression of concern by our PM yesterday. That should continued on page 8 New Delhi, November 5 The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the validity of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act, 2004, saying a law can’t be struck down on the ground of secularism — a part of basic structure — unless it violates a constitutional provision. The verdict came as a major relief to 12,34,388 students studying in 13,364 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh, who were ordered to be shifted to formal schools by the Allahabad High Court, which had on March 22 declared unconstitutional the 2004 Act. The Act regulates the functioning of madrasas in the state. “The Madrasa Act is within the legislative competence of the state legislature and traceable to Entry 25 of List III (Concurrent List)…The Madrasa Act is consistent with the positive obligation of the state to ensure that students studying in recognised madrasas attain a level of competency which will allow them to effectively participate in society and earn a liv- Bench, however, calls degree provisions unconstitutional RELIEF TO OVER 12 LAKH STUDENTS ■ The verdict came as a major relief to 12,34,388 students studying in 13,364 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh ■ They were earlier ordered to be shifted to formal schools by the Allahabad HC, which had declared the 2004 Act unconstitutional ing,” a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said. The Bench, which also included Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, set aside the high court’s verdict, saying it erred in holding that education provided under the Madrasa Act was violative of the right to education guaranteed to children in the age group of six to 14 years under Article 21A of the Constitution. “Article 21A and the RTE Act have to be read consistently with the right of religious and continued on page 8 edit: boost to madrasas Centre tweaks scheme, limits subsidy on wheat seed to 1 acre for Punjab farmers Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 5 The Centre has tweaked its scheme for giving subsidised wheat seeds to small and marginal farmers of Punjab. Earlier, subsidised seeds were given to farmers for a maximum of five acres. Now, these 68 per cent small and marginal farmers will get subsidised seeds for just one acre. This has raised hopes that the number of beneficiaries getting subsidised wheat seeds in the state will increase as more number of small and marginal farmers (having up to five acres) will get those for use on one acre. However, the cost of wheat cultivation for these farmers will increase as they will have to buy seeds at higher prices from the open market for the remaining one to four acres. The total quantity of wheat seeds to be given on subsidy will remain the same as last DOWN FROM 5 ACRES ■ Earlier, subsidised seeds were given to farmers for a maximum of five acres ■ The number of beneficiaries getting sub- sidised wheat seeds will increase ■ However, wheat cultivation cost will increase as farmers will have to buy seeds from the market ■ The total quantity to be given on subsidy will remain the same as last year year — two lakh quintals. Inquiries made by The Tribune reveal that wheat seeds are available in the open market at Rs 3,000- Rs 4,500 per quintal. Till last year, farmers c m y b who applied for taking the subsidised seeds, got a maximum of two quintals of seeds each and the seed was available at Rs 1,000 per quintal less than its market rate. This scheme is run under National Food Security Scheme and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana with the Centre bearing 60 per cent cost of subsidy and state chipping in the remaining 40 per cent. This year, 35 lakh hectares are expected to be brought under wheat cultivation. For this, 35 lakh quintals of seeds are required. While the amount of subsidised seeds to be distributed is just two lakh quintals, 33 lakh quintals will be sold in the open market. Wheat sowing began in the state last week. According to the state Agriculture Department, sowing on 8.7 per cent area is already complete with maximum farmers having bought the seeds from the open market. Generally, the subsidised seeds are made available to farmers from the continued on page 8