23112024-TTB-03.qxd 11/23/2024 12:09 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 324 | 22 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI HYPERSONIC MISSILE STRIKE ON UKRAINE WARNING TO WEST: RUSSIA WORLD /thetribunechd COURT-MARTIAL THOSE BEHIND KISHTWAR ‘TORTURE’, SAYS CM J&K ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT: INDIA, JAPAN DISCUSS ALIENATION, SISTERHOOD RECIPROCAL SUPPLY PACT & SHINING LIGHT REVIEW FOR MILITARY BACK PAGE saturday | 23 november 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com White House says India-US ties strong, will navigate Adani crisis 10 Naxals killed in Sukma encounter SUKMA: Ten Naxalites, three of them women, were gunned down in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Friday, a police official said. The gunfight broke out in a forest near Bhandarpadar village under Bhejji police station where security personnel were out on an antiNaxalite operation. INSIDE Asserts relationship stands anchored in cooperation on global issues Washington, November 22 Asserting that the relationship between India and the US is built on a strong foundation, the White House has expressed confidence that it can navigate the ongoing crisis surrounding bribery charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. At her daily news conference, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday that the administration was aware of the charges against Adani. Adani has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,238 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts. “Obviously we are aware of these allegations, and I would have to refer you to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the DOJ (Department of Justice) about the specifics of those allegations against the Adani Group,” she said. “What I will say is on the US-India relationship, we believe it stands on an extremely strong foundation anchored in ties between our J&K Youth Congress activists protest in Jammu on Friday against Adani Group head Gautam Adani over corruption allegations. ANI ADANI GROUP COULD STRUGGLE FOR FUNDING ■ Gautam Adani’s conglomerate could find it harder to get funding following a US arrest warrant for the billionaire founder. ■ Some global banks are consid- ering temporarily halting fresh credit to the Adani Group after the US indictment but will be maintaining existing loans, said sources. STOCK LOSS MOUNTS TO $27.9 BN ■ Bonds issued by the Adani Group dropped sharply for the sec- ond day on Friday and although the shares of six Adani firms clawed back some of Thursday’s losses, the overall market value of all 10 stocks has dropped by $27.9 billion over two sessions. ■ Adani Green Energy, which is at the centre of the US allegations of kickbacks, has lost nearly $7 billion of its value. people and cooperation across a full range of global issues,” Jean-Pierre said. “What we believe and are confident about is we will continue to navigate this issue as 17 WICKETS IN A DAY we have with other issues that may have come up. And so the specifics of this, this is something that the SEC and DOJ can be spoken to, but again, we believe that... this relationship between India and the US has been built on a strong foundation,” the Press Secretary added. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York had earlier unsealed criminal charges against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and other executives linking them to an alleged bribery scheme. The Adani Group strongly refuted bribery allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of the Adani Green, terming them baseless. Adani Group spokesperson, in an official statement, said all legal recourse would be taken. “As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, ‘The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.’ All possible legal recourse will be sought,” the statement said. — Agencies 90 CAPF companies rushed to Manipur Preparations underway in Nagpur on Friday for counting of votes for the Maharashtra Assembly elections. PTI Maha, Jharkhand counting today, both NDA, INDIA hopeful of win Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service NewDelhi, November 22 The counting of votes for elections to the Assemblies of Maharashtra and Jharkhand, besides the Lok Sabha seats of Wayanad and Nanded and 48 Assembly seats in 15 states, including Uttar Pradesh (9) and Punjab (4), will be held on Saturday, with the outcomes set to determine the future course of national politics. Stakes are high on both sides of the political fence with the BJP-led NDA and Congress-headed INDIA bloc Cong, SP flag fraud worries, business as usual for BJP pitted against each other in most electoral battles. While the NDA is seeking to retain Maharashtra and wrest Jharkhand from the ruling JMM-led coalition, the INDIA bloc hopes to defend its government in Jharkhand and convert Maharashtra’s antiincumbency against the BJPShiv Sena-NCP’s Mahayuti dispensation into votes. For the INDIA bloc, Maharashtra and Jharkhand wins are essential to break the winning momentum the BJP gained after the historic hattrick in Haryana recently. On the other hand, a loss would mean losing the moral edge the INDIA bloc claimed over PM Narendra Modi by restricting the BJP below the majority mark in the Lok Sabha elections. For the BJP a victory would , further strengthen the position of the PM, his lieutenant Amit Shah and RSS combine, the three forces that buried the hatchet to put their act together first in Haryana and then in continued on page 6 NEW DELHI: An additional 90 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed in Manipur, said security adviser to the state government Kuldiep Singh. He shared the information with the media after holding a high-level meeting with Army and paramilitary personnel on Friday. INSIDE PM security lapse: SC bins Punjab plea NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday turned down the Punjab Government’s petition seeking statements of witnesses who have deposed before former apex court judge Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state in January 2022. INSIDE Arora replaces Mann as Punjab AAP chief; Kalsi to be working president Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service A record 17 wickets fell on Day 1 of the opening Border Gavaskar Trophy Test between India and Australia in Perth. After India was bowled out for 150, skipper Jasprit Bumrah’s 4/17 in 10 overs left Australia scurrying for cover at 67 for 7, helping the visiting team make a strong comeback. SPORT ‘Inaccurate’: Trudeau govt on ‘linking’ Modi, Jaishankar to Canada violence Ottawa, November 22 The Canadian Government has dismissed a media report linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to criminal activities in Canada, including the alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, terming it as “speculative and inaccurate”. The denial by Nathalie G MEA has already rubbished it as ‘smear campaign’ Drouin, National Security and Intelligence Adviser to the Canadian Prime Minister, on Thursday came a day after India strongly trashed the report as “smear campaign”. Quoting an unnamed senior national security official, The Globe and Mail newspaper on Tuesday reported that Canadian security agencies believed Prime Minister Modi knew about the killing of Nijjar and other violent plots. The official said the Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah. Also in the loop, the official said, were Doval and Jaishankar. continued on page 6 SC relief to HP MLAs in CPS case, stays disqualification proceedings Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 22 In a major reprieve to the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed disqualification proceedings against six party MLAs earlier appointed as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries. The SC stayed the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s order which declared as illegal and unconstitutional the protection from disqualification granted ONLY PART OF HC ORDER STAYED The top court said it was not staying the entire November 13 judgment of the high court, but only the part that pertained to protection from disqualification of six MLAs who were appointed as CPSes to MLAs appointed as CPSes under a state law and paved the way for their disqualification for holding the office of profit. After the SC order, the six MLAs in question will be protected from disqualification, but will not stay as CPSes. The order came from the Bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, who said they were not staying the entire November 13 judgment of the high court, but only paragraph 50 of the order that pertained to protection from disqualification of the said MLAs. The SC, however, said the state government could not make any such appointments. continued on page 6 Chandigarh, November 22 The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab on Friday named senior leader Aman Arora as the new president of its state unit. Arora, who is state’s New and Renewable Energy Minister, replaced CM Bhagwant Mann. The announcement was made by Mann himself. The party also appointed Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi as its state working president. Arora’s elevation as the state party chief was in the works for quite some time. The decision was taken at a meeting of the AAP Parliamentary Affairs Committee in Delhi on Thursday. A prominent Hindu leader, Arora’s appointment as the state chief is being seen as an attempt by AAP to woo Hindu and urban voters ahead of elections to the urban civic bodies in December. Since the Cabinet already has six Dalit ministers and a Jat Sikh as CM, party strategists were keen on bringing a Hindu face to the fore. Bhagwant Mann with Aman Arora. BID TO WOO HINDU, URBAN VOTERS ■ A Hindu leader, Arora’s ele- vation is being seen as an attempt by AAP to woo Hindu and urban voters ■ The first big challenge for both Arora and Kalsi will be the elections to civic bodies in December Kalsi, the young MLA from Batala, had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha poll on party ticket earlier this year. His appointment as working president is being seen as the party’s attempt to promoting youth in leadership roles and maintaining regional balance continued on page 6 Protesting farmers clash with police personnel at Dunewala village of Bathinda on Friday. Several cops, farmers injured in Bathinda clash over land relief Sukhmeet Bhasin Tribune News Service Bathinda, November 22 More than 10 police personnel and a number of farmers were injured in a clash over “inadequate” land compensation for the Amritsar-Jamnagar Expressway under the Bharatmala project at Shergarh here today. Officials of the district administration accompanied by the police had taken pos- session of an 8-km stretch at Dunewala, Shergarh and Bhagwangarh villages in the district yesterday. Dissatisfied over the compensation offered, farmers under the banner of the BKU-Ekta Ugrahan gave a call for taking back the possession at Dunewala village. Heavy police deployment was made to prevent the farmers from marching towards the site. Today, irate farmers broke through the barricading but were stopped near the village. The officials offered to hold talks but the farmers insisted on going to the site, prompting the police to use mild force. The farmers allegedly attacked the police with stone sand flagsticks, forcing the cops to fire tear gas shells. “We had given a call to the farmers from across the state to reach continued on page 6 Chandigarh kicks off privatisation of power dept Dushyant Singh Pundir Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 22 The UT Administration has set the ball rolling for privatisation of the Electricity Department. After getting approval from Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, the administration today issued a letter of lntent (LoI) to Kolkata-based Eminent Electricity Distribution Limited (EEDL), a subsidiary of the RP Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG) Group. The LoI is a document signifying a preliminary com- UT issues letter of intent to Kolkata-based Goenka Group firm WHAT IS LoI TRUST SET UP A letter of intent (LoI) is a document signifying a preliminary commitment by one party to do business with another. It outlines the key terms of a prospective deal. To safeguard the interests of the employees, the Chandigarh Electricity Employees’ Master Trust has been set up. It will deal with terminal liabilities of staff being transferred to a new company. mitment by one party to do business with another. It outlines the key terms of a prospective deal. On November 7, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had paved the way for pri- Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b vatisation of the UT Electricity Department after dismissing the UT Powermen Union’s petition, which was filed on December 1, 2020. As part of major structural reforms, the privatisation of power distribution utilities was envisaged under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan launched by the Centre in May 2020. Pursuant to this, the process was initiated in Chandigarh and the EEDL was selected as the successful bidder. After the approval of the Cabinet, the Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL) was formed. To safeguard the interests of the employees, who are proposed to be transferred to the CPDL, the Chandigarh Electricity Employees’ Master Trust has been incorporated under the Indian Trust Act, 1882. The trust will deal with all terminal liabilities of the transferred employees and an amount of Rs 263 crore will be continued on page 6