11022026-TTC-01.qxd 2/11/2026 12:38 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 41 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 BUDGET A SQUANDERED OPPORTUNITY, SAYS THAROOR NATION /thetribunechd OMAR: INDIA-US TRADE DEAL A BLOW TO HORTICULTURE J&K US LAWMAKER MOVES BILL TO END H1B VISA PROGRAMME WORLD FRENCH PREZ MACRON TO VISIT INDIA FROM FEB 17 BACK PAGE wednesday | 11 february 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Partisan conduct: Oppn submits notice to move no-trust motion against Speaker Flagged AI content must go within 3 hrs: Govt tightens IT rules Carries signatures of 118 MPs| Birla steps away from House duties till final outcome Rinku Behera Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 10 The Congress and its allies in the INDIA bloc on Tuesday gave notice to move a motion for the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of “blatantly partisan” conduct and repeated denial of speaking opportunities in the House to members, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The notice under Article 94(c) of the Constitution was submitted to Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh by Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed. It carries the signatures of 118 MPs from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, Left parties, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP The TMC has not . signed the notice, nor has Rahul, since he is at the centre of one of the four cases the Opposition has made against Birla. Lok Sabha secretariat sources said the discussion on the motion was likely to take place on March 9, the first day of the second part of the Bud- BIRLA 4TH SPEAKER TO FACE REMOVAL MOTION ■ 1954 (G V MAVALANKAR): Country’s first LS Speaker, GV Mavalankar, faced a removal motion, moved by a Socialist Party MP, alleging partisan conduct. It was not carried. ■ 1966 (SARDAR HUKUM SINGH): The removal motion failed as it did not secure the minimum support of 50 MPs Footage released by the Centre shows Opposition women MPs protesting near PM Modi’s seat in the LS. PTI GOVT RELEASES FOOTAGE OF MPs BLOCKING PM SEAT The Centre has released the footage of Opposition women MPs carrying banners, crossing over to the treasury side and blocking the path get session. Birla will not preside over Lok Sabha proceedings until the notice for his removal is disposed of. Top sources said he had decided to step aside from House work on moral grounds. “The Speaker has directed to PM Narendra Modi’s seat on February 4. The PM's reply had to be cancelled after the Speaker advised him not to come to the House. the Lok Sabha secretary general to carefully examine the notice and take appropriate action,” a source said. Finalised at a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday, the notice accuses the Speaker of consistently favouring the treasury benches and undermining parliamentary conventions. The notice lists instances of alleged bias. It says that on February 2, Rahul was not ■ 1987 (BALRAM JAKHAR): CPI(M) MP Somnath Chatterjee moved a removal motion against Speaker Balram Jakhar. The House rejected it after consideration. allowed to complete his speech on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, adding that such denial of opportunity “is not an isolated instance”. It further alleges that on February 3, eight Opposition continued on page 10 Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 10 The Centre on Tuesday issued amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, requiring digital platforms to clearly label AI-generated content, including deepfake videos, synthetic material and altered visuals. According to the Gazette notification dated February 10, social media platforms must now remove flagged AI-generated, deepfake or synthetic content within three hours of receiving a complaint from a competent authority or by court order. The new regulation, notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), will come into effect from February 20. Under the revised rules, the timeframe for resolving grievances has been shortened from 15 days to 7 days. For complaints requiring urgent action, intermediaries must respond within 36 hours, reduced from the earlier 72 hours. Additionally, platforms are required to act on specified content removal com- Grievance redressal timeline cut to 7 days; urgent cases within 36 hours plaints within 2 hours, compared to the previous 24-hour window. The notification states: “A significant social media intermediary which enables displaying, uploading or publishing any information on its computer resource shall, prior to such display, uploading or publication, require users to declare whether such information is synthetically generated information.” Where technically possible, such content must also carry permanent metadata or provenance tools, including a unique identifier, to help identify the computer resource used to create or modify it. Intermediaries are barred from allowing these labels or metadata to be removed, hidden or altered. The notification defines continued on page 10 LeftleadersmoveSC against Assam CM NEW DELHI: Communist leaders have moved the Supreme Court seeking action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over a controversial viral video allegedly showing him firing with a rifle at members of a particular community. A Bench led by CJI Surya Kant on Tuesday agreed to consider listing it for hearing. INSIDE Haryana fugitive deported from US NEW DELHI: A fugitive wanted by the Haryana Police in a murder case was deported from the US on Tuesday in an operation coordinated by the CBI in collaboration with the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs, officials said. A red notice was published against Sombir Motta on February 11, 2025 — TNS EDissuessummons to Anil Ambani, wife NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday issued fresh summons to Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani to appear for questioning in a money laundering case next week, officials said. Tina was asked to depose by the federal agency here on Monday but she skipped appearance. — PTI Book isn’t published: Ex-Army India to open more agri than stated in deal, says US Chief Naravane echoes Penguin White House factsheet includes ‘certain pulses’ that didn’t find mention in joint statement Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service Shekhar Singh New Delhi, February 10 Former Army Chief MM Naravane on Tuesday shared on X a statement issued by the publisher of his memoir Four Stars of Destiny that says no copies of the book “in print or digital form have been published, distributed, sold” or otherwise made available to the public. “This is the status of the book,” Naravane wrote. The former Army Chief shared on the social media platform the statement that was issued on X by Penguin India on Monday night. Earlier in the day, the Congress alleged inconsistencies in the claims made by publisher Penguin Random House India regarding the publication status of Naravane’s memoir Four Stars of Destiny, even as the Delhi Police registered an FIR to probe the alleged circulation of an unpublished version of the book. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, while talking to mediapersons outside Parliament, said the situation presented two FILE Tribune News Service RAHUL REBUTS PUBLISHER’S CLAIM Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi cited a Dec 2023 post by former Army Chief MM Naravane informing people that his book is “available now”, to rebut publisher Penguin Random House India’s statement that the book hasn’t been published. conflicting claims, one from the publisher stating the book had not been published and another suggesting the book had been made available earlier through preorder listings. Rahul said he found it difficult to believe that the former Army Chief would misrepresent facts and suggested that portions of the memoir might contain material inconvenient for the government, which could explain the dispute. He said the public must decide which version was credible. Responding to a question, Rahul referred to a banner displayed at the briefing and said the broader issue needed to be viewed in a wider political context. He said the central point was reflected in the “Narender Surrendered?” message displayed behind him, adding that the trade agreement with the US, the controversy surrounding the memoir and other related developments should be seen together to understand the overall political picture. He said the developments linked to Gen Naravane and other international issues being discussed were part of the same broader narrative that needed careful public scrutiny. Congress leader Pawan Khera said the publisher appeared to be “under pressure”. Referring to an earlier social media post by Gen Naravane containing a pre-order link, that was shared by the publisher continued on page 10 New Delhi, February 10 The latest White House factsheet on the interim trade deal has flagged a broader opening of India’s agricultural market to American products than what was outlined in the India-US joint statement issued on February 6, including references to items that were either absent or more narrowly defined earlier. According to the US factsheet document dated February 9, India has “agreed to eliminate or reduce tariff on all US industrial goods and a wide range of food and agricultural products”, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine and spirits. The inclusion of “certain pulses” marks a notable departure from the joint statement, which made no mention of pulses at all. Further, while the joint statement had clearly specified that red sorghum imports from the US would INDIA-US TRADE DEAL be for animal feed, this qualification has disappeared from the factsheet. The expanded agricultural language in the US document is likely to draw attention in New Delhi, given the political Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 10 Even as the recently launched ‘Border 2’ is making waves across the country, a controversy linked to the Bollywood film’s 1997 prequel ‘Border’, based on the epic Battle of Longewala, refuses to die down. Two veterans who fought the 1971 India-Pakistan war say the film “wrongly portrayed them as martyrs”. They have written to top government functionaries, flagging “factual inconsistencies” in ‘Border’ and seeking “due recognition for their heroics”. “The film showed all of us as having been martyred. The reality is different,” says Naik Jagdev Singh, a resident of Punjab’s Ferozepur who fought at Longewala, during a visit to The Tribune office on Tuesday. “Gallantry awardees are honoured on the Republic Day and other important occasions, but no one ever bothered to ascertain the whereabouts or wellbeing of those shown martyred,” he complains. Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 10 A 62-year-old Hindu rice trader was hacked to death inside his shop in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district on Monday night, just three days before the country goes to the polls, local media reports stated on Tuesday. The incident raises fresh concerns over the security and safety of minority communities in the country. The victim has been identified as Susen Chandra Naik Jagdev Singh (left) and Havildar Mukhtiar Singh. Jagdev was 19 when he joined the Army in 1971 and went to war with 23 Punjab after just four-and-a-half- Executive Order last Friday formally withdrawing the additional tariff. It also stated that in view of India’s willingness to align with the US on systemic trade imbalances and shared national security challenges, Washington would lower the reciprocal tariff on India from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. The tariff rollback and market-access commitments form part of a framework for an interim agreement on reciprocal trade, reached continued on page 10 Hindu man hacked to death in B’desh Delhi Govt rejects ’93 Fresh killing comes days blast convict Bhullar’s ahead of General Election plea for early release Sarkar, owner of Bhai Bhai Enterprise at the Bogar Bazar intersection in Trishal upazila. Local police said unidentified assailants entered his shop around 11 pm, attacked him with a sharp weapon and closed the shutters before fleeing the scene. Family members found the victim covered in blood the next morning and rushed him to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead. Trishal police station chief Muhammad Firoz Hossain said an investigation had been launched and the body had been sent for a postmortem examination. No arrests had been made so far. Sarkar’s son, Sujan Sarkar, told local media that the family had been in the rice business for many years and there were no known disputes with anyone. He alleged that the attackers continued on page 10 2 Longewala heroes take on ‘Border’ for killing them on screen Vijay Mohan & Jupinderjit Singh sensitivity of farm imports and India’s traditionally high tariff protection to the sector. Separately, the factsheet revealed that it was during a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week that Washington agreed to remove the additional 25 per cent tariff imposed on imports from India. The move was taken in recognition of New Delhi’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian oil. The document said Trump subsequently signed an month basic training. Now 74, he left the Army after 17 years of service due to family reasons and later worked with a bank. c m y b “We want the true story of the battle to be told as it actually unfolded so that future generations are inspired by the gallantry of the soldiers. Because of the incorrect narrative in the film, people often make fun that we are dead and forgotten…. We have written to the Governors of Rajasthan and Punjab and other senior officers,” he says. Havildar Mukhtiar Singh (81) from Kurali, who was then 26 with about eight years of service, says Alpha-Company of 23 Punjab manning the Longewala post with less than 100 troops had suffered only three casualties and held back a heavy enemy assault backed by tanks, in which the Air Force played a critical role. Only about 20-odd personnel who had participated in the battle are alive. “We were promised five acres of land by the Punjab Government and one muraba by Rajasthan, which we haven’t received to date…. We fought for the country and not for any land. But if the government had promised something, they should continued on page 10 Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 10 The Delhi Government has rejected the plea for the premature release of 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, following a meeting of the Sentence Review Board (SRB) held in December last year. Officials said the decision was formally communicated this month. According to a letter issued to the Director General of Prisons, Tihar, on February 5, the SRB considered 51 cases for premature release in its meeting on December 23, 2025. Of these, 24 were rejected, including Bhullar’s. Bhullar has been in prison for over three decades for his role in the 1993 car bomb blast in Delhi that killed nine persons and injured several others. The attack targeted then Indian Youth Congress president MS Bitta, who was among those injured. He was convicted by a designated TADA court on August 25, 2001. His death sentence was later commuted to life Has spent over 30 years in jail; SC commuted his death sentence in 2014 Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar imprisonment by the Supreme Court in March 2014, citing an eight-year delay in the disposal of his mercy petition. The issue of Bhullar’s release resurfaced in recent months after Rajya Sabha MP Dr Vikramjit Singh Sahney urged the Delhi Government to convene the SRB and reconsider the case. Writing to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ahead of Guru Nanak Dev’s Gurpurb on November 5, Sahney noted that continued on page 10