THURSDAY 20 MARCH, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard ZELENSKYY UKRAINE TRUCE ON TRACK, SAYS TRUMP President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke for about an hour on Wednesday, a day after he spoke with Vladimir Putin. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00 JOY ALL AROUND AS SUNITA’S BACK HOME D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded on the International Space Station for nine months after their spacecraft developed serious technical glitches, finally returned to Earth in the wee hours on Wednesday . The SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship carrying the two made a successful splashdown off the Florida coast on Tuesday at 5:57 pm (local time). Williams (59), an IndianAmerican with roots in Gujarat, and Wilmore (62) had set off for the ISS onboard a Boeing Starliner on June 5, 2024 for an eight-day mission. However, the spacecraft encountered technical problems, compromising its ability to bring the astronauts back safely . As the news of their safe retur n spread, celebrations erupted in Williams’ ancestral village Jhulasan in Gujarat’s Mehsana district. Residents gathered at the village temple on Wednesday morning to watch the live broadcast. The moment the SpaceX capsule splashed down off the Florida coast, the villagers burst crackers, danced, and chanted Har Har Mahadeva in sheer joy An . akhand jyot (eternal flame) had been burning at the village temple since she left for space over nine months ago. Sunita Williams’ cousin Navin Pandya shared that a grand procession is planned in her honour. “We are eagerly waiting for Sunita to visit Jhulasan,” Pandya said, adding that the villagers will extend a war m invitation for her homecoming.  PAGES 12 286 DAYS THE TWO NASA ASTRONAUTS WERE STRANDED IN SPACE FOR NINE MONTHS Physical challenges Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will face some physical challenges due to their prolonged spaceflight, including muscle and bone loss. They will need to adjust to the Earth’s gravitational force before walking again NASA astronaut Sunita Williams being helped out of SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after splashing down off the coast of Florida on Wednesday | KEEGAN BARBER/NASA VIA AP/PTI Punjab police evict AAP funds ‘future’ MCD protesting farmers office with `3L pay hike Leaders Dallewal and Pandher detained in Mohali; cops clear Khanauri & Shambhu, raze stages, pull down tents Protest began on Feb 13, ’24 The protesting farmers had been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year when their march to Delhi was thwarted by security forces Important for growth: AAP govt Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the step was necessitated for the economic growth of the state. ``It is important that we fight against unemployment too,’’ he added Oppn raps police action Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu condemned the crackdown. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the AAP govt succumbed to pressure from the Centre and took action against the farmers H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh IN a dramatic operation, the Punjab Police on Wednesday evicted all protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border with Haryana shortly after detaining their leadership in Mohali. The drama began in the evening when Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non Political) leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal entered Mohali enroute to Khanauri following another inconclusive round of talks with the Centre at Chandigarh. The Punjab Police detained them when they reached the Jagatpura area of Mohali. Dallewal has been on a hunger strike since November last year. Dallewal was taken into custody while inside his ambulance, while others were detained along with their vehicles after some resistance. Pandher was detained at the Zirakpur barrier as he attempted to flee. Fourteen farmer leaders and others accompanying the two were also detained. Pandher has been taken to the Bahadurgarh Fort Commando Police Training Centre in Patiala. It has been transformed into a makeshift detention centre, as a majority of farmer leaders and protesting farm women, except Dallewal, are being lodged there. After detaining the leaders, the police force led by senior officers reached both border points and evicted the farmers there. They were first request- GRAFT JAIN BOOKED IN `571 CR CCTV PROJECT CASE ed to clear the area and sit in vehicles arranged by the police. At Khanauri, a little force was used for eviction. Then, JCBs were deployed to pull down the makeshift stage and other structures, including tents. The tractor-trolleys parked by farmers were taken away The clear. ing operation is expected to last through the night. Around 300 farmers were detained at Khanauri and Shambhu during the operations. Internet service was suspended in many areas around the Shambhu border amid heavy police deployment in the nearby villages. The decision to take action was reportedly made on Tuesday night, following a meeting between top AAP functionaries and industrialists. The industrialists said that they were incurring significant cost mark-ups because of the protests. Deputy Inspector of Police (Patiala Range) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, who was at the Khanauri border and Senior Superintendent of Police of Patiala, Nanak Singh, who was at Shambhu, said that the farmers were requested to cooperate in clearing the roads. “Those who were willing to leave for their native places were sent away The police are . clearing the roads and dismantling the makeshift structures,’’ said Singh. The officers said thet are in touch with their Haryana counterparts to clear the blockades on their side so as to open the roads for unhindered traffic movement. P8 ernment had created such funds to make money through “illegal” ways. THE BJP bristled with indignation at the On the transfer, Singh said, “They first chaotic MCD special session on Wednes- deposited `500 crore each in discretionday, when AAP motions to hike the ex- ary and road maintenance funds to make pense limit of the office of the Leader of money through the back door. Now, when Opposition (LoP) by `3 lakh and transfer they are losing, they announce that they money from two funds were approved. will divert the money to meet other exThe opposition did not even demand penses. After coming to power, the BJP the increase, the BJP complained. Claim- will form a committee and recommend ing the AAP would not be winning the enquiry against such decisions.” The twin decisions caused an uproar in next mayorship, the BJP wondered why the House, with heated exchanges between it still went ahead with the proposal. the AAP, BJP, and the Congress The BJP’s accusation was that the AAP was aware it Fund transfer councillors. The BJP insisted would hold the LoP’s office if it move irks BJP that the AAP could not pass motions because it was in the mifailed to win the next mayoral election and made available The AAP decision nority; the latter said that they to transfer `500 had the majority . enough funds in anticipation crore from The House witnessed chaos of such an eventuality . the mayor’s LoP Raja Iqbal Singh said: soon after the session comdiscretionary “They increased expenditure for menced. The concluding Budgthe LoP office as they are aware expenses fund and et speech of LoH Mukesh Goel `300 crore from of sitting in opposition starting was disrupted repeatedly by improvement of this April. What was the reason slogan-shouting opposition roads fund have for revising the expense when councillors. The BJP members met with the the current opposition party even climbed the tables and strong BJP protest. tore copies of the Budget. The made no such demand?” The special session, called AAP members claimed the BJP for the Leader of the House (LoH) to fi- wanted to create a constitutional crisis. nalise the MCD’s Budget, plunged into Amid the ruckus, the mayor approved the chaos after the AAP motion. finalisation of the Budget without Goel Another decision that irked the BJP reading it and concluded the session. councillors was the transfer of `500 crore Goel later alleged that the BJP wanted from the mayor’s discretionary expenses to derail the civic agency’s development. fund and `300 crore from the improve- He said the AAP reduced the burden of ment of roads fund to regularise daily MCD from `16,000 crore to `14,000 crore wagers and contractual employees. in two years and ensured that employees’ The AAP created the funds last year, salaries were paid on time. Besides this, but the money transfer drew sharp criti- it made a budgetary provision of nearly cism from the opposition. The BJP lead- `1,000 crore for the next financial year for ers claimed that the previous AAP gov- the regularisation of 12,000 employees. A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi The ACB has lodged a case against ex-PWD minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain over alleged corruption in a `571-crore CCTV project. | P3 Fadnavis and RSS try to tamp down Maha unrest S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai TWO days after communal riots in Nagpur, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis asked his party’s ministers to restrain from making unwanted comments that would disturb harmony Contro. versial minister Nitesh Rane, too, was asked to tone down his rhetoric, sources said. In Bengaluru, RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambedkar said the Aurangzeb tomb controversy is not relevant today, adding the Sangh does not support any kind of violence. On Monday, 35 cops, including three deputy commissioners of police, and five civilians were injured in communal riots in Nagpur. Opposition leaders have welcomed Fadnavis stand. “Nitesh Rane has had tacit support from the leadership, so he has been making provocative statements. No action was taken against him. It is time action is taken against such ministers,” said Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. EXPRESS READ Kanpur Ordnance Factory staff held for espionage UP ATS on Wednesday nabbed an employee of Kanpur Ordnance Factory for allegedly sharing classified info with a Pakistani intelligence operative through social media. Kumar Vikas was allegedly in constant touch with a Pakistani agent who used the dummy name ‘Neha Sharma’. Notice against 7 for playing Holi in hosp ICU The SCB medical college and hospital management in Cuttack has disengaged three outsourcing employees and issued showcause notice to seven nursing staff for celebrating Holi inside the trauma ICU of the premier healthcare centre on Saturday. P5 Utter chaos and ruckus marred the MCD House proceedings on Wednesday | PARVEEN NEGI MAHILA SAMRIDHI YOJANA Women having more than 3 kids may not get monthly support A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi THE BJP government in Delhi is finalising guidelines with strict conditions for implementing the Mahila Samridhi Yojana scheme. Top sources said the benefits may be limited to one woman from a family regardless of how many women figure in a family’s BPL card. Women with more than three children may be excluded from the beneficiary list, the sources said, adding even women with three children would not get the benefits if the latter are unvaccinated. The scheme will prioritise BPL cardholder women aged between 21 and 60. Sources explained that if more than one woman’s name is on a BPL card, then only the oldest woman, as per the age mentioned in the BPL card, will benefit from the scheme. However, the facility will not cover the oldest woman if she gets similar assistance from oth- Artificial rain er welfare schemes, such as widtrials soon ow and old-age pensions. In its election manifesto, the The Rekha Gupta-led BJP assured several freebies, Delhi government plans including the Mahila Samriddhi to conduct artificial rain Yojana, under which women trials, a move hinging were promised a monthly on the success of water allowance of `2,500, the money sample tests, alongside going directly into the benefici- anti-pollution projects to target hotspots across aries’ accounts. The party formally announced Delhi-NCR, according to the scheme’s launch on Wom- Environment Minister en’s Day The Delhi cabinet ap- Manjinder Singh Sirsa. . proved an early allocation of `5,100 crore to assist eligible women financially . The scheme is open to women living in Delhi for the last five years with an annual family income below `3 lakh and those not required to pay income tax. The government has estimated that nearly 20-25 lakh women under the BPL category will benefit from this initiative. HP buses vandalised in Punjab over Bhindranwale’s photo H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh A row that broke out in Manali over the display of flags with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s photo on the bikes of some tourists from Punjab has snowballed into a major controversy, hitting the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus services. HRTC buses have been targeted in several places across Punjab in the last two days. Some youth reportedly waylaid the buses and pasted photos of Bhindranwale on them. In view of the simmering tensions, the HRTC has suspended 10 routes to Punjab. Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday said he had raised the issue with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, who said strict action would be taken against the miscreants. DGP-level officers will discuss the matter and take the necessary steps. While discussing the matter in the House, Himachal Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds the transport portfolio, said, “The state is in touch with the Punjab government. The state govern- ment has deployed officials at all important bus stands in Punjab.” He took a serious note of Tuesday night’s incident in which an HRTC bus was waylaid on the Kharar flyover by the occupants of a car that had no number plate. “An FIR has been lodged, and the SSP of SAS Nagar has said that security will be provided to our buses,” he said. The driver said the bus was en route from Chandigarh to Hamirpur when the incident occurred. As the bus was crossing the Kharar flyover, a group of people waylaid it and smashed the windows with sticks. Jathedar caution Officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, has asked Sikh youths to avoid travelling alone to HP.