vijayawada l thursday l february 12, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION SC asks Centre to file report on Air India plane crash probe The Supreme Court asked the Centre on Wednesday to file a brief report on the procedural protocol followed so far in the investigation probe by AAIB nearing its end, Govt tells SC Court gives three-week deadline Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that a fact-finding inquiry by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) is currently underway in accordance with international commitments and is likely to be completed in three weeks. The bench was hearing three petitions seeking an independent, court-monitored investigation into the crash ■ ■ Mehta urged a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the three pleas be listed after three weeks “Let us see the result of the AAIB probe and then we will see whether a court of inquiry will be needed or not,” the CJI said and fixed the pleas for hearing after three weeks | P9 June 12, 2025 when Air India flight to London crashed in Ahmedabad CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI press Intake Govt taking steps to stop caste-based discrimination in edu: Minister | P9 All 6 stanzas of Vande Mataram must be sung before National Anthem, says MHA | P9 IAF to recreate Op Sindoor-style precision targeting near Pakistan border | P9 Sunetra Pawar meets Amit Shah amid NCP merger talks | P10 Mamata only chief minister to move SC against govt staff: Bhupendra | P10 superB two super overs decide afghan-sa tie The first tied match of T20 WC needed two overs after stunning display of pulsating comebacks by both teams. In the end, SA win by 4 runs I P13 Today’s matches 11am: Sri Lanka vs Oman (Pallekele), 3pm: Italy vs Nepal (Mumbai), 7pm: India vs Namibia (New Delhi) U n i o n B ud g e t d e b a t e States to get Bharat Mata over `25 lakh has been cr in FY27: FM sold: Rahul P u s h p i ta De y @ New Delhi P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday rejected allegations levelled by several Opposition-ruled states that the Centre was not transferring states’ share from the divisible pool of taxes. The Union finance minister, in her reply to the Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, said that the Centre has transferred the full 41% share of divisible taxes to the states as mandated by the Finance Commission. “The states should check if the entire net proceeds, which form the divisible pool, i.e., removing cess and surcharge from gross tax revenue, are received by them. There is no need to discuss the gross tax revenue,” the minister said. The finance minister said the Centre has allocated `25.44 lakh crore to states in FY27. “This much money will go to the states. This entails an increase of `2.70 lakh crore from FY26,” Sitharaman said. Commenting on the transfer of cess and surcharges, she clarified that these are collected for a purpose and if states can come up with proposals on health, education and roadways, they will get the funds. “Cess and surcharge collected by the Centre are given to the states for development work in various sectors. This is separate from the 41% of funds allocated to the states.” Debunking allegations that the government was not approving credits to the states, the finance minister stated the total credit has grown 13.8% in the current financial year. She pointed out that headline capital expenditure stands at `12.2 lakh crore while the effective capital expenditure, including grants to states, totals `17.1 lakh crore, amounting to 4.4% of the GDP . The FM said the government has envisaged a total expenditure of `53.47 lakh crore for the next financial year, up 7.7% from the current fiscal ending March 31. According to the revised estimate, the budget size for FY26 is `49.64 lakh crore. After being repeatedly blocked from quoting ex-Army Chief General M M Naravane’s unpublished memoir in the Lok Sabha last week, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday mounted a sharp attack on the government over the India-US trade deal framework, accusing the Modi administration of having “sold off the nation” and terming it as a “wholesale surrender”. Participating in the debate on the Union Budget, Rahul said he does not believe that any Indian PM, including Narendra Modi, would agree to such a deal unless there is a “chokehold” on him. “Why has he sold India? Because the US are choking him. They have a grip on his neck.” Rahul asserted that the The govt has trade agreement had un- given up control dermined farmers’ inter- over digital trade ests, destroyed the textile rules, removed sector, and handed India’s data localisation, energy security to the US. allowed free flow Calling it a surrender of of data to the US, limited digital the future of 1.5 billion tax, waived Indians, he said it was source code driven by the need to prodisclosure, and tect the BJP’s financial offered 20-yr tax architecture, which he holidays to big tech firms said is facing scrutiny in the US. “The US will deRahul Gandhi cide who we buy oil from. They will monitor.” He accused the government of opening the door to mechanised American farms, thereby crushing India’s small farmers, and called the move disgraceful, saying that no PM before had done such a thing, nor would any after him. “How can you come to this House and defend this? Are you not ashamed of what you are giving away? Are you not ashamed of selling India? You have sold our mother — Bharat Mata?” he said. The House saw heated exchanges after Rahul referred to Union minister Hardeep Puri and industrialist Anil Ambani in connection with mentions in the Epstein files. HARD TALK 1 Lighting into LoP Rahul Gandhi, the FM said it was the UPA govt that “sold” the interests of farmers to the WTO 2 The FM also raised the 2009 Sharm el-Sheikh jt statement that diluted India’s position on sovereignty and security while dealing with Pakistan 3 Dismissing concerns over AI and data expressed by Rahul, the FM said the govt is incentivising setting up of cloud and data centres in India 4 charges baseless: Puri On concerns expressed by Oppn over food security, the FM said `2.27 lakh cr has been allocated for food subsidy Dismissing Rahul’s allegations as baseless, Union minister Hardeep Puri said, “He has a habit of making baseless allegations and lying.” Puri said he had met Epstein only a few times as part of an official delegation and had exchanged just one email with him. He added that he had limited interactions with Epstein and had no connection whatsoever to the crimes later associated with him Naidu eyes Gujarat Model for AP’s success E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Asserting the need for continuation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for another 15 years, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu described it as a positive development that no differences have emerged within the alliance leadership over the past 20 months. He said that this unity must continue for sustained state development. Chairing a meeting with NDA Legislature Party MLAs and MLCs at the Assembly Committee Hall on Wednesday , Naidu said the alliance is stronger today than during the elections, with increased public support. The same spirit shown before the elections should continue in the future, and the three parties should be in a position to jointly approach people seeking votes. Referring to Gujarat, where the BJP has won five consecutive terms, he said similar success should be achieved here. He advised leaders to build lasting political credibility . The Chief Minister said joint meetings would be conducted district-wise with MLAs, MPs, SPs and Collectors. As part of political governance, the dignity of MLAs would be enhanced. Pending constituency works would be prioritized and completed. “Our development programs are yielding results. We have not fully recovered yet, but we have put systems back on track. MLAs must take ownership of the works done by both the Central and State governments in their constituencies,” Naidu P4 told the leaders.  The reason we are implementing all the schemes announced during the election is that the Central government is providing a lot of support. That is why we have put the state back on track N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister Governor S Abdul Nazeer addressing the joint session during day one of the Assembly session at Velagapudi on Wednesday | Express AP moves beyond revival, set for next growth wave: Governor S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Governor S. Abdul Nazeer said Andhra Pradesh is uniquely positioned to lead India’s next wave of industrial and technological growth, with Amaravati at the heart of this transformation. He emphasised that the State has “moved beyond revival, with welfare, development and governance aligned to future-ready models,” and is now preparing to harness opportunities in quantum computing, renewable energy, green hydrogen and advanced manufacturing. Addressing the joint session of the Legislative Assembly and Council, the Governor recalled the turbulence after bifurcation in 2014 and governance setbacks post2019, noting that the people’s mandate in 2024 restored confidence in the leadership of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. “Disenchanted by past experiences, the people of Andhra Pradesh reposed their faith once again in my government in 2024, granting an unprecedented mandate to rebuild the State,” he observed. In his nearly one-hour-long speech, Nazeer described the Super Six welfare guarantees as a “super-hit,” with nearly `33,000 crore spent annually . He cited NTR Bharosa pensions for 63.12 lakh beneficiaries, Thalliki Vandanam support for 66 lakh students, free bus travel under Sthree Shakti, Annadata Sukhibhava aid to 46.86 lakh farmers and Deepam 2.0 LPG support for 1.08 crore households. “Welfare is not merely support for survival, but a foundation for bridging the gap be- My government has embarked on a clear and deliberate journey from resurgence to ascendance, guided by the resolve to rebuild, renew and rise S Abdul Nazeer, Governor of Andhra Pradesh tween haves and have-nots,” he said. The Governor underscored a zero-poverty approach through the Family Benefit Management System and the innovative P4 (PublicPrivate-People Partnership), which has mobilised over one lakh “Margadarsis” to support 10.3 lakh families. Anna Canteens, housing and nutrition programmes continue to reinforce social security . He also stressed equity for Scheduled Castes, Tribals, Back- All set for the big day Election officials check ballot boxes and voting materials after collecting them ahead of polls, in Dhaka, on Wednesday | AP Hopes, apprehensions as B’desh goes to polls B angladesh heads to the polls alliance with Jamaat. The BNP, a on Thursday under an unprec- seasoned force with past stints in edented political landscape, fol- power, was expected to dominate in lowing the sudden exit of the absence of the Awami League. former prime minister Sheikh However, Jamaat claims it has built Hasina after a mass upsurge a strong base and is posiin 2024. The election is set to tioning itself as a formidabe a unique experience for ble challenger. voters, many of whom will With the Awami League cast their ballots for the first out, many believed BNP time. Alongside electing would secure a comfortable members of parliament, majority. But Jamaat’s recitizens will also vote in a newed presence has comreferendum on constitu- Bayezid Milky plicated the electoral arithtional reforms. Senior journalist based metic, raising the prospect The main contest is beof a close fight. in Dhaka tween the Bangladesh NaThe NCP despite leading , tionalist Party (BNP) and the anti-Hasina drive, has the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. struggled to maintain its momentum. The new National Citizen Party It is contesting just 30 out of 300 par(NCP), which emerged from the liamentary seats under its alliance mass movement against Hasina, with Jamaat. In all, around 50 parties joined the race as part of an 11-party are in the contest. ward Classes and minorities, with schemes like Adarana-3 and protection of Waqf properties. Education and health were presented as twin pillars of advancement. Andhra Pradesh is positioning itself as a hub for quantum computing and advanced learning, while vocational training is being modernised with AR-VR technologies. On healthcare, the Sanjeevani programme is delivering lastmile telemedicine, supported by Gates Foundation initiatives in maternal and child health. A Universal Health Coverage scheme promises `2.5 lakh insurance per individual, alongside cashless care up to `25 lakh per BPL family. “Health, welfare and development are being pursued as interconnected pillars,” the Governor said. Economic revival is being driven by infrastructure and industrialisation, with Amaravati emerging as the flagship of technology adoption. Nazeer reaffirmed completion of the Polavaram Project by June 2027, regional development anchored in Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati and the launch of Amaravati Quantum Valley, which he said will place AP among select global locations for quanP4 tum computing systems.  TTD Ghee scandal Govt suspends official, more action expected E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i e @ Tirupati The impact of the Supreme Courtappointed CBI-led Joint Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the Srivari Laddu Ghee Adulteration case continues to send shockwaves through the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), with several officials now facing disciplinary and leg al actions. In a significant development, J Venkatrayudu, Additional Superintendent of Police and Investigation Officer of the SIT, has written a formal letter to the Chief Secretary of the Government of AP . In his communication, he sought initiation of suitable action against certain senior TTD officers for their alleged involvement in irregularities related to procurement and warehouse operations. The SIT report reportedly points to serious lapses in the implementation of tender conditions, failures in oversight and non-compliance with established procurement P4 norms.