TIRUNELVELI l saturday l february 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION accept dagarvani tradition’s inputs to song, sc tells rahman sc fiat on plea against 2025 delhi hc order A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a plea by Dhrupad vocalist Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar against a September 2025 Delhi High Court’s order, which said there was no evidence of the Dagar Brothers being the authors of a classical rendition of Shiv Stuti, which was used while composing the number in the film Music composer A R Rahman and Ponniyin Selvan 2’s makers were asked to accept the genre’s contribution in Veera Raja Veera song of the film ■ Feb 20 ‘classical music maestros want respect’ ■ “The originality of the tune is undisputed,” the SC bench told Rahman’s counsel Abhishek Singhvi. “They are traditional worshippers of classical music... they want respect, recognition” Known for its meditative style, Dagarvani is a 20-generation-old lineage of Dhrupad, the oldest genre of Hindustani classical music is when the supreme court posted the next hearing 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 No verification of marks after CBSE Class-12 results from ’26 BNP landslide Modi calls up Tarique Rahman, reaffirms India’s commitment to strengthen ties with Bangladesh; focus shifts to govt formation Party positions Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Express News Service @ New Delhi WITH an aim to enhance transparency and efficiency in board examinations, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced on Friday that post-result verification of marks for Class 12 will be discontinued from 2026. The move comes as the board transitions to a fully digital evaluation system through ‘OnScreen Marking (OSM)’, a step officials said will eliminate totalling errors and streamline the assessment process. The decision was outlined during a workshop conducted by CBSE for school principals and teachers to explain the modalities of the new system. Under the OSM framework, Class 12 answer scripts will be evaluated digitally, reducing the scope for manual errors such as incorrect totalling or unmarked responses. However, Class 10 answer books will continue to be assessed in physical mode. Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said students earlier sought verification mainly to address discrepancies in marks calculation or missing entries. “Such errors will be eliminated at the outset in the digital system. This reform follows extensive planning, including system redesign, trial runs, stakeholder consultations, and strengthened security protocols,” he added. “In the older system, students would seek verification to check for discrepancies in the whole numbers or missing numbers. In the new scheme of digital evaluation, such discrepancies would be eliminated at the outset,” he added. CBSE conducts board examinations for Classes 10 and 12 in India and across 26 countries, covering nearly 46 lakh students annually . The board examinations are slated to begin from February 17 this year, as per an official release from CBSE. 212 Jamaat-e-Islami 77 Others Halfway 8 151 Result awaited: 2 Total seats: 299 Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman Tarique Rahman (L) greets supporters as leaves his residence in Dhaka a day after wresting power in the general elections, on Friday | PTI described Modi’s outreach as significant. “PM Modi is the first world leader to have a telephonic converIn a major diplomatic outreach sation with BNP chief and the next following the Bangladesh Nation- prime minister of Bangladesh, Taralist Party’s sweep of Bangladesh’s ique Rahman,” Kabir said, calling general election, Prime Minister the message “a welcome gesture”. Narendra Modi on Friday spoke In Dhaka, the attention is shiftwith BNP chief Tarique ing to government forRahman, congratulating mation. The BNP won a him on leading the party sweeping mandate, seto a decisive victory and curing 209 seats in the This victory shows reaffirming India’s com- the people’s trust in 300-member parliament mitment to strengthenand attaining an absoyour (Tarique Rahman) leadership. lute majority The result ing bilateral ties. . “Delighted to speak India will continue to grants the party the austand in support of with Tarique Rahman. I thority to amend the democratic, congratulated him on the Constitution and underprogressive, inclusive remarkable victory in take significant instituBangladesh. I look the Bangladesh electional reforms. forward to working tions,” Modi said on X Results for 297 of the with you to after the call. “I conveyed 300 parliamentary seats strengthen ties my best wishes and suphave been declared. AcNarendra Modi, PM port in his endeavour to cording to the final tally fulfil the aspirations of announced by the Electhe people of Banglation Commission of The results were desh. As two close neigh- changed through the Bangladesh, the BNP bours with deep-rooted and its allies secured 212 administration... historical and cultural of the 297 seats declared. Those who attack people, vandalise ties, I reaffirmed India’s The 11-party electoral continued commitment property, and commit alliance led by Banglato the peace, progress, arson just a day after desh Jamaat-e-Islami and prosperity of both winning polls cannot won 77 seats. The newly be trusted with the our peoples.” Modi was custody of a country formed National Citizen the first world leader to Party, which led a mass speak with Rahman by Nahid Islam, NCP leader movement against the phone. Awami Lea gue and Reacting to Modi’s phone call to former Prime Minister Sheikh Tarique Rahman, a BNP spokes- Hasina, obtained just six seats. Isperson said Bangladesh seeks bal- lami Andolan Bangladesh secured anced diplomatic ties with India. one. Independent candidates capHumayun Kabir, adviser to Rah- tured seven seats. man and tipped for a cabinet berth,  Continued on: P7 J aya n t h J a c o b & B ay e z i d M i l k y * Polls countermanded in 1 seat due to death of a candidate Referendum Yes: 68.1% @ New Delhi/Dhaka 48,074,429 NO: 31.9% 22,565,627 Total votes cast 70,640,056 Why Jamaat lost its momentum 1 Jamaat had initial advantage as it hoped to fill the vacuum of the ban on Awami League and alliance with NCP leaders who led went against Hasina 2 Tarique Rahman entered the race relatively late. But he picked up tempo as sympathy factor over the death of his mother Zia worked for him 3 The youth, many of whom had driven the July uprising, voted in significant numbers for the BNP rather than Jamaat. Yet Jamaat had its best outing at the husting Friyay in poll-bound TN as 1.31 cr women get `5K each T M u r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai `6,550 cr bonanza The DMK government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin showered a `6,550-crore bonanza on poll-bound Tamil Nadu on Friday by depositing `5,000 each in the bank accounts of 1.31 crore women beneficiaries of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai Thittam (KMUT). The payout includes combined advance payment of the monthly honorarium of `1,000 each for February March and April , and a special summer package of `2,000. Explaining the reason for the move, the CM, in a video message posted on ‘X’, said, “I have decided to provide the sum in view of an attempt (by vested interests) to freeze the scheme citing upcoming elections.” In order to counter the attempt to prevent women from receiving the monthly financial assistance, “we have made the advance payment”, he said. The CM also promised to double the monthly honorarium from `1,000 to `2,000 if the DMK is voted back to power in the Assembly elections. “This is Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin’s promise to my sisters! We shall win together,” he said. In his video message, the CM recalled that when his govern- ~`3,930 cr ~`2,620 cr Advance payment for three months under KMUT Special summer package ~`6,550 cr Total money credited on Friday to 1.31 crore women Major welfare schemes `13,807 crore: Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam `420 crore: Pudhumai Penn Thittam `420 crore: Tamil Pudhalvan scheme `600 crore: Chief Minister’s breakfast scheme `3,600 crore: Vidiyal Payanam (Free bus for women) (As per Budget Estimates 2025-26) ment assumed office during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, it not only safeguarded lives but also provided `4,000 to protect livelihoods. Despite a severe financial crisis inherited from the previous AIADMK regime and “discrimination” by the union government, the state launched the `1,000 monthly entitlement scheme in September 2023, and later ex- Man dies of dehydration at Vijay’s Salem meeting E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Salem A 37-year-old man died after collapsing at the venue of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) functionaries meeting, addressed by party president Vijay, at Seelanaickenpatti in Salem on Friday . The deceased has been identified as S Suraj, who was employed at a silver anklet manufacturing unit in the city. Originally from Maharashtra, he had been residing at Kondalampatti in Salem for nearly 20 years. According to police sources, Suraj fainted around 1 pm, shortly after Vijay’s arrival at the venue. Though he was immediately rushed to a nearby private hospital, doctors declared him dead. Suraj had recently undergone a heart-related procedure. Preliminary inquiries suggest that dehydration due to intense heat could have caused the fainting, police said. His body was sent to Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital for autopsy  P5 . `5K is your money, but blow the whistle, says TVK chief Vijay | P4 A new corner office for the PM & PMO Rajesh kumar thakur @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday shifted to his new office, Seva Teerth, from the colonial-era South Block building near Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill. The shift came on a day — February 13 — that marked 95 years since the formal inauguration of New Delhi as India’s modern capital in 1931. On Friday Modi reached Seva Teerth , Complex in a motorcade along with Union ministers Manohar Colonial mindset must go, says PM Speaking on Friday after inaugurating the Seva Teerth complex, PM Narendra Modi said India must shed every trace of a colonial mindset as it advances towards becoming a Viksit Bharat. Referring to changes such as the renaming of 7 Race Course Road to Lok Kalyan Marg, he said these efforts to transform culture of power into a spirit of service Lal and Jitendra Singh and top PMO officials, and inaugurated the complex housing the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the National Security Council Secretariat and the Cabinet Secretariat. The PMO will shift from the South Block on Raisina Hill to Seva Teerth, bringing together the offices of the Cabinet Secretariat and the National Security Council Secretariat that were located at dif ferent places. In the presence of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Minister of State in PMO Jiten- dra Singh and top officials including principal secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, the prime minister signed files approving the launch of PM RAHAT Scheme for extending life-saving protection for every citizen and doubling the number of lakhpati didis to six crore. “The inauguration marks a milestone ... and reflects the Prime Minister’s commitment to building a modern, efficient, accessible and citizen-centric governance ecosystem,” a note from PMO said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Seva Tirth, the new Prime Minister’s Office complex, in New Delhi on Friday | PTI r e d f o r l o v e , s a c ri f i c e Comrades play valentine to TN couples harassed in the name of caste P r a b h a k a r Ta m i l a r a s u @ Chennai An inter-religious marriage recently conducted at a TPDK office | Express The colour red symbolises both love and the blood shed by the working class in its fight against capitalism. The reddonning communist comrades of Tamil Nadu, living true to that spirit, are turning out to be the valentines to young couples hunted in the name of caste. When 22-year-old Priya* belonging to one of the three Mukkulathor communities in a southern district informed her parents that she was in love with Kumar*, who happened to be from a Scheduled Caste family her family said they would , kill Kumar and his family if she pursued the relationship. Kumar and Priya, both graduates and employed, approached the police but they were asked to go back to their homes and talk to their parents. “My parents’ threat was real. We did not want to die just because we loved,” said Priya. Encouraged by the speech of CPM state secretary P Shanmugam that his party offices will always be open to couples facing threats from their families, particularly for casteist reasons, the couple took refuge at the office of CPM in their district in September last year. Today, Priya and Kumar have settled in a different district and are leading a safe and secure life. Although Priya’s parents have not accepted their marriage yet, the threat is gone. Shanmugam gave the call in a meeting organised in the wake of the brutal caste-killing of C Kavin Selvaganesh, a 27-year-old Dalit IT professional, who was murdered on July 27, 2025, in broad daylight in Tirunelveli for allegedly being in love with a girl belonging to an MBC community . The murder sent shockwaves across the state as yet another horrific reminder of deep-root- ed casteism, par ticularly against Dalits. However, his murder has not deterred young lovers from breaking barriers of caste. Both CPM and the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, which have a long history of actively supporting inter-caste love marriages, have seen a spurt in the number of such marriages in the past few months. (*Names of couples changed to protect identity)  P5 panded it from 1.13 crore to 1.31 crore women beneficiaries. The CM said the 15th of every month has become an eagerly awaited day for women heads of families who receive the entitlement sum. He noted that other states have started replicating the scheme, but alleged that certain forces in Delhi, along with their allies in TN, were attempting to use the Assembly polls as a pretext to halt the assistance for three months, possibly through legal action. “ someone in your family I As , know how much difficulty you will face if this scheme, which recognised the labour of 1.31 crore women, is stopped for three months. I can feel how much pain you will experience if this amount is stopped during summer when it is difficult to go to work in the heat,” he said. P5 Nikhil Gupta pleads guilty in plot to murder Pannun in US a g e n c i e s @ New York AN Indian man charged with orchestrating an unsuccessful Indian government-backed plot to kill a Sikh separatist in New York City pleaded guilty on Friday to three criminal charges, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said, as per a Reuters report. Nikhil Gupta, 54, pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-forhire and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carry a maximum combined sentence of 40 years in prison, the spokesperson said. Gupta entered his plea before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan federal court. Lawyers for Gupta were not immediately available for comment. Gupta has been jailed in Brooklyn since his June 2024 extradition to the United States from the Czech Republic, where he had been arrested a year earlier. He had pleaded not guilty immediately after his extradition. US prosecutors accused Gupta of plotting with an Indian government official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US resident and dual US-Canadian citizen who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. India dissociated itself from any plot against Pannun, saying it was against government policy The discov. ery of alleged assassination plots against Sikh separatists in the US and Canada has tested relations with India. Today’s Matches 11am: Ireland vs Omana (Colombo), 3pm: New Zealand vs UAE (Kolkata), 7pm: Pakistan vs USA (Ahmedabad)