hyderabad l saturday l february 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION accept dagarvani tradition’s inputs to song, sc tells rahman 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 sc fiat on plea against 2025 delhi hc order ‘classical music maestros want respect’ 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 ■ ■ “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 Feb 20 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 It’s a Congress sweep of urban civic bodies BRS holds on; BJP makes inroads but its lack of depth glaring I r e d dy S r i n i vas R e d dy @ Hyderabad The results of elections to the urban local bodies across the state have underlined the Congress’s return as the principal force in urban Telangana, with the ruling party recording a performance comparable to the then TRS (now BRS) sweep a decade ago. Overall, the results marked a decisive urban consolidation by the Congress, a holding operation for the BRS amid erosion of its base, and incremental BJP gains that also exposed the saffron party’s organisational limitations at the grassroots. Winning a clear majority of urban local bodies, the Congress established dominance across much of the state, particularly in the southern districts. Of the 116 municipalities and seven corporations, the ruling Congress secured absolute majorities in over 90 municipalities and four corporations, along with a strong vote share of over 45% across most urban bodies. Party leaders said the outcome reflected public approval of the government led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Senior leaders, including ministers, MPs, MLAs and the TPCC leadership, are now focusing on consolidating numbers to secure mayoral and chairperson posts, especially in hung bodies. The Congress surge was most pronounced in South Telangana, covering Mahbubnagar, Rangareddy, Nalgonda and parts of Medak. In North Telangana, however, the picture was more mixed, with the BRS and the BJP retaining or improving their presence in several pockets.  continued on p4 Division-wise winners in corporations 58 186 75 212 716 1,347 Jamaat-e-Islami 261 79 77 257 Others 8 n  Congress n  n  n  BRS BJP Others 1,533 (All results up to 9 pm) 774 336 65 174 13 n  Congress n  n  n  n  BRS BJP MIM Others Borderline: Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Nizamabad AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy beam at the Congress performance in the civic body polls, in New Delhi on Friday * Polls countermanded in 1 seat due to death of a candidate 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 sig@ New Delhi/Dhaka nificant. “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: P11 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 cluding principal secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, the prime minister signed files approving the launch of Prime Minister’s 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. E x p r e s s Re a d HC seeks report on baby in trafficking case Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has sought a report on the well-being of a two-year-old girl removed from her adoptive parents during an investigation into a child trafficking network. A bench directed the Women and Child Welfare department to place its assessment before the court. The bench was hearing a writ appeal by the couple seeking restoration of custody. The appeal challenges a January 28 order of a single judge who declined to restore custody on the ground that the adoption was not conducted in accordance with statutory procedure | P3 Referendum Yes: 68.1% 48,074,429 J aya n t h J a c o b & B ay e z i d Mi l k y No verification of marks from ’26 after CBSE Class-12 results Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Seva Tirth, the new Prime Minister’s Office complex, in New Delhi on Friday | PTI 151 Total seats: 299 In Congress bag: Mancherial, Ramagundam, Nalgonda corporations Hung: Kothagudem Municipal Corporation Halfway Result awaited: 2 2,996 wards in seven corporations and 123 municipalities @ New Delhi 11am: Ireland vs Omana (Colombo), 3pm: England vs Scotland (Kolkata), 7pm: New Zealand vs Africa (Ahmedabad) Party positions Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Division-wise winners in municipalities R a j e sh k u m a r t h a k u r Today’s Matches Modi calls up Tarique Rahman, reaffirms India’s commitment to strengthen ties with Bangladesh; focus shifts to govt formation Controlling Telangana’s urban local bodies New corner office for PM, PMO 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 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 Jitendra Singh and top officials in- BNP landslide E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v ic e @ 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 ‘On-Screen 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 man, ual 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. “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. The board examinations begin from February 17 this year. 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 Nikhil Gupta pleads guilty in plot to murder Pannun in US H a r p r e e t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Indian national Nikhil Gupta, 54, accused of hiring a hitman in a 2023 plot to eliminate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US, on Friday pleaded guilty on three counts at a federal court hearing in New York. He had earlier pleaded not guilty after his extradition to the US from the Czech Republic. The three charges — murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering — together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Under a plea agreement, Gurpatwant p r o s e c u t o r s Singh Pannun reportedly recommended a sentence of 2124 years, effectively halving the potential maximum term. Nikhil Gupta A s p o ke s person for the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan stated that Gupta pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in the Manhattan federal court. Judge Sarah Netburn then recommended that District Judge Marrero accept the plea. Pannun, who also heads the proscribed Sikhs for Justice, holds dual US-Canadian citizenship. Lawyers for Gupta were not immediately available for comment. Gupta has been in a Brooklyn jail since June 2024. He was first arrested by the Czech Republic in 2023 at the Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague. Prosecutors had accused Gupta of hiring a hitman for $100,000 to kill Pannun. They had identified his Indian handler based in Delhi as Vikash Yadav, a rogue RAW agent. The plot failed as the purported hitman turned out to be an undercover federal agent.