hyderabad l Monday l April 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Chouhan to oversee key meeting to pick new Bihar chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Nitish Kumar Process on to form new state government A statement from the BJP headquarters said the parliamentary board has appointed Chouhan as “central observer for electing the leader of legislature party in Bihar”. Chouhan’s appointment sets in motion the process of the formation of a new government in Bihar after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha on Friday The BJP on Sunday appointed Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the central observer for the election of its legislative party leader in Bihar Nitish kumar likely to resign on Tuesday ■ ■ Nitish has convened a meeting of his cabinet on April 14, following which the JD(U) president is expected to relinquish the CM’s post Senior JD(U) leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said, “the new chief minister will be elected by the NDA, upon the recommendation of the BJP, which has a big role to play” | P8 11 am when the cabinet meeting will begin on tuesday 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 Trump threatens to block Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran peace talks fail Says US Navy will ‘blockade any and all ships’ trying to enter or leave the shipping route a g en c i e s @ Islamabad / Washington Asha Bhosle: September 8, 1933-April 12, 2026 Forever young, always distinct N A M R ATA J OS H I A ge is just a number” is an adage Asha Bhosle believed in and lived by Among the many facets of . her long, abundant, and well-spent inning—professional as well as personal—the most distinct was the versatile voice: hearty playful, coquettish, , saucy, sensuous, spiritual, soulful and energetic by turns and the one that stayed forever youthful and timeless, just like Asha ‘Tai’ herself. The fact that the sound of Asha remained robust was the reason why in her over eight-decade long career in a notori, ously ageist industry she didn’t just sing for multiple films , but became the voice of several generations of actresses— from Meena Kumari to Zeenat Aman to Rekha, from her contemporary Shakila in the sad version of Leke pehla pehla pyaar in CID (1956) to someone who could well be her daughter’s age, like Urmila Matondkar in Tanha tanha yahan pe jeena in Rangeela (1995). She worked with possibly every major music director down the years: O P Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan, Jaidev, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, the Burmans, A R Rahman and Sandeep Chowta. She sang duets with male singers across all ages, from Her life was Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, and Ma- adventurous. hendra Kapoor to Sonu Nigam. Winner of At 16, she several awards, including two National eloped with Awards, Asha received the Dadasaheb Ganpatrao Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma VibBhosle and hushan in 2008. However, these markers aside, Asha be- married him. came a legend of playback singing because Years later, of the extraordinary ability to imbibe the she married personality of the actor, get into the mood R D Burman. of the moment, respond to the space and She made her setting of the sequence and catch the emotive soul of a song with the amazing tex- acting debut ture and timbre of her voice. She could in 2013 at 79 become the innocent and impoverished street kids in Boot Polish (1954) in songs like Nanhe munne bachche teri mutthi mein kya hai, Thehar zara o janewale, Chali kaunse desh just as effortlessly as she’d be the sexy Helen in a cabaret club in Piya tu ab to aaja in Caravan (1971) or Yeh mera dil in Don (1978). Asha’s father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, was an eminent musician himself, and so were the siblings—Lata Mangeshkar, Meena Khadikar, Usha Mangeshkar, and Hridaynath Mangeshkar. There had been tales of sibling rivalry between her and the legendary elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, but both eventually carved enviable and influential niches for themselves and ruled the male-dominated industry with confidence and conviction. The last of an entire generation of playback stalwarts of the Golden Era of Hindi film music, her clear vocalisation, perfect diction and right enunciation were enough for her to embrace a range of languages and dialects, both Indian and international. The range extended from classical, folk, bhajans to the Westernised cabarets and discos. express read India rejects China renaming places in Arunachal New Delhi: India on Sunday rejected China’s latest attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, urging Beijing to refrain from actions that undermine ongoing efforts to improve bilateral ties. “India rejects any mischievous attempts to assign fictitious names to places within Indian territory,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. In a fresh list released recently, China renamed certain places in Indian territory. US President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed the US Navy would immediately begin a “blockade” to stop ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan ended with no agreement in sight. Iran has demanded the right to collect tolls from vessels travelling through the strait, but Trump said no one who pays Tehran will “have safe passage on the high seas.” He also threatened, yet again, to destroy Iranian energy infrastructure, telling Fox News: “I can take out Iran in one day .” Earlier in the day the US and , Iran ended 21 hours of face-toface talks in Islamabad in a stalemate, leaving the fate of the tenuous two-week ceasefire unclear. The war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets has entered its seventh week. The US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Ira- US Vice President JD Vance talks to Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir before flying out of Islamabad on Sunday | AP day 44 nian delegation led by parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf had discussed how to advance a ceasefire already threatened by disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon. Vance, while leaving Pakistan after the talks, said the US had made its “final and best offer” for a deal, adding: “We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.” Ghalibaf said on X that Washington was “unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations”. Iranian and US media said the main sticking points in the talks were the E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mancherial Announcing that he would undertake a state-wide padayatra in 2027 with the focus being on pressing public issues, BRS working president K T Rama Rao on Sunday also hinted that the pink party may revert to its original name, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). In an informal interaction with reporters in Kyathanpally , Mancherial district, Rama Rao admitted that during the 10year BRS rule, the gap between the people and the party had widened to some extent. He said the padayatra would be part of the efforts to bridge this gap. Stating that public trust in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was waning, Rama Rao dismissed the notion that one becomes chief minister only after going to jail. “Such a political culture did not exist 40 years ago. We (BRS leaders) are not so unscrupulous as to commit murders or illegal acts and end up in jail,” Rama Rao said. He said he would adopt best practices from the TDP to strengthen the BRS.  continued on P4 Modi to address women’s Redesigned KLIS to be ready by meet ahead of Parl session 2028; panel to oversee repairs Setting targets R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Ahead of an extended three-day special session of Parliament from April 16 to 18 to discuss amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address a first-of-its-kind ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Sammelan’ in Delhi on Monday . As per sources, the conference is aimed at generating widespread support for amendments to the Women’s Reservation Act 2023. It forms a part of the BJP’s broader electoral strategy, bringing together eminent personalities and accomplished women from diverse fields to deliberate on the necessity of reserving seats for women in legislative bodies. According to an official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the conference is being organised “to reinforce the government’s commitment to increasing women’s participation in shaping India’s development trajectory”. “It will also highlight the increasing role of women in governance and leadership across all levels, from Panchayats to Parliament. The programme will underscore the importance of enhanced representation of women in decision-making processes,” the PMO said in the statement. In addition, the event will spotlight the role of women in India’s journey towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. “It will reflect the Cong seeks all-party meet after elections Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the special session of Parliament being convened to discuss women’s quota in the middle of the elections is “a clear breach of the Model Code of Conduct”. He demanded that an all-party meeting be called on the matter after the current round of state polls are over on April 29 | P9 government’s continued commitment towards women-led development as a central pillar of the vision for Viksit Bharat 2047”, it said. In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, which provided for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. The provision to provide 33% reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023. However, the women’s quota would come into effect only after the completion of the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2027 Census. This meant the reservation would not become enforceable before 2034. To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections onwards, changes are needed in the Act. IPL controversy Mobile phone in RR dugout: ACSU investigation on g o me s h s & f i r o z m i r z a @ Chennai A day after Rajasthan Royals team manager Romi Bhinder was seen using a mobile phone while sitting in the dugout — which could be in violation of Players and Match Officials Area protocol — during an Indian Premier League match, BCCI has said that its Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) will investigate the matter and submit a report. The incident occurred during the 11th over of the IPL tie between Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday night at the ACA Barsapara Stadium in Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s insistence on a right to enrich uranium for civilian use. Later, in a Fox News interview, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Chinese imports if Beijing tries to help the Iranian military Trump did . not name the other countries he expects to join the US Navy cordon and, before his post, many international capitals had called for the temporary truce in the Gulf to be preserved. “We’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like... It’s going to be all or none,” he said. The failure of the talks will raise concerns that a return to fighting could drive world energy prices higher and further damage shipping and oil and gas facilities in the Gulf. An EU spokesman said diplomacy would be “essential” to securing peace and hailed Pakistan’s mediation efforts, while the UK and Oman agreed it “was vital there was a continuation of the ceasefire.” KTR hints at return to TRS name, padayatra Screengrab of Rajasthan Royals team manager Romi Bhinder using a phone in the dugout next to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Guwahati. Bhinder was using his phone in the dugout while teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was seen taking a look at the screen during the broadcast. In the aftermath, the ACSU have already begun their investigation on the matter. “We have asked the ACSU to investigate and file a report on the incident,” IPL Governing Council Chair Arun Dhumal told this daily . As per the IPL document titled ‘PMOA PROTOCOL – 2026’, team managers may use a phone in the dressing room, but not in the dugout, which is near the boundary ropes. “Mobile Phones and other electronic communications equipment are not allowed to be used in the PMOA other than for a few members of the team. The Team Manager may use a phone in the Dressing Room area but NOT in the Dugout. The Analyst may use his computer at the analyst table. Player and support staff items i.e. phones, smart watches or any other communication devices should be turned off and given to the team SLO (Security Liaison Officer) for storage on arrival at the stadium,” the document reads. Are there any exceptions to the rule? Why was Bhinder using the phone? These are some of the questions the franchise will have to answer in the next couple of days.  More on: P11 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Facts of the matter n India + AFRY IIT Bombay JV finalised as design consultant n Designs to be submitted to CWC for approval n Consultants asked to work 24x7 n Annaram & Sundilla likely within timeline; Medigadda partial restoration likely Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday said the redesigned Kaleshwaram project would be operationalised by 2028. He held a review with officials and constituted a steering committee to oversee the repair works. At the review, the minister confirmed that AFRY India had been finalised as the design consultant and would work as a joint venture with IIT Bombay . He instructed the design team to work round the clock, seven days a week. “We need the design as early as possible,” Uttam said, adding that the rehabilitation designs would be sent to the Cen- tral Water Commission (CWC) for approval. He asked the consultants to remain in constant touch with Irrigation Secretary Parikshit Mehra and to bring any issues directly to his notice. The design process will be backed by comprehensive geophysical, geotechnical, soil and hydraulic modelling studies. The minister directed that all required tests and data collection be completed on priority . He said the state government was determined to bring the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the project back into operation at the earliest. The minister directed fasttracking of rehabilitation works under a time-bound programme.  continued on p4