SAMBALPUR l saturday l march 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Oppn MPs submit notices seeking a motion for removal of CEC Opposition MPs have submitted notices in both Houses seeking a motion for removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar 130 lok sabha mps, 63 rs mps sign notices As many as 130 Lok Sabha MPs and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs are said to have signed the notices. The signatories include members from all the INDIA bloc parties, including AAP. Some Independent MPs have also signed the notice while several others have evinced interest. This is the first time a notice has been moved for the removal of the election commission head ■ Art 324(5) seven charges against gyanesh kumar ■ The notice lists seven charges against Kumar, including alleged partisan conduct in office, deliberate obstruction of investigation of electoral fraud and mass disenfranchisement The process for removing the CEC is similar to that of a Supreme Court or a high court judge, for “proven misbehaviour or incapacity” of the constitution provides the process for the cec’s removal 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 E x p ress N e w s S er v i ce @ Bhubaneswar/Bengaluru The Congress on Friday defended shifting its MLAs to Bengaluru, saying the move was aimed at preventing horsetrading by the BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls on March 16. Eight Congress MLAs accompanied by president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das had flown to Bengaluru on Thursday night. The MLAs including Ashok Kumar Das, Dr CS Raajen Ekka, Kadraka Appalaswamy Mangu Khilla, Nil, amadhab Hikaka, Pabitra Saunta, Prafulla Chandra Pradhan and Satyajeet Gomango have been accommodated at Wonderla resort at Bidadi on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Karnataka deputy chief minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar, who is hosting them, visited them on the day . He later told mediapersons that the Odisha Congress chief and the legislators discussed with him about the pressure built by the ruling BJP to support the party-backed independent candidate Dilip Ray in the polls. “The MLAs had received threats and offers from the rival camp and it is our duty to protect them. They are tough and don’t want to be part of Operation Lotus and will vote for the independent candidate supported by Congress, BJD and CPI(M). They have come of their own will and it is our duty to take care of them. They have come here fearing horse-trading, for which BJP is known for,” the deputy CM said. On Union minister Pralhad Joshi’s statement that Congress doesn’t have faith in its own MLAs and that was why MLAs were brought to Karnataka, Shivakumar said, “Why did BJP conduct ‘Operation Lotus’ in Karnataka? State leaders are fathers of Operation Lotus.” Shivakumar was accompanied by AICC secretary Mayur Jaikumar, Karnataka MLAs HC Balakrishna and CP Yogeshwar. Meanwhile, questions are being raised why only eight of the total 14 MLAs of Congress in Odisha were flown to CONTINUED ON P5 Karnataka. SAFE PASSAGE FOR INDIA Iran promises safety for India-flagged vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi with India intensifying diplomatic engagement with Iran amid escalating tensions in West Asia, Tehran has signalled the possibility of safe passage for Indiaflagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The development came after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi late on Thursday night, building on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hours earlier. Jaishankar said he and Araghchi discussed bilateral issues as well as coordination through BRICS. Sources said two Indiabound LPG tankers were given per mission to pass through the Strait. Confirming the news, Iran’s Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali said: “Yes, because India is our friend.” When reporters pressed him specifically if Indian vessels would be able to transit the Strait safely, the envoy said positive developments were expected soon. day 14 Day’s developments FM Nirmala Sitharaman says `1 lakh crore Economic Stabilization Fund created to deal with West Asia crisis Two Indian nationals killed and several others injured in an attack in Sohar in Oman on Friday US aerial refueling aircraft KC-135 crashes in Iraq, kills all six on boardNepal selling half-filled cooking gas cylinders to curb panic buying Starting Saturday, IndiGo to levy fuel charge for domestic and international fliers from `425 to `2,300 US lets all countries buy crude from Russia for a month China to provide $2L for victims of bomb attack on Iranian school “Yes, you can see that in the future. I think after two or three hours,” he said. The security of sea lanes is a key concern for India as a large number of its seafarers operate across the Gulf. Indian of ficials estimate SC rejects PIL on menstrual leave for women such i tra ka lyan mohanty @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a nationwide policy providing paid menstrual leave for women students and workers, observing that no one would hire them, adding such a provision would unintentionally reinforce gender stereotypes. The court, however, asked the Centre and competent authorities to consider the representation of the petitioner and examine the possibility of framing a policy on menstrual leave after consulting all relevant stakeholders. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Shailendra Mani Tripathi. At the outset, the bench raised the issue of locus of the petitioner and pointed out that no woman herself has approached the court. It was the third petition filed by Tripathi on Draft bill for transgender definition mooted Preetha N a i r @ New Delhi The government on Friday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha proposing significant amendments to the 2019 Act on transgender rights, including changes to the legal definition of a transgender person and stricter criminal punishment for offences involving forced alteration of gender identity . The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill was introduced by Social Justice and Empower ment Minister Virendra Kumar. As per the new definition, persons with socio-cultural identities as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta, or eunuch, or a person with intersex variations or a person who, at birth, has a congenital variation in one or more sex characteristics as compared to male or female development will be defined as a transgender. CONTINUED ON P5 Deeply rooted PILs, says top court The bench said the petitions are “deeply rooted”. “You are not a bona fide petitioner. This is to create impression in young women that you are not at par with males and you cannot work like them during a particular time.” the same issue. “These pleas are made to create fear, to call women inferior and that menstruation is something bad happening to them. No one would give them jobs in such a scenario. This is projected as an affir mative right. But one must also think about the employer who has to grant paid leave,” said a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi. Senior advocate M R Shamshad, appearing for Tripathi, sought and pleaded for certain guidelines, giving examples of certain states and institutions that have taken steps to accommodate menstrual leave. He said the Karnataka government has formulated a policy to allow menstrual leave and some private organisations are also providing the facility . The CJI said, “Voluntarily they are giving, then it is excellent.But the moment you introduce it as a compulsory condition in law, you do not know the damage it will do to career of women.” Justice Bagchi echoed these concerns from a business perspective, noting that affirmative action is constitutionally recognised but must be balanced against market realities. around 23,000 Indian seafarers are currently on merchant ships and offshore vessels in the wider Gulf region. According to a statement from Iran’s foreign ministry, Araghchi briefed Jaishankar on the latest regional developments and their i m p l i c at i o n s fo r g l o b a l security. “The Iranian Foreign Minister stressed the necessity for regional and inter national bodies and organizations to condemn the military a g g ression a g ainst Iran,” the readout said. Araghchi also stressed the importance of BRICS as a platform for coordination during the current crisis. He urged the grouping to play “a constructive role at the current juncture in supporting regional and global stability and security,” according to the statement, which described the call as the fourth conversation between the two foreign ministers since tensions escalated. During the conversation, Jaishankar conveyed India’s readiness to expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation through regional and international forums. From weaning the nation away from fossil fuel by offering free LPG connections to over 10 crore households since 2019, the West Asia crisis has forced the govt to go back to coal and kerosene as stop-gap measures For example, the Madhya Pradesh Hotel Association has advised eateries to shift from ‘tawa’ rotis on gas to traditional ‘tandoors’ fired by coal or wood States have been given 48,000 kilolitres of additional kerosene, over and above the regular monthly quota of about 1 lakh kilolitres, for household cooking needs itiona lt Trad an do MLAs under DKS ‘shelter’, Cong says move to foil poaching r o y pla in Regulators told to permit biomass, refusederived fuel pellets and coal as alternate fuels for hotels and restaurants for one month Coal supplies are also being made available for small and medium consumers such as hotels and restaurants to enable them to shift to alternate fuels if required —Sujata Sharma, joint secy, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Govt asks restaurants to switch to coal, households to PNG as LPG crisis deepens R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi with LPG shortage deepening amid escalation in the war between Ir an and US-Israel, the government on Friday admitted that the situation remains a matter of concern. The disruption in supply of cooking gas has particularly impacted commercial establishments such as restaurants and hotels. To address the issue, the government has suggested commercial users switch to coal and kerosene. Briefing reporters on Friday, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said LPG is a matter of concern for the government but there is no dry out at any of the 25,000 distributors. Sharma said the issue is panic buying rather than an actual disruption in supply for domestic consumers. On normal days, 50 lakh LPG cylinder bookings are made, but the number has now shot up to 75 lakh bookings per day. According to the government, there is no shortage of piped natural gas (PNG) and households that have access to PNG infrastructure could consider shifting to piped cooking gas to conserve LPG. Official data shows around 7 lakh LPG customers have the option to switch to PNG. “Supply of PNG to domestic consumers is being ensured without any interruptions or cuts,” said Sharma.