14% Around 14 per cent of Rajya Sabha MPs are billionaires, according to a report released on Friday by Association for Democratic Reforms KOLLAM l FRIday l march 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l city EDITION of rajya sabha lawmakers are billionaires: adr report The report is based on an analysis of affidavits of 229 out of 233 Rajya Sabha MPs. The report said 31 MPs (14 per cent) having a net worth of billions of rupees. Among major parties, six BJP MPs, five Congress MPs, four YSRCP MPs, two AAP MPs, two BRS MPs, and three NCP MPs have declared assets exceeding I100 crore Among major parties, the average assets per MP is I28.29 crore for BJP, I128.61 crore for Congress, I17.7 crore for TMC, I574 crore for AAP A27,638 cr is the The total asset of 229 sitting MPs 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 Crude shock as oil spikes Price soars to $113 a barrel after Iran’s retaliatory strike on Qatar gas infra BSE Sensex 74,750.92 75,354.18 74,207.24 Energy pain Crude oil climbed to $118.62 a barrel after Iranian hits on Saudi, Qatar energy sites $118.62 $120.00 $117.50 73,950.96 $115.00 Previous close: 76,704.13 $112.50 -2,496.89 (-3.26%) Social media image of the Haifa oil refinery in Israel that was hit by missile fragments from an Iranian salvo on Thursday | X R A K E S H K U MA R @ New Delhi GLOBAL crude oil prices surged on Thursday after Iran bombed a Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub, as a retaliatory strike against Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field on Wednesday. Brent crude rose around 6% on Thursday to touch $113.6 per barrel. Hinting at more escalation, Iran threatened further attacks if its enday ergy infrastructure was hit again. The situation has raised concerns for India, which depends on energy imports from West Asia as 90% of the country’s LPG imports and 47% of LNG imports come from this region, with Qatar being a key supplier. Ras Laffan is one of the world’s largest natural gas processing hubs operated by QatarEnergy. Iran’s attack on it triggered a major fire and forced production 20 Open 09:00 halts. Qatar’s foreign ministry said most incoming missiles were intercepted, but one hit the facility QatarEnergy CEO Saad . al-Kaabi said the attacks damaged infrastructure accounting for 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to take years. Underscoring the implications for India, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said: “Any disruption in Middle East directly impacts us. The key question is how we deal with such risks. We are addressing this through diversification of supply sources. For crude oil, we have already diversified significantly—about 70% of our crude now comes from regions outside the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Similarly, for LPG, we are expanding sourcing beyond traditional suppliers.” Close 15:00 Day’s developments Govt secures additional gas for urea plants via spot auction; output to rise by 13,000 tonnes a day Pentagon seeks C200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war Hegseth says all 11 Iran submarines taken out Missile fragments from Iran salvo hits Haifa oil refinery, damage minor, says Israel minister $113.60 March 19 $110.00 Attack on infra unacceptable: India J AYAN T H J A C O B @ New Delhi CALLING the escalating attacks on energy infrastructure in West Asia ‘deeply disturbing’, India on Thursday pushed for urgent de-escalation even as PM Narendra Modi worked the phones to contain the crisis centred around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy and trade. “India had previously called for the avoidance of targeting civilian infrastructure, including energy infrastructure. Recent attacks are deeply disturbing and only serve to further destabilise an already uncertain energy scenario for the whole world. Such attacks are unacceptable,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, External Affairs Ministry. Modi, in multiple conversations with world leaders, stressed diplomacy as the only viable path forward. “We agreed on the need to prioritise dialogue for de-escalation and restoration of peace,” he said after speaking with Sultan of Oman. Rebel rhetoric to party line: Kannur strongman reaffirms Cong loyalty K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram After tough talk and exit rumours, including a possible BJP switch if denied a ticket from Kannur, K Sudhakaran backtracked, fell in line, and reaffirmed loyalty to the Congress on Thursday evening. The Kannur strongman made it clear that as a sincere Congress worker, he will not contest as a rebel cand i d at e i n t h e a s s e m bly election. In a clear assertion of authority ahead of the crucial polls, the Congress high com- E x p r e s s Re a d HC cancels bail in Walayar lynching case Kochi: The Kerala High Court has cancelled the bail granted by the Special Court in Palakkad to eight accused in the case related to the lynching of a Jharkhand native worker in Walayar on December 17, 2025. P8 Sentencing in Vandana case tomorrow Kollam: Terming the murder of Dr Vandana Das as falling under the “rarest of rare” category, the prosecution on Thursday urged the court to award capital punishment to the convict. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on March 21. P8 mand decisively turned down the former KPCC president’s bid to enter the fray The move, . seen as a calculated show of organisational discipline, comes after days of intense lobbying and veiled brinkmanship by Sudhakaran, who had sought to leverage his position to secure a party ticket. Speaking to the media on Thursday after meeting the party’s national leadership in Delhi, Sudhakaran said: “I am no one to challenge the party as it is so much bigger and I am so small.” “I will accept the party’s deci- Cong second list out T’Puram: The Congress on Thursday night announced its second list of 37 candidates. In the disputed Kannur seat, former mayor T O Mohanan has been fielded as the party candidate. While Abin Varkey has been given the Aranmula seat, Deepak Joy will contest from Tripunithura. P5 sion,” he said, making it clear that he will not defy the organisation in any way . The high command has also decided against fielding any sitting MPs in the assembly ● More on P8 polls. RBI says all’s well at HDFC Bank, but shares slip 5% d i pa k m o n d a l @New Delhi Hours after the sudden resignation of HDFC Bank’s parttime chair man Atanu Chakraborty rattled markets and investors alike, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said the second largest bank remains financially sound, well-capitalised and adequately liquid, with no concer ns on gover nance or conduct. In his resignation letter, Chakraborty had flagged concerns over “certain practices at the bank that were not in congruence” with his personal values and ethics. RBI said it has taken note of recent developments at the bank and approved a transitional arrangement for the position of part-time chairman, adding that it will continue to engage with the bank’s management on the way forward. This comes amid market turbulence following the top-tier exit. Shares of HDFC Bank plunged 5.11% to `798 at close. Chakraborty later told the media that his resignation was a routine affair, without elaborating. During the analyst call, interim chairman Keki Mistry said the board and management are completely cohesive and united.