Process on to form new government in Bihar MADURAI l Monday l April 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION Shivraj Singh Chouhan Nitish Kumar The BJP on Sunday appointed Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the central observer for the election of its legislative party leader in Bihar. With the appointment, the party set in motion the process of the formation of a new government in Bihar after former chief minister Nitish Kumar moved to the Rajya Sabha | PTI | P10 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 to address women’s Trump threatens to block Modi ahead of Parl session meet Strait as US-Iran talks fail RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi a g en c i es @ Islamabad, Washington Asha Bhosle: September 8, 1933-April 12, 2026 Forever young, always distinct N A M R ATA J O S 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. That the sound of Asha remained robust was the reason why she, in her eight-decade career in a notoriously ageist industry, didn’t just sing for multiple films but became the voice of generations of actors—from Meena Kumari to Zeenat Aman to Rekha, from her contemporary Shakila in the sad ver- Her life was sion of Leke pehla pehla pyaar in CID adventurous. (1956) to Urmila Matondkar in Tanha tanAt 16, she ha yahan pe jeena in Rangeela (1995). She worked with possibly every major eloped with music director: O P Nayyar, Shankar Jaik- Ganpatrao ishan, Jaidev, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, Bhosle and the Burmans, A R Rahman and Sandeep married him. Chowta. She sang duets with male singers Years later, across all ages, from Kishore Kumar, Mo- she married hammad Rafi, and Mahendra Kapoor to Sonu Nigam. Winner of several awards, R D Burman. including two National Awards, Asha re- She made her ceived the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in acting debut 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. in 2013 at 79 Asha became a legend of playback singing because of her extraordinary ability to imbibe the personality of the actor and catch the emotive soul of the song. She could become the innocent, impoverished street kids in Boot Polish (1954) in Nanhe munne bachche teri mutthi mein kya hai 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, as were the siblings—Lata Mangeshkar, Meena Khadikar, Usha Mangeshkar, and Hridaynath Mangeshkar. There had been tales of sibling rivalry between her and Lata Mangeshkar, but both eventually carved enviable and influential niches for themselves. express read CM’s paddy incentive charge is baseless: FM Chennai: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday rejected Chief Minister MK Stalin’s allegations that the centre had directed TN to stop incentives for paddy cultivation. Asserting that no such direction was issued, she said the claims were factually baseless and politically motivated | P4 Vijay promises to make TN India’s AI capital Kanniyakumari: TN would be made the AI and digital capital of India, if TVK is voted to power, said party chief Vijay on Sunday. Within six months of forming the government, TVK will enact the TN Right to Service Act, take steps to establish an AI university and wipe out middlemen bribery, he said | P4 Ramadoss hospitalised after fainting at meet Salem: PMK founder S Ramadoss collapsed at a public meeting in Salem and was admitted to a private hospital on Sunday. The 86-year-old leader fainted after addressing a poll campaign in Pallapatti, while proceeding towards his vehicle to leave for the next venue. He is currently undergoing treatment | P4 US President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that the US Navy will “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 traveling through the strait, but Trump said no one who pays them 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 .” The war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets has entered its seventh week. US Vice President J D Vance, while leaving Pakistan after the talks, warned that Washington made Tehran its “final and best offer” for a deal. Ghalibaf said on X that US Vice President J D Vance talks to Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshall Asim Munir before flying out of Islamabad on Sunday | AP day 44 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 Strait and Tehran’s insistence on a right to enrich uranium. Phone in RR dugout: ACSU investigation on g o mesh 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 tie, BCCI has said that their Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) will investigate the matter. The incident occurred during the 11th over of the IPL tie between Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday night in Guwahati. Bhinder was using his phone in dugout while teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was seen taking a look at the screen during the broadcast. The ACSU have already begun their investigation. “We have asked the ACSU to investigate and file a report on the incident,” IPL Governing Council Chair Arun Dhumal told this daily Are there any . exceptions? Why was Bhinder using the phone? These are some of the questions the franchise will have to answer.  More on: P13 Later, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Chinese imports if Beijing tries to help Iranian military Before his lat. est threat, many international capitals had called for the truce 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,” Trump said. An EU spokesman said “diplomacy is the only way out.” Ahead of an extended threeday special session of Parliament from April 16 to 18 to discuss amendments to 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 amendment 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 gover nment’s commitment to increasing women’s Cong seeks all-party meet after polls Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to PM Narendra Modi conveying that the special session of Parliament being convened to discuss women’s quota is “a clear breach of the Model Code of Conduct”. He demanded that an all-party meeting be called after the state elections are over 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 addition, the event will spotlight the role of women in India’s jour ney towards Viksit Bharat 2047.