BHUBANESWAR 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 The BJP on Sunday appointed Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the central observer for the election of its legislative party leader in Bihar Shivraj Singh Chouhan Nitish Kumar Process on to form new state government Nitish kumar likely to resign on Tuesday 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 ■ ■ 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 PM Modi to address ahead Strait as US-Iran talks fail women’s meetsession of Parliament Says US Navy will blockade ships trying to enter or leave shipping route RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR 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. The fact that the sound of Asha remained robust was the reason why, in her over eight-decade long career in a notoriously 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: OP Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan, Jaidev, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, the Burmans, AR Rahman and Her life was Sandeep Chowta. She sang duets with male adventurous. At singers across all ages, from Kishore Ku- 16, she eloped with mar, Mohammad Rafi, and Mahendra Ka- Ganpatrao Bhosle poor to Sonu Nigam. Winner of several and married awards, including two National Awards, him. Years later, Asha received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award she married RD in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. However, these markers aside, Asha be- Burman. She made came a legend of playback singing because her acting debut in of the extraordinary ability to imbibe the 2013 at 79 personality of the actor, get into the mood of the moment, respond to the space and setting of the sequence and catch the emotive soul of a song with the amazing texture and timbre of her voice. She could 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. IPL controversy Mobile 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 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 Beng alur u on F riday night at the ACA BarScreengrab of Rajasthan Royals team manager Romi Bhinder using a phone in the sapara Stadium in Gudugout next to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi wahati. 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, Continued on P5 which is near the boundary ropes.  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 USIran 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 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 J D Vance and the Iranian 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 of- @ New Delhi US Vice President JD Vance talks to Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshall Asim Munir before flying out of Islamabad on Sunday | AP day 44 fer” 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 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.” 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 bring, ing together eminent personalities and acc o m p l i s h e d wo m e n 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 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 | P7 will spotlight the role of women in India’s journey towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. “It will reflect the 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 have come into effect only after the completion of the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2027 Census. This meant the reservation would not have become enforceable before 2034. To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections onwards, changes are needed in the Act. Woman kills 2 kids, tries to end life suspecting husband’s affair E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Bhubaneswar/Jharsuguda In a heart-wrenching incident, a 35-year-old woman allegedly hacked her two minor children to death while they were asleep and later attempted suicide at their house in Jharsuguda district over suspicion that her husband was having an extra-marital affair. The incident occurred in Tangarpali village within Airport police limits late on Sat- urday night. The deceased children have been identified as 10-year-old Jigyasha and Bibhansu (5). Soon after killing her kids, the mother Ranjita Oram allegedly attempted to end her life by slitting her throat with a vegetable cutter. She was initially taken to the district headquarters hospital in Jharsuguda and later shifted to Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla. Her condition is stated to be stable. As per police, Ranjita and her husband Sitaram Oram (43) were having frequent arguments for the last 15 to 20 days as she suspected him to be in an illicit relationship with his relative. The couple reportedly had another argument in this connection on the night of the incident. Police said at around 11 pm on Saturday, the family had dinner together and went to sleep. However, around halfan-hour later, Ranjita woke her husband up to accompany her outside on the pretext of answering nature’s call. Just as Sitaram opened the door and stepped outside, Ranjita A case was registered against the woman. The weapon of offence has been seized from the spot. The accused will be taken into police custody as soon as she is discharged from the hospital Gundala Reddy Raghavendra, Jharsuguda SP locked the house from the inside. She then attacked the two kids on their head and neck with an axe while they were asleep. On hearing their screams, Sitaram alerted his elder brother who lived in the same locality They then broke . the window of the house and went inside only to find the two children lying in a pool of blood and Ranjita attempting to end life by slitting her throat with a vegetable cutter, police Continued on P5 said.