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 ■ ■ sambalpur l Saturday l April 18, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION ‘Wrath of women’ looms as bill defeat draws battle lines Resistance to women’s rights will not be forgiven: CM LS rejects proposals to amend Constitution 298:230, why short of two-thirds majority DMK, TMC, and other Opposition parties, linking their resistance to the upThe battle over the women’s reservation coming electoral battles. The subtext: Bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday went far resistance would be framed as opposibeyond the arithmetic of 298 votes in fa- tion to women’s empowerment, with the vour and 230 against. It unfolded as a BJP seeking to consolidate women as a tightly calibrated political contest over cross-cutting constituency cutting across narrative, constituency-building, and caste and region. the future architecture of representaThe government’s argument rested on tion, with the government invoktwo assertions — that women’s ing the “wrath of women” in the quota is inseparable from de2029 Lok Sabha elections and belimitation for its early rollout, yond, and the Opposition warnand that concerns about regioning that the measure masked a al imbalance, particularly fears larger attempt to redraw India’s of the South losing representaelectoral map. For the BJP-led tion, are misplaced. Shah sought government, the Constitution to neutralise that anxiety insist, (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was Conscience ing that representation would vote call not merely a legislative proposal not decline and that “no state but an electoral statement. Hours “Please reflect will face a loss of seats,” posiupon your before the vote, Prime Minister tioning delimitation as a much conscience, Narendra Modi appealed directneeded structural correction. remembering ly to MPs, urging them to rise The Opposition, however, rethe women in jected the premise entirely. above partisan divides. your own Home minister Amit Shah amLeader of Opposition Rahul plified the political framing, ex- families... Let us Gandhi described the bill as a plicitly positioning women as a ensure that the structural redesign masked as women, who decisive electoral constituency reform. The Opposition posithat could shape outcomes across are half of the tioned itself not against womnation’s multiple election cycles. Warnen’s reservation, but against population, ing of sustained political consewhat it described as its “sereceive their quences, he said Opposition parquencing design”. By the time rightful due,” ties would face the “wrath of the bill failed to secure a twowomen” not only in the 2029 Lok Modi appealed. thirds majority, it had already Sabha elections, but “at every taken on a dual life. For the govlevel, in every election, and at every ernment, it was a forward-looking atplace,” signalling an attempt to convert tempt to build a long-term narrative cenwomen’s reservation into a durable po- tred on women. For the Opposition, it litical theme anchored in the BJP’s gov- became a rare point of convergence, an ernance narrative and Modi’s personal issue framed not as rejection of women’s popularity among women voters. reservation, but as resistance to the deShah directly named the Congress, sign of delimitation itself. J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi quote hanger Now, women will not get the 33% reservation, which was their right. The Congress and its allies have done this not for the first time. Their mindset is neither in the interest of women nor of the country Amit Shah, Union home minister Hectic parleys and discreet messages R A J ESH K U M A R TH A K U R @ New Delhi HECTIC parleys and discreet back channel negotiations preceded the crucial vote. With the odds stacked against it, the NDA tasked BJP leaders who enjoy personal rapport with Opposition leaders with mustering support for the bill. As for the Opposition, senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi worked the phones to ensure Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress aligns with the Opposition’s stand on the bill. Sources said Rahul spoke to TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, while Kharge called up Mamata. According to BJP sources, senior leaders worked the phones in a bid to beat the numbers game in the Lok Sabha. Ministers and senior BJP leaders, along with leaders of other NDA allies, were in touch with Opposition parties, albeit in a discreet manner. Within NDA, several rounds of strategic meetings were held to see if the voting could yield the desired results. Sources said senior leaders J P Nadda and Rajnath Singh were also involved in talks with Opposition parties. Hours before the voting on Friday, it became evident that the NDA’s collective efforts to overcome the Opposition’s numerical strength would not succeed. However, NDA continued to work behind the scenes to win support through other means, including cross-voting. Soon after the voting, NDA leaders met to deliberate on the post-vote strategy The meeting, also . attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to target the Opposition parties for their “anti-women” stance, sources said. Another NDA meeting is scheduled on Saturday, followed by a Cabinet meeting at 11.30 am, sources said. In a major relief for the global energy markets, Iran on Friday declared that the Strait of Hormuz, closed since the start of the current conflict in West Asia, is “completely open” for all commercial vessels. It comes a day after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire deal. “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire,” Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X. Minutes later, US President Donald Trump shared Iran’s announcement in a post on Truth Social.“Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage. Thank you!” Trump said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Iran, with help from the United States, is working to remove all sea mines from the strait. The US naval blockday ade against Iran, however, will remain in “full force” until Tehran reaches an agreement with the US to end the war, Trump said. “The naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only until such time as our trans, action with Iran is 100% complete,” he wrote on Truth Social. The development comes a day after Pakistan’s Chief of Defence 49 Don says Israel prohibited from further Lebanon strikes US President Donald Trump said Israel is “prohibited” by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the IsraelHezbollah war. The White House, however, did not clarify whether the prohibition spans both offensive and defensive strikes pic: pti An attempt to change electoral map: Rahul p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi THE Constitution amendment bill has nothing to do with women’s reservation but is an attempt to change India’s electoral map so that the BJP can retain p o w e r f o r e v e r, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said. Participating in the debate in Lok Sabha, he said the proposal does not address women’s empowerment and called it a “shameful act”. He said the opposition This historic moment was an opportunity which you (Opposition) have lost. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, we will continue our campaign to give women their rights Kiren Rijiju, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP Forces Asim Munir held talks with the Iranian leadership in Tehran. Araghchi’s declaration bolstered hopes for further peace talks and a renewal of the current ceasefire set to expire next week. In response to the announcement, oil prices fell by more than 10%. Both the benchmark inter national contract Brent and its US equivalent WTI fell below $90 per barrel. However, many shipping companies are preferring to wait and watch. “We don’t feel like we need to be taking unnecessary risks, and our company approach is that we won’t be the first to go through the strait,” a major tanker operator told the BBC. The 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect on Friday UN peacekeepers . said airstrikes have halted, and displaced families began moving back to southern Lebanon and P9 Beirut.  E x p r e s s N e w s S e rv i c e PA D M INI D H R U V A R A J @ New Delhi TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday said that it received no complaints related to allegations of sexual harassment or religious conversion at its Nashik unit. “While detailed reviews are still underway a prelim, inary review of the systems and records pertaining to the Nashik unit indicates that we have not received any complaints of the nature that are being alleged on either our ethics or POSH channels,” said K Krithivasan, chief executive officer and managing director. The company has engaged e x t e r n a l e x p e r t s f ro m Deloitte and law firm Trilegal to act as independent counsel to its internal probe led by Aarthi Subramanian, president and chief operat- express read Bajaj, actor Kiara Advani fined for misleading ad Bhawanipatna: The Kalahandi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has imposed a fine of `25 lakh each on Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd and ANKW Pharma Retail Pvt Ltd for deceptive advertising regarding the sale and promotion of ‘Almond Drops’ hair oil | P4 72 LPG cylinders seized from house @ Bhubaneswar Illegal encroachments demolished as BDA carries out eviction drive in Shampur near Bharatpur on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Friday | Express ers were deployed at the site to maintain law and order during the eviction which remained peaceful. In December 2023, the BDA had filed an FIR with the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police alleging encroachment and illegal sale of portions of the 68 acre land by land sharks. It had also sought action against several persons, including filing of criminal cases against three for illegal sale and possession of the government land CONTINUED ON P5 in the mouza. I am surprised people here, who are there to protect Hindutva, were reminded of Kali, the goddess, the dark goddess who wears black. The feminine power. The woman who drives away ego, arrogance, ignorance Kanimozhi, DMK MP Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said opposition to the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill amounts to disrespect towards women power in the country . Addressing a Nari Shakti Vandan function attended by a large number of women, he said any resistance to women’s empowerment will not be forgiven by women in society . Majhi said women are a source of strength not only for families but for society as a whole. The large turnout at the event, he added, reflected Odisha’s progress. The Chief Minister stressed that women must take leadership roles from the panchayat level to Parliament. “No country can prosper without the development of women,” he said, adding that women’s empowerment remains central to the vision of a developed Odisha. Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Majhi said his emphasis on women-led development has reshaped the country’s growth trajectory Women, . he noted, have excelled across sectors including science, technology, sports, education and governance. He also described President Droupadi Murmu as a symbol of “nari shakti.” Highlighting government initiatives, Majhi said the state has allocated over `1.22 lakh crore for women in the budget, marking a 30 per cent increase from the previous year. Legislators Ashok Mohanty, Pratap Pradhan and Agasti Behera were also present at the event. Received no complaints of harassment at Nashik: TCS 187 houses demolished in BDA’s major anti-encroachment drive in capital city The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) on F riday launched one of its biggest eviction drive to remove encroachment from 68 acre land in Shampur mouza of the capital city . On the first day, the BDA demolished 187 houses, including 31 under-construction buildings, on eight acre of land in the area under Bharatpur police limits. Around 600 houses along with other establishments, which were allegedly constructed illegally will be demol, ished in the eviction exercise to free the entire land patch, said BDA officials. The operation involved six earthmovers. Around 10 platoons of police force along with 50 police offic- supports women’s reservation, but not in this manner. “We will help pass it for implementation from this very moment. What is being presented now as the women’s bill is something else, and the truth about it needs to be told.” He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi using an anecdote about a magic show he watched as a child, drawing strong protests from BJP MPs. Defence minister Rajnath Singh said Rahul must apologise.  P7 You have proposed delimitation with such haste that you showed on demonetisation. Unfortunately, we all know what damage that did to the country. Delimitation will turn out to be political demonetisation Hormuz fully open, demining begins A g e n c i e s @ Washington/Tehran B i jay R o u t @ Angul Interestingly, the enforcement squad recovered 72 domestic LPG cylinders, including 21 small cylinders, from an encroached house. The BDA squad handed over the seized cylinders to the civil supplies department for further action. The recovery at a time when many consumers are facing issues with LPG booking and alleged short supply, raises serious concerns regarding regulation of the cooking gas distribution in the city. The civil supplies officials have launched an investigation to ascertain whether the cylinders were procured legally and persons involved in it. ing officer of TCS. Alongside this, TCS has formed an oversight committee chaired by independent director Keki Mistry. The company said the findings of the investigation will be presented to this committee for review and implementation of any recommendations. Providing further clarific at i o n o n t h e m a t t e r, Krithivasan addressed media reports regarding a fe- male employee named in connection with the case. “She was employed as a process associate without any leadership responsibilities,” he said, adding that she was neither an HR manager nor involved in recruitment. The company also denied claims that its Nashik unit had been shut down, stating that operations are continuing as usual and that client services remain unaffected.