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 ■ ■ KOCHI l friday l November 13, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Messi fiasco Governor nod to prosecute Abdurahiman Express News Service @T’Puram The stage is set for a highprofile probe against former sports minister V Abdurahiman as Governor Om Prakash Mathur has accorded sanction for his prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The governor’s nod clears the way for the special investigation team (SIT) to arraign Abdurahiman as an accused in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities surrounding the failed proposal to bring Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team to the state. The SIT led by Law and Order ADGP P Vijayan had in its report stated that there was incriminating evidence that the former minister extended favours to Reporter Broadcasting Company the private , sponsor of the proposed ● More on P4 event.  EXPRESS READ SSLC examinations to begin on March 1 T’Puram: The SSLC examinations in the state will be held from March 1 to 30, and the Higher Secondary exams for Plus-I and Plus-II from March 2 to 30, General Education Minister said on Thursday. P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Buzz on special session by December first week 361 votes needed to pass Constitution amend bill on women quota RA J ES H K U M AR T H A K U R @ New Delhi THE BJP-led NDA government is considering convening a special session of Parliament after November 20 or by the first week of December to secure the passage of a Constitution amendment bill aimed at implementing 33% quota for women in Parliament and state Houses. BJP sources on Thursday said the government is confident it will get the numbers. The government proposes to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 850 by increasing seats allocated to each state by 50%, to address southern states’ concerns over population-based delimitation, while operationalising the women’s reservation law before the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. BJP expects victory margin of 15-18 votes The government appears confident of mustering the numbers to pass the bill with a margin of 15-18 votes possibly through deals with parties outside the NDA and/ or abstentions An effort to pass the legislation on April 17 came a cropper. The proposed special sitting is likely to last two days and may be convened as an extension of the Monsoon Session, which has not been prorogued. Asked if any Opposition party had agreed, in principle, to support the bill, a senior BJP leader said: “Supporting someone doesn’t just mean being physically by their side; even if some people are in Opposition, they can offer support.” The government needs 361 votes for a two-thirds majority to pass the bill in the 543-member Lok Sabha, which has three vacancies. Its efforts come ahead of Assembly polls in seven states in 2027 as success could give the NDA an edge, particularly in UP , Punjab and Gujarat. “If they continue obstructing... we will take this double-standard on women’s rights to the court of the people in the Assembly polls,” said a BJP leader. In his pushback, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said home minister Amit Shah’s “bulldozer” will not work. Referring to the ‘15-18 margin’, he said on X: “He said the same thing seven months earlier but on April 17th faced a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha by a decisive margin.” ‘Focus on success stories’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his annual ‘Diwali Milan’ address at the BJP HQ in Delhi on Thursday, urged the media to highlight India’s achievements, asserting that positive coverage of progress would help accelerate the country’s journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. He also expressed confidence that India would achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation with the collective support of the media and the people. Here are some of the salient points: 2047 deadline Service to nation “I’ve a request for media. Communication is the strongest tool in 21st century and we need to tell ‘India story’ to the world. Deadline is very important in the world of news. We also have a deadline for making India ‘developed nation’ by 2047,” the prime minister said “I would also urge the country’s media to work on stories about India’s successes and help them reach more people. This would be a tremendous service to the nation on your part... There were earlier slogans of Garibi Hatao. But poverty has been removed by this government” Call to help fight drug addiction “I have interacted with the media and seen it evolve from the days of press releases to Instagram reels. Nothing is considered impossible in the world of news... Now we must also raise awareness about drug addiction in the same way. We must get our youth out of all this” Retail inflation at 2-year high, breaches RBI’s limit P U S H PI TA DE Y @ New Delhi RETAIL inflation soared to a two-year high of 6.09% in October primarily driven by high food prices, breaching the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s upper tolerance limit of 6%. The reading is the highest since October 2024, when the Consumer Price Index-based inflation stood at 6.21%. The impact of elevated food prices was visible more in ru- The heat is on 5.54% 6.09% * 4.83% 3.93% 4.38% 4.45% 3.48% May June April * Provisional estimate  J u ly ral areas where inflation hit 6.63% against 5.41% in urban. According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Sta- Aug Oct Sep | Source: MoSPI tistics and Programme Implementation on Thursday, food inflation climbed to 8.94% in October from 7.74% in the pre- vious month. Higher prices of food and beverage including cereals, sugar, milk and other essential food items have jacked up household expenses. “October’s inflation print was less a surprise than a culmination of pressures that had been building for months,” said Dipti Deshpande, principal economist at Crisil. Higher inflation was not restricted to food; the hospitality sector also witnessed a spike. Inflation in restaurants and accommodation services rose by 10.06% in October. Among states, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest inflation rate at 7.29% followed by Telangana (7.26%), Andhra Pradesh (7.25%), Madhya Pradesh (7.19%), and Odisha (7.17%). RBI raised repo rate by 25 bps earlier this month. With the headline inflation breaching RBI’s tolerance band, economists expect another hike. Usha’s ‘ice’ play to stay in the IOA polls game i n d r a n e e l d a s @ Chennai The Indian Olympic Association election has taken yet another intriguing turn. Its current president P T Usha is refusing to leave the battlefield without a fight. As per the provisional electoral college, she has entered her name from the Ice Hockey Association of India and would be in line to contest for the president’s post again. This will put her directly against those, including some National Sports Federations and a certain section of the sports ministry that was rallying behind some of the Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) representatives. This can be seen as a direct defiance to whatever had transpired during the SOM election where Usha lost after four female SOMs grouped together to defeat her. World championships medallist Anju Bobby George, London Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal, former India archer Dola Banerjee and former hockey captain Rani Rampal came together against Usha after last-minute withdrawal dynamics that put her in a corner. There were allegations against multiple people, including IOA executive committee members. Some even alleged sports ministry interference. The latest episode has given the election a new twist. Usha, who until now was seen out of the presidential race, may get a new lease of life. P11