The Editorial Page: In Bangladesh, a new political moment — and a fragile equilibrium 10 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAgE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 24 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A CBC 06124/13/0009/2526 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 Seva Teerth, the new PMO 110 138 171 Happening today l INDIAN SUPERLeague kickstarts at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata with a match between Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters THE BIg PIcTURE SEOUL MAtES: the korean wave pAgE 17 Landslide returns BNP to power, Rahman to be PM New Delhi, February 13 INDIAN NATIONAL Nikhil Gupta, charged with the 2023 assassinationplotagainstKhalistani separatist Gurpatwant SinghPannuninNewYork,has pleaded guilty in a United States court, news agency Reuters reported Friday. Gupta pleaded guilty to three criminal charges, the report stated, quoting a spokespersonfortheUSAttorney’sOffice in Manhattan. The 54-year-old pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-forhire and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carry a maximum combined sentence of 40 years in prison, the spokesperson said, adding that Gupta entered his plea be- By EP UNNY EXPREss IN DHAKA Shubhajit Roy Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Seva Teerth complex, located on Dara Shikoh Road, Friday. PTI February 13 New complex and Kartavya Bhavan built to fulfil aspirations of India: PM SIGNALLING THE start of a new chapter in the country’s history, the centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, returned to power Friday after nearly two decades, securing a landslide victory in the first nationalelectionssincetheAugust 2024 ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Election Commission announced that the BNP had won 209 seats in the 300-seat Bangladesh parliament. With a commanding twothirds majority, the BNP will be able to form the government and 60-year-old Rahman, who is tipped to be the Prime Minister, will not need the support Harikishan Sharma New Delhi, February 13 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Friday shifted to his new office at Seva Teerth complexfromthecolonial-eraSouth Block building on Raisina Hill, where the PMO was located since Independence. Addressinganeventafterinaugurating the Seva Teerth, as well as two Central Secretariat buildings, called Kartavya Bhavan 1 and 2, the PM said buildings in the North and South Block were “built as symbols of theBritishEmpireandtheirpurpose was to keep India chained in slavery for centuries”. “The new complexes like Seva Teerth and Kartavya Bhavan have been built to fulfil the aspirations of India and its people,”hesaid.“Thedecisions made here will not reflect the thinking of any Maharaja (monarch) but will serve as the foundation for advancing the aspirations of 1.4 billion citizens. With this sacred spirit, today I am dedicating this Seva Teerth and Kartavya Bhavan to the people of India.” Earlier, in a post on X, the PM said: “May Seva Teerth always stand as a radiant symbol of duty, compassion, commitment to the principle of India First… May it inspire generations to walk the path of selfless service and tireless dedication to the welfare of all.” The Executive Enclave complex or Seva Teerth, on Dara Shikoh Road (formerly Dalhousie Road), also houses »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pannun assassination plot: Accused Nikhil Gupta pleads guilty in Manhattan court Divya A Business as Usual Jamaat emerges as second largest party, main Opposition 73 lUNION MoS fOR SCIENCE and Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh will inaugurate CSIR’s RISE conference, aimed at providing a common platform for startups, MSMEs, academic and research institutions. PARTY SECURES TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY IN BANGLADESH PARLIAMENT foreUSMagistrateJudgeSarah Netburn in the Manhattan federal court. Gupta has been jailed in Brooklyn since his June 2024 extradition to the US from the Czech Republic, where he had been arrested a year earlier. He hadpleadednotguiltyimmediately after his extradition. The prosecutorshadaccusedhimof plotting, along with an individual identified as an Indian government official, to kill Pannun, a US resident and dual US-Canadian citizen. On several occasions after the case came to light, New Delhi dissociated itself from any plot against Pannun, saying it was against government policy.TheMinistryofExternal Affairs (MEA) strongly dismissed allegations regarding »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Tarique Rahman in Dhaka, Friday. PTI RELATED REPORTS, PAGE 19 Modi first to reach out to Rahman, but Delhi-Dhaka ties not so simple Shubhajit Roy Dhaka, February 13 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi became the first leader to call and greet BNP chief Tarique Rahman Friday after it became clear that his centreright party had secured a twothirds majority in elections to the Bangladesh parliament, one of the most watched elections in South Asia in recent years. Modi’s outreach assumes significance given the acrimony and strain in ties between Delhi and Dhaka after the dramatic August 2024 ousterofPrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina, one of India’s closest partners in the neighbourhood. Her presence inIndiawillframeadiplomatic challengeforthetwocountries, apart from irritants that include water-sharing, border, connectivity and illegals. Modi dialled Rahman even before the official results were announcedbytheElection Commission of Bangladesh. The first post by Modi came at 9.32 am Bangladesh time (9.02 am IST). In posts in E. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FDA clerk held taking ₹35,000 bribe in Mantralaya remanded till Feb 16 ACB investigation widens as Cong seeks minister’s resignation Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan with Vandita Mishra, National Opinion Editor, The Indian Express, at Express Adda in New Delhi on Friday. RENUKA PURI Rs 5,000 in account: Stalin’s early morning bonanza for 1.31 cr women Arun Janardhanan Chennai, February 13 AT 6 AM, before most people in Tamil Nadu had boiled their first tea, Rs 5,000 landed in the bank accounts of 1.31 crore women in the state. The announcement came later. In a move that left little room for bureaucratic inter- ruption or political challenge, the state government, led by Chief Minister M K Stalin, creditedatotalofRs6,550crore intobeneficiaryaccountsunder the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme — Rs 3,000 covering three months’ assistance (Rs 1,000 each for February, March and April), and an additional Rs 2,000 as a special summer package. By the time opponents could react, the money was already there. “This urimai thogai (rights grant) was an assurance made byStalintothewomenofTamil Nadu. Whoever may create obstacles,Iwillnotstepback,”Stalin said after the transfers were completed. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Express News Service Mumbai, February 13 THE ARREST of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clerk by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹35,000 inside Mantralaya has triggered a controversy, with the Congress demanding the resignation of state Minister for Food and Drugs Administration, Narhari Zirwal in whose office the accused was working. The clerk was produced before a sessions court on Friday and remanded to police custody till February 16 for further investigation. According to ACB officials, clerk Rajendra Dherange alleg- INsIDE pAgE 7 COMpLAINt By A MEdICAL StORE OWNER LEd tO A RARE StINg The arrested official, Rajendra Dherange, was working in the office of State Minister for FDA, Narhari Zirwal. edlydemanded₹50,000froma Mumbai-based medical store owner to restore a suspended licence. After negotiations, the amount was allegedly reduced to ₹35,000. The complainant approached the ACB, which verifiedtheallegationsandlaid a trap on the second floor of Mantralaya, where Zirwal’s office is located, catching Dherange red-handed while accepting the money. An ACB officer said six to seven officials work in the section concerned and statements MANtRALAyA jUMp tO ACB StORM: ZIRWAL BACk IN A ROW of all will be recorded. A senior official added that while the bribe amount appeared relatively small, the agency would examineDherange’scalldatarecordsandverifyhisassetstodetermineifotherswereinvolved. MaharashtraCongresspresident Harshvardhan Sapkal accusedtheMahayutigovernment of allowing corruption to flourish within the state secretariat. “Ashockinginformationhas come to light that the ACB laid a trap in the office of a cabinet »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l VISITORS THRONG THE SITE 2 weeks after Ajit Pawar’s death, crash site at Baramati becomes an unlikely landmark Soham Shah unlikely landmark on the edge of an active training airstrip. Groups trickle in steadily. THE WRECKAGE is gone, the Some off-road their cars and ground levelled. But two weeks two-wheelers across the airafter Deputy Chief Minister Ajit field,otherstrekarounditsperPawar died in a plane crash at imetertoreachthefar-removed Baramati, the crash patch of ground. PAGE 1 site has taken on a ManycomefromBasecond life, drawing ramati and nearby visitors through the villages. Others arday, some from nearby villages, rive after long drives, pausing others from hundreds of kilo- first in silence, then slipping metres away, simply to stand into conversation. where it happened and see it Discussions inevitably for themselves. breakout,andeverytheoryand The site has turned into an conspiracy is aired. “Ti porgi Baramati, February 13 anchor changla chalwat hoti (The girl was a good pilot),” says one, referring to Shambhavi Pathak, the first officer of the fateful flight. “If all these aircraft can land easily, how could ‘dada’s’ planewithsuchanexperienced pilot crash?” says another, pointing to the training aircraft passing overhead and landing without a glitch. Nitin Ghusalkar has come withhiswifeandlittledaughter from Malegon Budruk, 15 km away. “The police had cordoned off the area and did not let us visit the day of the acci- People at the accident site. SOHAM SHAH dent,soIcametoday.Istillcan’t believe ‘dada’ is gone. It still doesn’t feel real,” he says. Kundaliklal Ghude, an NCP worker from Kusgaon Khurd, drove 150 km with his friend to reach Baramati. “We have a lot of love for ‘dada’ and it was our wish to visit here ourselves. It feels horrible to see this scene,” he says. For many visitors, the cleared ground is not enough. Some crouch and use small rockstodigatthesite,hopingto find remnants of the aircraft. Others show relatives around, narratinghowtheaccidenttook place,turningthepatchofearth into a story that can be retold. Ragho Atole, who owns a farmjustbesidetheairstripand was present while the rescue operations were underway, stopsbytorecountwhathesaw that day. “I was here a few minutes after the accident happened. Two bodies were recoveredfirstandtheotherthree were recovered after a tractor moved the plane. The bodies werenotjustburned,theywere completely cooked,” he says. Almost everyone here seems to have a personal memory of Ajit Pawar. Many pull out old selfies clicked with him, holding up their phones as proof of proximity. Vaishali Khare, visiting her village near Baramati from Pune, says she will go next to Vidya Pratishthan to pay respects after stopping here. The educational institution founded by the Pawar family, it was where Ajit Pawar’s mortal remains were brought for public homage and final rites. “The Pawar’sarelikefamilytous.For »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2