The Editorial Page: In workers’ protests, a test of labour reforms 8 THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2026 Journalism of Courage AHMEDABAD, LATE CITy, 18 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 STARTINg TODAY, THREE-DAY SITTINg Of PARLIAMENT ON cONSTITUTION AMENDMENT bILLS APRIL 26 LOcAL bODY POLLS IN gUJARAT & pressure Govt plan: Keep south share same in Amid charges of kidnapCong hard tactics, withdrawals hit LS, list states’ new count in ‘schedule’ Delimitation exercise to demarcate constituencies based on 2011 Census, LS seats for all states to go up 50% Vikas Pathak & Jatin Anand New Delhi, April 15 THEGOVERNMENTwillmost likely bring on Thursday a ‘schedule’ in Parliament to clearly specify the number of Lok Sabha seats for each state, and this will show that the percentage share of each state in theLokSabha’stotalstrengthis the same as it is now, top sources said. A‘schedule’isanadditional sectiontoalegislationthatprovidesdetailedinformationsupporting its text. Stating that the three Bills cleared by the Cabinet to facilitate women's reservation and delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies could not have mentioned a pro-rata increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for states, the sources said, it would be done in the ‘schedule’. “There will be no »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 E. EXPlAINED Challenge to Opp The Opposition parties have primarily criticised the government's move to link women's reservation to the increase in the Lok Sabha strength and the delimitation exercise. With the government keen to maintain a pro-rata distribution of the increased seats in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition, including states in the midst of Assembly polls, will find it challenging to push its case. Opp chorus: For women’s quota, but delimitation a devious BJP agenda Asad Rehman New Delhi, April 15 SETTINGTHEstageforaturbulent three-day session of ParliamentwhichwillmeetThursday, OppositionpartiessaidWednesday that they will vote against the Constitution amendment Bill provisions on delimitation, some among them calling the delimitation plan “a devious agenda”and“atooltowinamajority for the ruling party”. The Opposition parties »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Rahul Gandhi with other INDIA bloc leaders in New Delhi, Wednesday. ANI ‘India was not built through arithmetic, but on trust’ In Surat, Congress has taken its candidates to Udaipur, Daman and Vapi, yet two of them withdrew nominations Aditi Raja & Kamal Saiyed Vadodara, Surat, April 15 THELASTdayofwithdrawalof nominations for the April 26 Gujarat local body elections witnessed high drama with the Congress struggling to keep its flock together as some of its candidates withdrew from the contest at the last minute. In at least two districts, complaints of Congress candidates being “kidnapped” were filed by their family members. Bharat Kambad, a Congress candidate for Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation released a statement saying that he was not kidnapped and that he had gone away from Bhavnagar as the date for withdrawal of nomination drew near “to protect himself and democracy EXPRESSinvestigation IN ASSOcIATION wITH IcIJ Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin campaigns in Dharmapuri, Wednesday. PTI Arun Janardhanan Chennai, April 15 A DAY after issuing a “final warning” to the Union government over delimitation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin moved swiftly from rhetoric to mobilisation, convening an urgent meeting of DMK district secretaries on Wednesday and calling for statewide black flag protests on Thursday. Invoking Tamil Nadu’s history of political assertion, Stalin suggestedthatifinstitutionalresponsesfailed,publicexpression would follow. Excerpts from an interview on Wednesday after EXPRESS interview M K STALIN CHIEF MINISTER, TAMIL NADU the DMK’s latest escalation: You have described delimitation not just as a political issue but as a question of fairness and federal balance. What, in your view, is the principle that should guide India at this moment? India was not constructed »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 7 Indian firms in race, experts eye cheaper Keytruda version in 2 yrs Anonna Dutt dated 200mg dose New Delhi, April 15 costs more than Rs 3 lakh. WITHATleastseven “We have seen Indian manufacthiswithotherimturers in the race to THE cANcER munotherapies. develop generic verThe entry of biosions of Merck & Co’s similars leads to a best-selling cancer significantdropin PART-Iv immunotherapy drug prices, sometimes Keytruda, doctors and re- by as much as 70%. This is the searcherssayafarcheaperalter- simplest way to make cancer native could be available within drugs more affordable and actwoyearswhenthedrug’spatent cessible. In the long run, expires in June 2028 — offering however, India needs to hope at a time when each man»cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 calculus Ahmedabad from any kind of pressure, allurement or threat” . In Kheda district, Chikhlod seat in Fagvel taluka will see freshelectionsasallcandidates withdrew their nominations, includingthoseoftheBJP,Congress and independents. Across the municipal corporationsofAhmedabad,Surat and Vadodara, at least nine »cONTINUED ON PAgE 2 Happening today lHOUSELISTINg phase of Census 2027 begins in eight States and UTs, including Delhi. Business as Usual By EP UNNY