The Editorial Page: India-US deal could have been a moment missed. It is a moment seized 10 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE NEW DELHI, LATE CITy, 20 PAGES ₹7.00 (₹8 RAIPUR, ₹15 SRINAGAR) 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 , LU 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 FIRST POLLS IN BANGLADESH AFTER SHEIKH HASINA’S OUSTER PROPOSALS OF RS 3.60 LAKH CR OKAYED Another 114 BNP leads, Dhaka turns new page Rafale for IAF get approval ExPrEss IN DHAKA 90 aircraft to be made in India; more Boeing P-8Is, combat missiles cleared Amrita Nayak Dutta New Delhi, February 12 MOVING TO close one of India’s largest military deals, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) Thursday cleared a proposaltopurchase114Rafale multirole fighter aircraft from France under an inter-governmental deal. Top government officials told TheIndianExpressthat 90 of these aircraft for the Indian Air Force would be manufactured in India. Happening today lTHE PM WILL CHAIR the last Cabinet meeting at South Block. After this, PMO will shift to the ‘Seva Teerth’ complex. TRACK THIS AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm FamilyofIndian studentrunover byUScopto getRs262crore Mother asks: What will we do with it? Sreenivas Janyala Hyderabad, February 12 E. TARGETS PM AGAIN OVER TRADE DEAL Do what you can, not budging: Rahul after BJP MP seeks his expulsion from LS Shubhajit Roy Liz Mathew & Asad Rehman CENTRE-RIGHT Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tarique Rahman took an early lead over its rivals Thursday night in the first national elections since the August 2024 ousterofPrimeMinisterSheikh Hasina, according to poll projections based on field reports. The BNP’s main rival, Jamaat-e-Islami, appeared to be in the second position — a stunning turnaround for a party that had been a political pariah for long. This election outcome will not come as a surprise to many in Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League is not in the fray. Banned from contesting polls following her ouster, it has vacated the political landscape for the BNP and the Jamaat. AS BJP MP Nishikant Dubey gave notice Thursday for a substantive motion against Rahul Gandhiseekinghis“immediate expulsion”fromLokSabha,the Leader of Opposition again targeted the Prime Minister and the government over the trade deal with the US and told them “do whatever you want, I am standing with thefarmers”and “will not budge even an inch”. Gandhi’s remarks came a day after he mounted a sharp attack on the government in Lok Sabha, accusing it of compromisingIndia’senergysecurity and farm interests in the trade deal with the US. On Thursday, BJP’s Dubey submitted a notice on a substantive motion, seeking Gandhi’s “immediate expulsion” from the Lok Sabha after initi- February 12 ExPlAINED Why this is critical The induction of 114 Rafale will fill a critical capability gap. The IAF squadron strength is down to 29 as against the sanctioned 42 squadrons and this is a worry given the situation along the frontiers with Pakistan and China. India’s own Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft is at least a decade away. The proposal’s clearance by the DAC, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, comes days before the arrival in India ofFrenchPresidentEmmanuel Macron. On a three-day visit starting February 17, Macron »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi, February 12 BNP chief Tarique Rahman casts his vote in Dhaka; (left) counting begins, results expected Friday. ANI & AP Although the Jamaat-e-Islami had tied up with the party floated by student protesters, the National Citizens Party (NCP),thearrangementdidnot appear to have yielded much result, as per initial estimates. AroundmidnightinDhaka, Bangladesh TV channels and print media organisations, collectingdatafromlocalofficesof the election commission and their own correspondents on the field, were reporting that BNP had taken the lead in over 120seatswhileJamaat-e-Islami »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bangladesh-style zero-duty textile access for India in US deal: Goyal Ravi Dutta Mishra New Delhi, February 12 THE INDIA-US trade deal, which is expected to be signed next month, will also have provisions similar to the Bangladesh-US deal that allow limited quality of textile and clothing to be exported to the US at zero reciprocal duty, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Goyal’s statement comes amid concerns among Indian Business as Usual By EP UNNY garment manufacturers that their products would continue to face an 18 per cent disadvantage compared to Bangladeshi exports after Dhaka struck a fresh US trade deal this week. “Bangladesh has received a benefit under its trade deal with the US of exporting textiles and garments [in quota] at zeroreciprocaldutyiftheypurchaserawmaterialfromtheUS. India has a similar benefit [under its trade deal with the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is guest at Adda today “TELL ME, what will we do withthemoney?”Thiswashow Jaahnavi Kandula’s mother, G Vijaya Lakshmi, reacted after Seattle agreed to pay $29 million (Rs 262 crore) to the family three years after the death of the 23-year-old student, who was run over by a speeding police car in the US city. Jaahnavi Kandula, from AdoniinAndhraPradesh’sKurnool district, was pursuing her »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Express News Service New Delhi, February 12 THE NATIONAL Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has been among the centrepieces of the NDA Government's initiatives, as the country's education systemadaptstoaworldalteredby rapid changes in technology. Education Minister DharmendraPradhan,whohasbeen steering the process, will be the guestatExpressAddaonFriday. He will be in conversation with Pradhan is steering changes in India’s education system Vandita Mishra, National OpinionEditor,TheIndianExpress. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l HE STOOD UP TO A GROUP OF MEN HARASSING A MUSLIM SHOPKEEPER His business hit, ‘Mohammad’ Deepak gets help from 15 SC Senior Advocates Aiswarya Raj On January 26, Deepak (38) stood up to a group of men who were harassing a 70-year-old THE LEGAL fraternity has Muslimshopkeeper,whosuffers steppedintosave‘Mohammad’ fromParkinson’sdisease,todrop Deepak’s gym in Kotdwar fol- the word “Baba” from his shop’s lowing a dip in membership name.Duringtheconfrontation, and revenue. when asked his name, PAGE 1 Following The he told the crowd it Indian Express rewas Mohammad port on the collapse Deepak.Avideoofthe ofHulkGym’smembershipfrom confrontationwentviral,thrust150 to 15 members, the legal fra- ingDeepakintothelimelightbut ternity,comprising15SeniorAd- also bringing unwanted attenvocates of the Supreme Court, tion. On January 31, several has stepped up to help sustain members of the Bajrang Dal DeepakKumar’slivelihood. gatheredtoconfrontDeepak,but Dehradun, February 12 anchor Deepak runs the Hulk Gym in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand wererestrainedbythepolice. A week later, the town, cleavedintotwo,hasthosewho extended solidarity and those whofeelantagonisedbyhisact. “Half of the town supports me, but people do not applaud when you do good deeds. Honesty might come at a price,” he had told The Indian Express. The dip in gym membership meant Kumar was strugglingtopaythemonthlyrentof Rs 40,000 for the establishment, and the loan he borrowed to build a house. Following the report, the Senior Advocates have pitched in Rs 10,000 each as a one-year »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi outside Parliament House on Thursday. PTI atingan“inquirytoexamineall hisunethicalconduct”.Helater raised the matter in the House. The substantive motion is a rarely used tool in the legislative body to ensure a discussion and voting on the motion if it is accepted. In Lok Sabha, Dubey said, “Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi behaves like an urban Naxalandhehasrelations with »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2