The Hindu Morning Digest: February 13, 2026

Polling ends in Bangladesh for parliamentary election and referendum for constitutional changes

Bangladesh completed polling for the general election and referendum for constitutional changes on Thursday (February 12, 2026). Polling started in 36,031 election centres at 7:30 a.m. and ended at 4:30 p.m., with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) accusing Jamaat-e-Islami, leader of an 11-party alliance, of intimidating voters in various locations. In total, 2,028 candidates are in the fray for the election that will pave the way for the handover of power from the interim government to an elected administration. Credible early trends of the results are expected to trickle in by early morning on Friday (February 13, 2026), party sources said.

MEA refuses to deny U.S. claims on India’s Russian oil imports

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has once again refused to directly deny claims by the United States government on Russian oil imports on Thursday (February 12, 2026). This comes after a senior U.S. official said that India had reduced its purchases of Russian crude, as the U.S. “wanted [India] to.” The government expressed satisfaction at the amendments made by the U.S. administration to its “fact sheet” on the India-U.S. trade deal. “The amendments in the U.S. fact sheet reflect the shared understandings contained in the Joint Statement,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The joint statement does not contain any mention of Russian oil purchases.

Trump revokes basis of U.S. climate regulation and ends vehicle emission standards

The administration of President Donald Trump on Thursday (February 12, 2026) announced the repeal ‌of a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal basis ​for federal climate regulations. It also ended subsequent federal greenhouse gas emission standards for all ⁠vehicles and engines of model years 2012 to 2027. The move represents the most sweeping climate change policy rollback by the administration to date, after a string of regulatory cuts and other moves intended to unfetter fossil fuel development and ‌stymie the rollout of clean energy.

No conclusions reached yet in ongoing AI-171 crash probe, says investigation body

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is probing the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, has said the investigation remains underway and no final conclusions have been reached. In a statement on Thursday (February 12, 2026), the AAIB categorically dismissed reports suggesting that the inquiry has been finalised, terming them “incorrect and speculative”. “The investigation is still in progress. No final conclusions have been reached,” the agency said in response to a report in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which claimed Indian investigators may conclude in their final report that the crash was caused by one of the pilots shutting off the engines by moving the fuel control switches.

PM Modi to inaugurate new PMO at ‘Seva Teerth’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday (February 13, 2026) inaugurate the new Prime Minister’s Office ‘Seva Teerth’, and the Central Secretariat buildings, Kartavya Bhavan 1 and 2. The PM will also preside over the last meeting of the Union Cabinet at the South Block. An era will end when the iconic North and South Blocks are vacated. The North and South Blocks initially housed the British government, and were taken over by the government of independent India in 1947. They were designed by Herbert Baker, a contemporary of Edwin Lutyens, the architect of ‘Lutyen’s Delhi’.

Nationwide strike draws 30 crore participants, say trade unions

More than 30 crore workers, farmers, agricultural workers, and other groups of employees participated in the general strike on Thursday (February 12, 2026) to protest against the four Labour Codes and the free trade deals being struck with the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, the central trade unions said. The joint strike call was given by the CTUs and the farm unions of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM). Their charter included demands to withdraw the Draft Seeds Bill, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill.

Congress demands Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s resignation

The Congress on Thursday (February 12, 2026) demanded the resignation of Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri after his name came up in the Epstein Files. Responding to Mr. Puri’s explanation that he was in touch with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who was charged with serious sex offences, as part of his “professional exchanges,” Congress leader Pawan Khera asked why he organised a visit for LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman when there was a full-fledged Indian Embassy. “Hardeep Puri at that time was a retired diplomat. In what capacity was he organising Hoffman’s India visit?” Mr. Khera asked in a video that he posted on his X handle.

Did Sonam Wangchuk see videos cited as proof for detention under NSA, Supreme Court asks Govt.

The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 12, 2026) asked the Centre if climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was able to see, on his part, four videos the authorities are citing, among other clips, to justify his detention under the National Security Act (NSA). Appearing before a Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P.B. Varale, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj said the authorities banked on 23 videos to order detention, and everything was supplied to Mr. Wangchuk. However, the activist’s lawyers maintained four videos were not in the pen drive given to Mr. Wangchuk and that he has repeatedly sought the videos from the authorities.

Not intimidated by Substantive Motion, says K.C. Venugopal

Dismissing BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s move to initiate a “Substantive Motion” against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Thursday (February 12, 2026) said the party was not intimidated by such steps. “We are not bothered about any Privilege or Substantive Motions. If you want to hang us, we are ready for that also,” Mr. Venugopal told reporters in the Parliament complex. His remarks came after Mr. Dubey told reporters in the Parliament complex that he had submitted a notice to initiate a Substantive Motion against Mr. Gandhi to cancel his membership of the House.

Udit Narayan’s first wife alleges non-consensual uterus surgery, demands justice

Bollywood singer Udit Narayan Jha landed in hot water on Thursday (February 12, 2026) after his alleged first wife, Ranjana Jha, recently filed a complaint at a women’s police station in the Supaul district of north Bihar. She levelled charges that her uterus was removed without her consent during an operation in 1996 in Delhi by her husband, Udit Narayan Jha, and his two brothers. Ranjana Jha, in her complaint to the police, said that she was married to Udit Narayan Jha on December 7, 1984 under Hindu rituals.

Quad ‘very important platform’: Top U.S. South Asia diplomat Paul Kapur

The U.S. views the Quad (Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue comprising India, the U.S., Japan, and Australia) as a “very important platform,” according to S. Paul Kapur, the top Trump administration diplomat for the South and Central Asian region. “… The Quad is a very important platform. It has done well,” Assistant Secretary Kapur told the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South & Central Asia on Wednesday (February 11, 2026), characterising India as an “active” and “important” participant. The U.S. and India were looking to expand defence exercises and interoperability following the signing of their latest ten-year defence cooperation framework (October 2025), according to Mr. Kapur.

Published – February 13, 2026 06:53 am IST