KTR Urges BRS Cadres to Take Jubilee Hills By-Election Seriously
KTR emphasised that the by-election must be treated with full seriousness and that the party's candidate should secure a decisive victory. "Everyone from class to mass resides in Jubilee Hills," he noted, highlighting the constituency's diverse electorate.
He also reminded party members of the welfare initiatives undertaken during the KCR-led government, including the distribution of land pattas to one lakh poor families in Hyderabad under Government Orders 58 and 59.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Logjam over SIR: Rijiju says House can't discuss EC's functioning, Congress counters
Parliament saw little legislative business Wednesday as the Opposition attempted to bring up the SIR in Bihar and the government said rules and precedent do not allow for a debate on the Election Commission, which is conducting the exercise. Lok Sabha was adjourned within minutes of its proceedings getting underway. Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned until 2 pm soon after it commenced. The RS was later adjourned for the day after the passing of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill by voice vote. Opposition parties have repeatedly sought a discussion during this Parliament session on the SIR exercise. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, during the second half of LS, told the Opposition that the government is 'very open to take up for discussion any matter'. 'On the issue of SIR which they are disturbing the House (on) from day one, we all know the matter is under the consideration of the Supreme Court and is sub-judice. Under Rule 186 (8), any matter can be discussed in the House only if it does not relate to a matter which is under adjudication by a court of law…' he said. In the past, he said, it had been clearly established in LS that matters 'falling under the domain of the Election Commission cannot be discussed'. 'The House cannot have a discussion on the working of an autonomous body like the Election Commission. Do you want to break the rules established by this House? Do you want to throw out the provisions of the Constitution of India?' he said. Deputy Leader of Congress in LS Gaurav Gogoi said: 'Just to jog the memory of the BJP-led NDA government — Parliament has a long history of discussing electoral reforms and functioning of the EC… There is ample precedent,' he said, citing debates in 1961, 1981 and 1991, among others. Congress MP Manish Tewari said the Rijiju was 'absolutely wrong' and that the House had 'discussed many times' in the past the 'conduct of the Election Commission'. In RS, after ministers laid papers on the table of the House, and an obituary was read out for former J&K governor Satya Pal Malik, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said he would not admit 35 notices received under Rule 267. MPs can seek discussions on urgent matters under Rule 267. '…none of these notices are in adherence to the rules as enunciated in the past…' Harivansh said, sparking protests. Harivansh appealed to members to let the House function during Zero Hour. With the MPs not relenting, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. After the House reconvened, members of the Opposition tried to raise a point of order. Bhubaneswar Kalita, who was then chairing Rajya Sabha, said he would allow a point of order only when there was order in the House. He asked all the members to return to their seats. Leader of Opposition in RS Mallikarjun Kharge said: 'When members from this side raise a point of order then you say that the House is not in order. There, they are giving speeches. And, you are allowing them. This is unfair, untenable…' To this, the leader of House J P Nadda said: 'Sir, those who create disorder in the House have no right to raise point of order. If you are so interested, obey the rules accordingly, otherwise the Chair's direction is final.' When Opposition MPs were called to speak on the Bill, they either did not go back to their seats and forfeited their chance, or tried to raise SIR issue. Kalita said nothing would go on record and moved to the next speaker.
Hindustan Times
40 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Shinde meets Modi, Shah, refutes suggestions of Mahayuti trouble
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, who visited Delhi on Wednesday to meet prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, rejected rumours that he was there to sort out his issues with his Mahayuti allies. Maharashtra's deputy chief minister said that he and his family members went to congratulate Modi on the success of Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev, and he later had a separate one-on-one meeting with him. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a meeting, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (PTI Photo)(PTI08_06_2025_000437A) (PTI) Accompanied by the Shiv Sena's MPs, Shinde also met Amit Shah. This is his third visit to the capital in the last one month amid speculation in political circles that he and his men have been cornered in the Mahayuti government. When media persons asked him if he was an indirect target of his allies, Shinde replied that his party had performed well in two elections and would also win the forthcoming local body polls. Speaking at a press conference, the politician showered fulsome praise on Modi and Shah, saying that Shah had just become the longest-serving home minister in the history of India, completing an uninterrupted term of 2,258 days. 'We met him to convey our heartfelt congratulations,' he said. Shinde called Shah's leadership 'decisive' and stated that from abrogating Article 370—thereby fulfilling the dream of Bal Thackeray—to leading Operation Mahadev against terrorism and effectively curbing Naxalism, the home minister had shown 'unwavering commitment and visionary leadership'. 'From cooperative development to national security, his contribution has been exemplary,' he gushed. The deputy CM took a snipe at the Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav when asked about a possible alliance between the two. 'So what will happen if the two come together?' he asked. 'People don't vote for names but for accomplishments. They don't vote for people who sit at home. Parties have a right to get into alliances but the people decide whom to vote for.' There were some questions on Thackeray attending the opposition alliance INDIA meet on August 7 but Shinde refused to answer them. The Shiv Sena chief announced that his party had extended its unconditional support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming vice-presidential election. He affirmed that his party remained one of the oldest and most trusted allies of the NDA.
Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Top-secret letters by telecom providers blew lid off ‘illegal surveillance' during BRS regime
On December 6, 2023, a routine letter from a telecom service provider reached Telangana's Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) office in Hyderabad. Called a reconciliation letter in official parlance, it was marked 'top secret' and addressed to the then DIG of SIB. Just three days earlier, a new government had stormed to power in the state, with the Congress led by Revanth Reddy ousting K Chandrashekar Rao's BRS. The letter asked whether the service provider, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, should continue legal interception or surveillance of a set of phone numbers. According to the letter, the numbers, included as an attachment, were under legal interception from November 16 to November 30, 2023 — the fortnight leading up to Assembly elections. Reconciliation letters are sent when the 15-day window of legal surveillance — or surveillance done in the interest of the state — expires and service providers need re-authorisation for another 15 days. This letter, and similar reconciliation letters for the same number of days sent by well-known private and public service providers to the SIB office, form the foundation of Telangana's case against five top police and intelligence officers and a TV channel operator, who are accused of indulging in the illegal surveillance of 600 individuals — using the state's anti-Naxal surveillance mechanisms — to benefit the BRS, The Indian Express has learnt. Those allegedly snooped on included politicians, party workers, bureaucrats, businessmen, a sitting High Court judge, as well as their spouses, drivers and even childhood friends, according to a perusal of official documents and detailed conversations with investigators. A chargesheet in the case was filed on June 8, 2024. According to investigators familiar with the probe and the chargesheet, the surveillance was carried out 'to ensure BRS's victory in the (Assembly) elections by monitoring potential political leaders of opponent parties as well as rebels in the BRS'. The reconciliation letter dated December 6, 2023, read, 'This is to inform you that during the above-mentioned period, we have received the request letters from legal interception of Mobile/IMEI/ILD numbers as per the attached details: Kindly confirm the authenticity of the said letters.' The telecom provider, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, did not respond to queries from The Indian Express. While the mandate of the SIB, which was set up in 1990, is to track and prevent the activities of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), 'at least 600 numbers were found to be unrelated to Left Wing Extremism or the CPI (Maoist)', highly placed sources said. 'When probe agencies investigated further, they were found to be the numbers of politicians, bureaucrats, political party workers, businessmen and others from different walks of life,' a highly placed source said. The accused The accused in the case are former SIB chief and IPS officer T Prabhakar Rao, Deputy Superintendent of Police D Praneeth Rao, Additional Superintendents of Police M Thirupathanna and N Bhujanga Rao, former Superintendent of Police P Radhakishan Rao, and a TV channel owner, A Shravan Kumar Rao. While the Supreme Court had given Prabhakar Rao protection from arrest until August 5, Praneeth Rao, Thirupathanna, Bhujanga Rao and Radhakishan Rao were arrested and are out on bail. A Shravan Kumar Rao is lodged in a Central prison in Hyderabad in connection with a different case. The BRS, which was earlier called Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), was in power in the newly formed state of Telangana for 10 years starting 2014. BRS leader and two-time Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao also held the state intelligence portfolio. It was when the BRS lost elections to the Congress on December 3, 2023, that the case against the six blew open. On December 4, a day after the election results were announced, SIB chief Prabhakar Rao resigned from his official post. The very same day, allegedly on his instructions, Praneeth Rao and others destroyed 62 hard disks from the SIB office in an attempt to destroy evidence, investigators said. According to investigators, in the destroyed and formatted electronic devices, some of which were recovered from the Musi river in Hyderabad, were 'political profiles of BRS opponents generated through intelligence gathered illegally using SIB's resources or the state's resources'. Under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, surveillance in the interest of public safety, in case of a public emergency or in cases of incitement against the state is allowed with due authorisation. According to investigators, in this case, the designated authority for authorisation was Prabhakar Rao, and the review committee comprising the Chief Secretary, Secretary of the General Administration Department and the Law Secretary followed his lead. The allegations of illegal phone tapping first surfaced on March 10, 2024, when an Additional Superintendent of Police of the SIB lodged a complaint at Hyderabad's Punjagutta police station, accusing DSP Praneeth Rao of using illegal means to gather intelligence and then destroying the evidence. It was this complaint that would eventually prompt investigators to revisit the letters sent by telecom service providers with the list of those who were allegedly surveilled. According to officials, the charges against the accused include criminal conspiracy, public servants misusing their official position, causing disappearance of evidence, cyber terrorism, unauthorised and illegal surveillance and monitoring of phones, etc of targeted political leaders, their staff, family members, businessmen and their employees and bureaucrats. The counter The Indian Express reached out to all six accused in the case. Mohith Rao, advocate of M Thirupathanna, said, 'The Hyderabad police's contention that phones were intercepted and listened to is wrong. All that was obtained were legal CDRs of people linked to LWE. Also, A-1's (Prabhakar Rao's) subordinates were merely following legal orders passed to them by him.' Aakriti Jain, advocate on record for Prabhakar Rao, said that her client 'stands by the arguments in the Special Leave Petition filed in the Supreme Court'. As per this petition, he is a decorated police officer who, as SIB chief, did not indulge in illegal surveillance. On the alleged destruction of evidence, the petition read, 'The incident cannot be attributed to the petitioner, who had already vacated office hours earlier.' According to the petition, Prabhakar Rao left the SIB office at 4 pm after tendering his resignation on December 4. When contacted, Dasouju Sravan Kumar, a BRS MLC and spokesperson, said, 'Governments indulge in legal surveillance to check anti-social elements, including extremists, that too as per the law. The question of illegal surveillance or targeting of political leaders or others does not arise without the sanction of the apex committee comprising the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary and the DGP. Unfortunately, the Hyderabad police, at the behest of the current Chief Minister, are on a futile fishing expedition which will not yield any results. They are trying to tarnish the image of the BRS leadership in the name of an investigation through an untenable and illegal SIT.'
