'T' Congress leaders discuss roadmap
With the Congress leadership intensifying its efforts to find an early solution to the Telangana tangle, party leaders from the region Sunday met in Hyderabad to chalk out their future course of action.
The meeting discussed the roadmap which Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha would be submitting to the central leadership.
The meeting held at the deputy chief minister's residence was attended by state ministers, members of parliament and the state legislature from the region.
Congress general secretary and in charge of party affairs in the state Digvijaya Singh last Monday said that a decision on Telangana was in the final stage.
He asked Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana to submit a roadmap on the strategy to be adopted by the party and the government if the decision is taken either way.
Party leaders from Telangana hope that Congress core committee would hold a crucial meeting on July 12. A decision is likely to be announced on July 17.
Warangal MP S. Rajaiah said formation of Telangana with 10 districts including Hyderabad was their only goal. He said formation of Rayala-Telangana (comprising Rayalseema and Telangana regions) was not being considered by the leadership.
State minister G. Saraiah said another meeting would be held in a couple of days, which will also be attended by experts and intellectuals. Whenever the central leadership calls, the deputy chief minister will submit his report, he said.
MP from Karimnagar, Ponnam Prabhakar said there are indications that separate Telangana state will be formed.
Another Congress leader, Mallu Ravi said the party would soon take a decision on the issue. He recalled that 42 legislators of the party had submitted a memorandum to the party leadership in 2000, seeking separate state.
He denied that the Congress has taken up the issue for political mileage during the coming elections to local bodies.
Union Textiles Minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, who hails from coastal Andhra region, said a decision acceptable to people of all regions would be taken soon. He told reporters in Vijayawada that he had conveyed his views to the party leadership.
Liveblog Updates:
A woman was killed and four other civilians were injured in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district as the Pakistan army intensified artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, officials said, adding that a large number of houses have also been damaged in the cross-border shelling.
Reports state that a Pakistani shell struck the vehicle the woman was traveling in, resulting in her death. The woman was identified as Nargis Bashir, and some of her family members had boarded a vehicle to flee from the Razarwani village in Uri that was hit by the mortar and artillery shells from Pakistan.
In an attempt to educate and make people aware about the consequences of war amid Pakistan's continuous firing in the border states, the Delhi government did a mock drill to test air raid sirens installed at the Public Works Department (PWD) at ITO and asked people to not react out of panic.
District Magistrate (Central) G. Sudhakar also urged people to remain calm and not be alarmed when they hear the sirens.
At least twice, sirens sounded during the drill, which started at 3 pm.
PWD Minister Parvesh Verma said 40-50 more such sirens will be installed across the national capital, each of which will cover an area of 8 km.
Residents present in Rajouri along the Line of Control have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan. All drone and missile attacks were intercepted and foiled by India's air defence system.
#WATCH | J&K | Residents of Rajouri living along the LOC have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan.
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025
All drone and missile attacks were intercepted by India's air defence system and foiled,… pic.twitter.com/XITK0CsejT
Pakistan has claimed that its Economic Affairs Division account on social media has been hacked and called the post where it appealed for more loans from the international community owing to losses from Operation Sindoor "fake."
In a post on X, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fact Checker shared a picture of the post and mentioned that it was "fake." Additionally, it asserted that the account had undergone hacking.
A missile-like object is found deep inside the Dal Lake after loud explosions were heard on Saturday morning in Srinagar, which is a major tourist attraction. The defense ministry also confirms that Pakistan has intruded into Srinagar's airspace in a press release.
Since the early hours of Saturday morning (10th May), Srinagar has been rocked with multiple explosions, and now electricity is taken off in various places across Kashmir. The reason for this is yet to be determined, as reports indicate multiple places in Kashmir have lost power. The Indian Army released a statement after the press briefing, where they mentioned that they have attacked and neutralized multiple terrorist launchpads in a coordinated fire assault, razing them to cinders.