F i e ry L S d e bat e o n Pa h a lga m at tac k CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ Rajnath Singh, defence minister TIRUPATI l tuesday l july 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Pak warned of retaliation in case of fresh misadventure, Congress demands accountability No more dossiers: Rajnath to Pak J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Any future misadventure from Pakistan would trigger the immediate resumption of Operation Sindoor, which was only “paused” after achieving its strategic objectives and not under any external pressure, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday during a fiery Lok Sabha debate brimming with political heat, as the Opposition mounted pressure over the Pahalgam terror attack. “Today, dossiers have been replaced by decisive action. Today’s India thinks differently and acts differently We believe . that if the adversary uses terrorism as part of strategy and does not understand the language of peace, then standing firm and being decisive is the only option,” Singh said. “Operation Sindoor is a symbol of our strength,” Singh said. “India first extends a hand of friendship, but knows how to twist the wrist if betrayed.” He underscored the operation’s success, saying that the armed forces conducted an effective strike on nine terror sites across Pakistan and Pakistanoccupied Kashmir. “The attacks were nonescalatory and carried out with utmost precision,” he told the House, defending the rationale and execution of the military action. “If Pakistan indulges in fresh misadventure, it will resume again,” Singh asserted. Govt allots APSRTC land to Lulu, unions oppose GO 137 Responding to President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating a ceasefire, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar intervened in the debate to clarify: “At no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage with trade or military operations. There was no call between PM Modi and President Trump from April 22 to June 17.” Home Minister Amit Shah, too, stepped in, asking the Opposition why they placed more faith in the words of a foreign leader than in India’s own External Affairs Minister. Singh further stated that no critical Indian assets were lost and India has concrete evidence of the damage inflicted on terror infrastructure in Pakistan. Launching a searing counter-attack, Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi questioned the very premise of the government’s triumphalism. He demanded answers on why Shah had not accepted responsibility for the security failures that led to the Pahalgam killings, which claimed 26 civilian lives. “They are calling Operation Sindoor a success while also admitting Pakistan may strike again. Then how is this a success?” Gogoi asked. He pressed the government for details on how many Indian fighter jets were lost. “We have only 35 Rafale jets. If any were downed, the country deserves to know.” S U CHITRA K A LYA N M OHA N T Y Free bus travel may be beyond dist boundaries Naidu asserts to rebuild partnership with S’pore E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Nellore E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e APSRTC Managing Director Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao has hinted that the government’s upcoming free bus travel scheme for women may be extended beyond district boundaries. The free bus travel scheme for women, which is part of NDA’s Super Six promises, is scheduled to be launched on August 15. Speaking to the media during his visit to Venkatagiri, the RTC MD said the transport corporation is conducting zonewise reviews to ensure that there are no operational shortcomings. “The government is considering offering free travel for women not just in Pallevelugu services but also in express buses,” he said. He revealed that 750 electric buses were sanctioned for AP, and efforts are on to procure an additional 600 buses. All bus stands across the State are being given a facelift, he added. H i g h l i g ht i n g A n d h r a Pradesh’s major initiatives in green energy Chief Minister N , Chandrababu Naidu sought greater cooperation from Singapore firms in projects related to green hydrogen, transmission cor ridors, and por t development. On the second day his visit to Singapore, Naidu met Minister for Manpower and Minister-incharge of Energy and Science & Technology in the Ministry of Trade and Industry Tan See Leng, and discussed enhanced collaboration in sectors such as green energy, data centers, logistics and housing. Recognising Singapore’s global strength in logistics, he sought its support in implementing best practices in the ports and logistics sectors in Andhra Pradesh. He also underscored the importance of Singapore’s involvement in hu- THE Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral roll in Bihar on August 1 but asked the Election Commission to include Aadhaar and voter ID in the list of acceptable documents in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. On Sunday, the EC had said the first phase of the SIR was over and it received enumeration forms from 92% of voters. The poll panel plans to publish the draft roll on August 1 and final roll on September 30. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, sought the court’s intervention and pass a direction to stop the notification of the draft list. He also alleged in his submission that the EC was not CM visits Bidadari @ Vijayawada Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng in Singapore on Monday I Express man resources, science and t e c h n o l o g y, a n d t r a d e collaboration. Addressing concerns faced by Singapore firms during the previous regime, he assured Tan See Leng that steps are being taken to resolve those issues, and that his visit reflects a commitment to transparency and error rectification. He remarked that his government deeply values its relationship P4 with Singapore.  Naidu visited the Bidadari Housing Project to study the ecofriendly urban housing model. Amaravati, the capital of AP, is being built with a vision Priority to sports Sports can serve as a powerful engine for tourism and commercial development, and AP is prioritising the sector via its sports policy, Naidu said Divya new GM on-board with WC title IN a clash billed as one between generations, a generational talent has walked away with the women’s chess World Cup. In the end, the handshake was symbolic of what the win meant within the wider context of Indian women’s chess. For so long, Koneru Humpy and D Harika have been the torchbearers of the board game from an Indian perspective. Over the last two weeks, Divya Deshmukh quietly emerged from the shadows of these two giants to etch her name in indelible ink. Just after 2.30 PM local time in Batumi (4.00 PM IST) on Monday, the 19-year-old teen scaled another height as she became India’s first ever women’s World Cup winner (2nd after Viswanathan Anand). Just to give you a sense of the enormity of her achievement, when the Nagpur resident boarded the flight to Georgia, she didn’t have a single GM norm. Yet, over the course of the last two weeks, she beat four GMs in as many as matches to not only win the the crown but become the country’s 4th woman GM (88th overall). After the two game Classical final was drawn, the feeling was Humpy would have an edge. Humpy, of course, is the defending women’s world rapid champ. But Deshmukh held her own with the white before forcing Humpy to resign when the latter had the white pieces in the second of the first pair of tiebreak games. As soon as the 38year-old offered her hand, Deshmukh placed both her hands over her eyes and wept inconsolably. Skipping school to spend a week in Chennai “Today, dossiers have been replaced by decisive action. Today’s India thinks differently and acts differently At no stage in any conversation with the US was there any link with trade or military operations India has the courage to listen to the truth on how many jets were downed, the govt must answer Sindoor is not a success till you find those terrorists. Until you catch the terrorists, it cannot be celebrated Pahalgam attack mastermind killed F AYA Z WA N I @ Srinagar Security forces on Monday gunned down wanted Pakistani terrorist Suleman alias Hashim Musa, the mastermind and executioner of the April 22 attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Two more Pakistani militants with suspected links to the Pahalgam attack were also killed in the encounter in the upper reaches of Dachigam forest area in Harwan, Srinagar, sources said. A security official said after receiving inputs about the presence of 2-3 militants, the Army, police and paramilitary forces launched Operation Mahadev to track the hiding militants down. Hashim Musa “The communication device used by militants led security forces to them. A satellite phone used in Baisaran on April 22, was found active in the upper reaches of Dachigam forest. Once it was confirmed militants were hiding in the dense forest area, specially trained para commandos also joined the operation. Drones and other surveillance gadgets were used to pinpoint the militant location,” the official said. “As far as ration cards are concerned we can say they can be forged easily but Aadhaar and voter cards have some sanctity and have presumption of genuineness,” the bench said breaking barriers s w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) Presumption of genuineness @ New Delhi The Andhra Pradesh government has allotted prime land in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam to Lulu Inter national Shopping Mall Pvt Ltd for constructing shopping malls, sparking strong opposition from RTC employees’ unions and other organisations. The Industries and Commerce (Infra) Department has released Government Order @ Vijayawada Gaurav Gogoi, Congess Shah assails Cong for not trusting Jaishankar Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday rapped the Congress for not trusting the statement of foreign minister S Jaishankar on Op Sindoor and instead going by US President Donald Trump’s claims. “They (opposition) do not have faith in the minister. They trust some other country...,” he said in a brief intervention when Jaishankar was speaking Tharoor opts out of speaking on Op Sindoor Shashi Tharoor declined a Congress invite to speak on Operation Sindoor in Parliament, choosing instead to focus on the Indian Ports Bill, 2025. Speculation had mounted over whether Tharoor would be selected to speak after his endorsement of the government’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack reportedly strained his ties within the Congress | P9 Include Aadhaar, voter ID for SIR, says SC No. 137, leasing 13.74 acres at Harbour Park in Visakhapatnam, and 4.15 acres of APSRTC Governorpet-II bus depot land in Vijayawada to Lulu Group for 99 years, with a three-year rent-free period or until the malls open, whichever is earlier. The lease amount will be increased by 10% every decade. The lands will be transferred to the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, which will oversee their handoP4 ver to Lulu Group. P h a n i n d r a Pa pa s a n i S Jaishankar, foreign minister Divya Deshmukh breaks down after beating Koneru Humpy in the chess World Cup final on Monday | FIDE once every month to attend RB Ramesh’s coaching sessions. Trading in a normal life for one spent studying the benefits of the London system at 3.00 PM. “I think it was fate that I got the grandmaster title this way because before this, I didn’t even have one norm. Before this event, I was thinking, “where can I get a norm?”, and now I’m P13 a GM!” she told FIDE.  It definitely means a lot, but there’s a lot more to achieve. So, hopefully, this is just the start Divya Deshmukh World Cup winner considering the SC’s suggestion in the last hearing on July 10 that Aadhaar, electoral photo identity card (EPIC) and ration cards be considered as valid documents for SIR. Senior lawyer Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, said there were reservations about these documents, adding that many fake ration cards were found to have been issued. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, suggested that two documents be considered on the ‘presumption of genuineness’, adding that there should be ‘en masse inclusion’ instead of ‘en mass exclusion’. While the court refused to stay publication of the draft list, it said it would examine the case in a detailed manner. The bench also made it clear that the court could strike down the entire process if any illegality was found. scto Justice poser Yashwant Varma A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih asked the judge why he appeared before the in-house inquiry panel if he had questions about its remit | P9