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 hyderabad l Tuesday l July 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Pak warned of retaliation in case of fresh misadventure, Congress demands accountability No more dossiers: Rajnath to Pak J ayan 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 “Today, dossiers have been replaced by decisive action.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. 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 Jaishankar, foreign minister Gaurav Gogoi, Congess Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) 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 W A 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 two-three militants, the Army, police and paramilitary forces launched Operation Mahadev to track the hiding militants down. “The communication device used by miliHashim Musa tants 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. sc poser Include Aadhaar, voter ID for SIR, says SC to Justice Yashwant Varma A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih asked the judge why he appeared before the inhouse inquiry panel if he had questions about its remit | P7 Therapy dogs to soothe stressed air travellers E x p ress N ews S er v i c e @ Hyderabad Offering comfort and companionship to nervous flyers or someone looking to unwind before takeoff, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), in a first-of-its-kind initiative, has introduced therapy dogs to help ease the stress and anxiety of air travel. Specially trained dogs are now stationed at key passenger areas across the airport, offering travellers a calming presence and emotional support. As part of the initiative, four toy poodles will be available at both domestic and international departure terminals every Friday to Monday from 3 , pm to 7 pm. The programme is designed to promote mental well-being and reduce travelrelated anxiety, especially among nervous flyers and children. S U CH I T R A K A LYA N M OH A N T Y @ New Delhi 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 Presumption of genuineness “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 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 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 Ministers to stage dharna in Delhi to seek Prez nod for BC quota Bill cabinet decisions M anda R a v inder R eddy @ Hyderabad The state Cabinet, which met at the Secretariat here on Monday , decided to organise a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on August 6 demanding that the President give her assent to the two Bills approved by the Assembly for providing 42 per cent reservations for BCs in local bodies, education and employment. The Cabinet decided that all the ministers, MLAs and MPs from the state would visit Delhi from August 5 to 7 to meet not only the President of India to request approval for the Bills but also to organise protests. On August 7, almost 200 MPs belonging to the INDIA bloc will make a representation to the President. As the Parliament session is going on, the Cabinet also requested the Congress MPs to move an adjournment motion in both houses. Briefing reporters on the Cabinet decisions, BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, flanked by ministers Konda Su- Cabinet requested Congress MPs to move an adjournment motion in both houses of Parliament on BC quota issue Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha asked AG to present government’s arguments effectively in court on GO 33, which determines domicile status for MBBS and BDS admissions It was decided to do away with interstate check posts of the Transport department as per Centre's directive for ease of vehicular movement on National Highways rekha and Vakiti Srihari, said: “We have decided to visit Delhi from August 5 to 7 under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy We are . seeking an appointment with the President to meet her along with INDIA bloc MPs.” He also appealed to all BC associations to visit Delhi on the three days. As the Telangana High Court has mandated that local body elections should be conducted by September 30, the Cabinet has decided to meet the President, he added. The minister noted: “The Assembly has passed the two Bills and sent them to the President on March 30 after the Governor’s assent. Both the Bills are pending with her for approval.” Prabhakar said that the state government was hoping that the Governor would promulgate the ordinance. He alleged that former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had betrayed BCs by reducing reservations in local body elections.  continued on p4 breaking barriers Divya new GM on-board with WC title swar o o p swaminat h an @ Chennai 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 Divya Deshmukh (R) and Koneru Humpy with their trophies and medals after the final on Monday | FIDE/Andrei Anosov once every month to attend R B 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 a GM!” she told FIDE.  P11 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 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. 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 | P7 Hyd records 26.4% drop in air pollution in 7 years K h yat i S h a h @ Hyderabad Hyderabad has recorded a 26.4% reduction in air pollution levels over the past seven years, marking a significant improvement under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The city’s average PM10 (particulate matter) concentration fell from 110 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) in 2017–18 to 81 µg/m³ in 2024–25. However, there has been no improvement in air quality levels in the city during the year 2024–25. Hyderabad’s 26.4% drop places it ahead of Delhi and Chennai in air pollution control over the past seven years, but behind Mumbai and Kolkata. The NCAP was launched in 2019 to address the rising air pollution in cities that have consistently breached national air quality standards. Hyderabad was identified as a “non-attainment city”, triggering a focused response from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), along with the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TGPCB), GHMC and other local agencies. continued on p5