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 ■ ■ hyderabad l wednesday l october 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE City EDITION Fee on UPI transactions above `2K postponed till Diwali fest | p12 Introspect, Ladakh integral part of India, MEA rebuts China don’t blame SIR: Shah J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi R A J E S H K U M A R THA K U R @ New Delhi Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other INDIA leaders address a press meet | PARVEEN NEGI ‘Resistance’ to continue, says Rahul P R E E THA NA I R @ New Delhi Spl camps for TG voters on Oct 15, 16 A mock impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi Metro train rides by MPs to challenge travel restrictions, and protest programmes at the denotified Jantar Mantar were among the proposals discussed in the meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, civil society representatives, and student representatives on Tuesday . According to sources, the meeting explored ways to keep the protests going and decided to sustain the agitation for the ‘restoration of democracy.’ Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi told the leaders that they could take Wednesday off to visit their constituencies but should be ready to return to the capital at 24 hours’ notice from Thursday the sources said. The , bloc is planning a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila grounds on November 1 and plans to mobilise 5 lakh people. Speaking to reporters, Rahul said the protest will continue. He said those responsible for the alleged ‘vote theft’ would be The ECI has directed election authorities in Telangana to organise special camps on October 15 and 16 to facilitate the enrolment of eligible voters whose names are missing from the draft electoral rolls | P2 brought to justice, naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the CEC. “No matter what happens, no matter which institution plays a role or not, political resistance will continue, people’s resistance will continue and it will triumph,” he added. Among those who attended the high tea meeting at Rahul’s residence were Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi; RJD leaders Tejashwi Yadav and Manoj Jha; SP leaders Harendra Malik, Anand Bhadauria and Mohibullah Nadvi; Left leaders M A Baby and D Raja; JMM’s Mahua Maji; and TMC’s Mahua Moitra. AISA chief Neha Bora and CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya were also present. UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to introspect why his party has been losing elections rather than playing negative politics over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In his first public comments on the ongoing protests, Shah said electoral credibility and public confidence can’t be secured through wild allegations and street protests alone. Instead, he said, opposition parties need to demonstrate their acceptan ce amon g voters through sustained public engagement and service. “I want to ask Rahul ji: Is this (election defeat) the result of SIR? Do you dismiss the popularity of the BJP and Modi ji? The SIR started only after 2024,” Shah said, adding that the Congress and its allies would face a crushing defeat for the fourth consecutive time in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Shah cited the BJP’s performance in Gujarat’s municipal elections as evidence of the party’s continued popularity and electorate’s enduring faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lighting into Rahul, Shah said the Congress leader is trying to manufacture political momentum through media events and baseless allegations. Reiterating that the Union Territory of Ladakh is an “integral and inalienable part of India,” New Delhi on Tuesday rejected China’s assertion that it has “never recognised” the region. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said “no amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact”. India’s response came amid Beijing’s objection to New Delhi’s decision to standardise the names of 28 geographical express read Singareni workers to get `1.53L as bonus: Bhatti Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday announced that each permanent employee of Singareni Collieries Company Limited would receive a bonus of `1,53,912. Speaking to reporters here, he said that 38,737 permanent employees would receive the benefit. In addition, 29,717 contract workers would receive a bonus of `5,500 each. LB Nagar-Hayathnagar elevated corridor cleared Hyderabad: Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has approved the LB Nagar– Hayathnagar double-decker elevated corridor and several other infrastructure proposals for Telangana. He also assured minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy that expansion of National Highway-65 would begin in January 2027. | P5 locations and features in Ladakh. The strong rebuttal came soon after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning objected to India’s announcement, reiterating Beijing’s refusal to recognise Ladakh as an UT. “India’s move is illegal and invalid; it cannot alter the objective fact that the western sector of the ChinaIndia border has always belonged to China,” Mao said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s response to a media query. Jaiswal, however, said the exercise was administrative and intended to improve the identification of geographical features on official maps. Referring to an Ministry of Home Affairs announcement, he said the 28 sites were identified with standardised names on the official Survey of India map in consultation with the UT and local stakeholders. “Identifying these places formally on the Survey of India Reshuffle buzz as MoS L Murugan resigns R A J E S H K U M A R THA K U R @ New Delhi UNION Minister of State L Murugan resigned from the council of ministers and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, stating he wanted to return to Tamil Nadu to strengthen the BJP’s state unit ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The move has fuelled speculation of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle. In a four-page letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, requested to be relieved of his ministerial duties and allowed to give up his RS seat. “I want to go to every village (in TN), meet our people, stand beside our karyakartas,” he wrote. Recalling his journey as the son of daily wage labourers, he called his five years in government as the “greatest honour” of his life. Murugan was elected to the RS in September 2021 and reelected from Madhya Pradesh in April 2024. His term runs till April 2030. The vacation of his seat set off speculation on who it was meant to accommodate. Murugan is the third MoS to quit in recent months after George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu, who resigned in June and July respectively . Other possible exits include Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Giriraj Singh and Annapurna Devi. However, there is no official word yet. map of UT of Ladakh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large,” he said. The MHA announced the list on October 2. This is the latest incident in a broader contest between India and China over territorial claims and use of geographical names to assert sovereignty . Beijing has repeatedly issued standardised Chinese names for locations in Arunachal Pradesh, which India has rejected. INFANT DEATHS report Rats chewed AC wires, sparked fire at RIMS S R a j a R e d d y @ Adilabad Rats chewing through air-conditioner wires and inadequate maintenance were identified as the causes of the fire at the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), which claimed the lives of five infants on September 21, according to a report submitted to the government by an official committee constituted to investigate the incident. The committee concluded that rats had chewed through electrical wires, triggering a short circuit that led to the airconditioner malfunctioning and the subsequent outbreak of fire.  continued on p2