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AIMIM’s undiminished sway over Hyderabad makes it irreplaceable in T’gana

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Such has been the dominance of AIMIM in Hyderabad politics for over four decades that its stronghold remained immune to the political waves sweeping the state.

No matter which party was in power in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, the support base of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) remained intact.

There has been no change after Telangana was carved out as a separate state in 2014. Despite the reservations the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party had over the division of Andhra Pradesh, the party adapted itself to the new political scenario dominated by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

While maintaining its firm grip over the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency and seven Muslim majority Assembly segments in the city, AIMIM backed TRS in the rest of the state both in 2014 and 2018 elections.

This friendship and the secular image of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao helped TRS secure the support of Muslim voters.

With a huge concentration of Muslim voters in state capital Hyderabad and some other districts, they are in a position to tilt the balance in nearly half of the 119 Assembly constituencies.

Muslim voters are believed to be between 35 and 60 per cent in 10 constituencies in Hyderabad and anywhere between 10 and 40 per cent in the 50 other constituencies spread across the rest of the state.

Except the eight Assembly constituencies where AIMIM candidates were in the fray, the party backed TRS in all the remaining constituencies.

While AIMIM’s political opponents accuse the party of pursuing communal politics, CM KCR on many occasions defended his friend and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. He lauded the AIMIM chief for fighting for the Constitutional rights of Muslims in a democratic manner and even talked of using the services of Owaisi to forge a national alternative to both BJP and Congress.

BJP, which is going aggressive to capture power in Telangana, has been targeting KCR for his friendship with Owaisi and accusing the TRS leader of pursuing politics of appeasement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other central leaders of BJP have slammed KCR for appeasement politics. Digging up the past, the state leadership of the saffron party has been making bitter attacks on AIMIM, calling it a party of �Razakars’.

�Razakars’ were the volunteers or supporters of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) who backed the Nizam who wanted to keep the state independent after India gained Independence in 1947.

Thirteen months after August 15, 1947, Hyderabad State acceded to the Indian Union following India’s military action codenamed �Operation Polo’.

MIM was founded 1927 to promote the socio-economic and educational development of Muslims. After �Operation Polo’ hastened the accession of Hyderabad State into the Indian Union in 1948, MIM was banned.

However, in 1958 it was revived with a new constitution by Moulana Abdul Wahid Owaisi, grandfather of Asaduddin Owaisi. A well-known lawyer in those days, Abdul Wahid Owaisi converted it into a political party to fight for the rights of the minorities as enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

“Those who wanted to go have gone. Those who love the country choose to remain here,” says Asaduddin Owaisi in response to BJP’s taunt of �Razakars’.

He dismisses allegations of pursuing communal politics and maintains that AIMIM believes in Indian Constitution and has been fighting for the Constitutional rights of minorities, Dalits and others.

AIMIM made its electoral debut in 1959, winning two municipal by-elections in Hyderabad. In 1960, it emerged as the main opposition party in Hyderabad.

Abdul Wahed Owaisi’s son Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi was among the party leaders elected to the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH).

The party underwent image makeover in the 1980s when Salahuddin Owaisi made three Hindu corporators of the party mayors of Hyderabad. Those were the days when Hyderabad used to witness frequent communal tensions.

From municipal wards in the old city of Hyderabad to two Lok Sabha seats in 2019, AIMIM has come a long way in its six-decade-long journey in Independent India.

More than three decades after first winning the Hyderabad seat, the party expanded itself in true sense in 2019 by wresting the Aurangabad seat in Maharashtra from the Shiv Sena.

A party confined to the old city of Hyderabad till a few years ago, AIMIM was a butt of ridicule by its rivals for calling itself an all-India party.

The party now has 10 MLAs — seven in Telangana, two in Maharashtra and one in Bihar. Its tally of MLAs was 14 till recently, but four MLAs in Bihar switched loyalties to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

While continuing its efforts to expand to various states, the AIMIM is treading cautiously to check BJP’s surge in Telangana.

In a tactical move aimed at stopping the BJP from politically exploiting emotive issues like September 17, AIMIM for the first time in its history has decided to celebrate the day this year as national integration day.

It was on September 17, 1948 that Hyderabad State was merged with the Indian Union. AIMIM always opposed celebrating the day on the ground that there is only one Independence Day for the entire country.

The BJP has been targeting TRS for not officially celebrating �Telangana Liberation Day’ due to pressure from Owaisi.

However, political analysts say that KCR may come under increasing attack from BJP for his friendship with AIMIM.

“KCR wants to herald a secular government in India by achieving a �BJP mukt Bharat’. If BJP is communal, how can MIM be secular? Bonhomie with Owaisis raises questions over secular politics ultimately helping BJP in majoritarian consolidation,” says professor K. Nageshwar.

Business

India Lost ₹22,842 Crore To Cybercriminals & Fraudsters In 2024: DataLEADS

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India lost Rs 22,842 crore to cybercriminals and fraudsters in 2024, DataLEADS, a Delhi-based media and tech company, said in its report on widespread digital financial frauds in the country. The amount stolen by digital criminals and fraudsters last year was nearly three times more than the Rs 7,465 crore in 2023 and almost 10 times more than the Rs 2,306 in 2022, DataLEADS said in ‘Contours of Cybercrime: Persistent and Emerging Risk of Online Financial Frauds and Deepfakes in India.

Prediction For Cyber-Crime Frauds

The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, I4C, a federal agency that liaises between state and central law enforcement, predicts Indians will lose over Rs 1.2 lakh crore this year. The number of cybercrime complaints has spiked similarly; nearly twenty lakh were reported in 2024, up from around 15.6 lakh the year before and ten times more than were logged in 2019.

The surge in the number of cybercrime complaints and the volume of money lost points to one inescapable conclusion – India’s digital crooks are getting smarter and more efficient, and, in a country with a staggering nearly 290 lakh unemployed people, their ranks are increasing.

Bank-related frauds have increased dramatically; the Reserve Bank of India reported a nearly eightfold jump in the first half of FY 2025/26 compared to the same period last year. And the amount of money lost was staggering – Rs 2,623 crore to Rs 21,367 crore. Private sector banks accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all such incidents. But it was customers in public sector banks who were worst-hit; they lost Rs 25,667 crore in all.

Why have these numbers jumped so much over the past three years?

Because of the increased use of digital payment modes – i.e., smartphone-enabled services like Paytm and PhonePe – and the sharing and processing of financial details online – via (what many believe are encrypted and fail-safe) messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

Federal data says there were over 190 lakh UPI, or unified payment interface, transactions in June 2025 alone, and these were worth a combined Rs 24.03 lakh crore. Digital payments’ value has grown from roughly Rs 162 crore in 2013 to Rs 18,120.82 crore in January 2025, and India accounts for nearly half of all such payments worldwide.

COVID-19

Much of this increase can be attributed to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns.

During COVID-19, the government pushed for a switch to UPI apps like Paytm to ensure social distancing and minimise contact with currency notes, via which the virus could be transmitted.

Digital Payment Tools In Rural Areas

The government also reasoned that digital payment tools would ensure greater penetration of financial services, particularly in rural areas. By 2019, India already had 440 million smartphone users and data rates were among the cheapest in the world – 1 GB cost Rs 200, or less than $3.

Insurance sector scams were also common. These included life, health, vehicle, and general, and are becoming an increasingly lucrative option for cybercriminals, particularly as insurance companies urge customers to opt for app-based services.

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National News

‘Election System In India Already Dead’: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Reiterates ‘Rigged’ 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, Claims He Has Proof

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New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted that the election system in India was “already dead,” and alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were “rigged” and that he has proof to substantiate the claim.

Addressing the annual legal conclave titled ‘Constitutional Challenges – Perspectives & Pathways’, Gandhi said that he suspected over 80 Lok Sabha seats were rigged in the 2024 general elections.

“The truth is that the election system in India is already dead. The Prime Minister of India holds office with a very slim majority. If 15 seats were rigged, we suspect that the number is over 70 to 80, he would not have been the Prime Minister of India. We are going to prove to you in the coming few days how a Lok Sabha election can be rigged and was rigged,” Gandhi said while addressing the gathering in the national capital.

Highlighting the six-month investigation carried out by Congress, he further alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) doesn’t exist and has disappeared. According to documentation received from the EC, Gandhi said that the Congress has ascertained that nearly 1.5 lakh voters out of 6.5 lakh who voted in the Lok Sabha elections were “fake”.

“It makes it clear that the institution that defends the constitution has been obliterated and taken over. We have such proof that will show the whole country that the institution of the Election Commission does not exist. It has disappeared. It has taken us 6 months of non-stop work to find this proof. You will see with zero doubt how a Lok Sabha election is stolen. 6.5 lakh voters vote, and 1.5 lakh of those voters are fake,” Gandhi said.

The LoP rekindled his suspicions regarding the election system, saying that he had his doubts about “something being wrong” since 2014. Questioning the BJP’s sweeping victories in the assembly elections of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi noted that they began investigating electoral malpractices following their defeat in Maharashtra, where one crore new voters appeared within months ahead of the assembly elections, ultimately voting for the BJP.

“I’ve been speaking recently about the election system. I had always suspected something was wrong, starting from 2014. I had a suspicion in the Gujarat Assembly elections already. This ability to win sweeping victories. The Congress Party didn’t get a single seat in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, or Gujarat, which surprised me. Whenever we spoke, people said, ‘Where’s the proof?’ Then, something happened in Maharashtra,” Gandhi said.

“In the Lok Sabha, we won the election. And then four months later, we didn’t just lose, we were obliterated. Three formidable parties suddenly just evaporated. We started to look seriously for electoral malpractice. We found that in Maharashtra, one crore new voters appeared between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. The bulk of those votes go to the BJP… Now, I say with absolutely no doubt that we have proof,” the Congress leader said.

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Crime

Karnataka KRIDL Office Assistant, Once A Sweeper, Found With Properties Worth Over ₹100 Crore

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Bengaluru: A sweeper, turned outsourced office assistant at the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Corporation (KRIDL) in Koppal district has been the owner of properties worth over Rs 100 crore.

The shocking revelation came after the Karnataka Lokayukta raided the KRIDL office in Koppal, following a complaint against the Chief Executive Engineer Z M Chincholikar that there has been misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 72 crore in the works taken up between 2022 – 2024.

However, during the raid, the Lokayukta police grew suspicious over the office assistant Kalakappa Nidagundi of Bandi village in neighbouring Yalaburga taluk. Both Chincholikar and Nidagundi were immediately suspended and the search operations continued. However, Chincholikar managed to obtain a stay from the KAT and has been transferred to Davanagere.

During the search operations, the Lokayukta police stumbled on interesting facts about Kalakappa Nidagundi. He started his career as a sweeper in the KRIDL office, Koppal. Later in 2003, he was registered as an outsourced employee and made the office assistant. Since then, he has been the office assistant of the Koppal division.

While investigating the Rs 72 crore misappropriation in 108 works taken up by KRIDL  during 2022-2024, the Lokayukta police realised that Kalakappa Nidagundi was the mastermind of the scam. The Lokayukta police decided to go after the property he had amassed and were shocked to see that he was owning two luxurious cars, along with other properties, which is worth over Rs 100 crore.

According to Lokayukta police, Nidagundi has 24 houses in Koppal and Bhagya Nagar near Bagalakot. He has over 40 acres of farmland in the name of his wife, brother and brother-in-law. Besides, he owns over 50 housing plots in places like Bandi, Hitnal, Huligi and Yalaburga. The Lokayukta police have seized two cars, two bikes, 350 gms of gold and 1.5 kg silver from his house, which were unaccounted for.

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