TRS to back Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency
Hyderabad : The TRS would back AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi in the Lok Sabha elections and seek his support for candidates of the ruling party in the remaining 16 seats in Telangana.
The move does not come as a surprise as the TRS or Telangana Rashtra Samiti and AIMIM, who describe each other as "friendly party", worked together in the Assembly elections.
In fact, Owaisi, the three-time Hyderabad Lok Sabha member, had campaigned for TRS in some Assembly segments.
The K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS returned to power with 88 seats in the 119-member Assembly. AIMIM had bagged seven seats.
"They (AIMIM) are our friendly party, they have reciprocated to us, they will help us. We will take their help in winning 16 seats and we are not targeting the seat held by Owaisi, Hyderabad, we will extend support," TRS spokesperson Abid Rasool Khan told PTI Wednesday.
Meanwhile, on the defensive after none of the woman aspirants could find cabinet berth in the expansion made by the chief minister on Tuesday, the TRS said there are still six vacancies to be filled.
There was no woman representation in the state cabinet in the first term of the TRS government.
"Our party definitely considers that there should be a woman representative; in the coming expansion, there would be woman representation for an important portfolio," Khan said.
On chief minister's nephew T Harish Rao and son K T Rama Rao not being included in the cabinet expansion, he said the party has the task of winning 16 Lok Sabha seats in the state, which has a total of 17 constituencies.
"At this time, their services are required for the party... campaigning throughout the state. So, I think, the chief minister has not burdened them with task of handling another ministry. Their services (for the party) would be invaluable", he said.
Harish Rao and Rama Rao held key portfolios in the first term of the KCR government.
Rama Rao was appointed TRS working president, a day after Chandrasekhar Rao assumed charge as the chief minister for the second consecutive term on December 13.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
