A Hyderabad couple died by suicide after killing their children – 13 and 10 years old.

In a note left behind, the couple wrote in Telugu, “I had no other option but to end my life. Please forgive me. I have been struggling in my career and suffering mentally and physically. I have been suffering from diabetes, nerve, and kidney-related issues.”

Sources told NDTV Chandrasekhar Reddy, 44, and his wife, Kavitha, 35, laboured through financial hardship brought on by Mr Reddy having been unemployed since 2023.

Mr Reddy, the police said, had earlier worked as a junior lecturer in a private college.

Now, tragically, left with little or no money and no hope apparent, Mr Reddy and Ms Kavitha resorted to the cruelest of actions – killing their children and taking their own lives.

Police, alerted by a call to the 100 emergency line, found their bodies at their home in the city’s Habsiguda area on Monday night.

Mr Reddy and Ms Kavitha were found in separate rooms, while their children were found in their respective bedrooms. A preliminary inquiry suggests the couple strangled their son, 10-year-old Vishwan Reddy, and daughter, Shrita Reddy, before hanging themselves.

The boy was studying in Class V and the girl in Class IX.

Both Mr Reddy and Ms Kavitha were from Telangana’s Kalwakurthy, and both had family in Hyderabad. Their deaths, and that of their children, underline the fragile daily lives of the vast majority of India’s 1.44 billion-strong population – many of whom try desperately to make ends meet or, as in this case, deal with the physical and mental trauma of long-term unemployment.

The bodies have been stored at the city’s Gandhi Hospital and post-mortems have been ordered.

With input from agencies

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Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge‘s remark in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday afternoon – about his party having come prepared to hold the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to account – triggered a furious row after MPs from the latter objected to a certain “derogatory” word they claimed was meant for the Chair.

The Congress chief’s remarks were condemned by BJP boss and Leader of the House JP Nadda, who called them “unpardonable”. “… he should apologise and the word should be expunged,” he declared.

Mr Kharge obliged, apologising immediately and voluntarily withdrawing the remark – which, in Hindi translates loosely as ‘nailing’ someone. “I am sorry. I was not speaking about you (the Chair)… it was about government policies. I am sorry if you were hurt by my remarks. I apologise,” he said.

The flare up followed from Monday’s chaos – a fierce spat between the centre and Tamil Nadu over delimitation and the ‘imposition’ of Hindi via the three-language formula of the new education policy.

Then, it was the BJP’s turn to be blasted for the use of unparliamentary language.

Then Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam took umbrage over Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s strong comments about Tamil Nadu, including calling the state “dishonest”. Chief Minister MK Stalin slammed Mr Pradhan as “arrogant” and for “thinking of himself like a king”.

Mr Pradhan’s remarks triggered protests from DMK MPs within and outside Parliament, and the party’s senior leader, K Kanimozhi, later filed a privilege motion against the Education Minister.

READ | “Ruining Students”, “Arrogant”: Centre vs Tamil Nadu on Hindi Row

In his speech in the Rajya Sabha today, Mr Kharge referred to Mr Pradhan’s comments, denouncing him and the BJP-led centre for having “hurt the self-respect of the people of a section of the country…”

“They are talking about dividing the country… about breaking the country,” he thundered, calling on Mr Pradhan (referring to him as “that minister in the Modi government”) to resign immediately.

The Congress chief, whose party is allied with the DMK, also said Mr Pradhan’s remarks were “unacceptable” and showed “blatant disregard for the dignity and rights of the Tamil people”.

The headlines around Parliament this time (the second half of the Budget session) have focused on delimitation and ‘Hindi imposition’, with Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK criticising the former as “a blatant assault on federalism” and the latter as the act of “entitled bigots”.

The centre has refuted both charges.

In Tamil Nadu last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the state would not lose a single seat in Parliament as a result of delimitation, or the redrawing of constituency boundaries.

READ | Stalin Raises Delimitation Stakes, Calls 7 State Leaders To Chennai

And, on the ‘Hindi imposition’ front, Mr Pradhan dismissed fears of regional languages being sidelined. He told NDTV the new policy only gives students the chance to learn a third language (in addition to their mother tongue and English) and does not require that it be Hindi.

However, Tamil Nadu has rejected both counterarguments.

Chief Minister MK Stalin has pointed out that Mr Shah, while he may have said the southern states won’t lose any seats, did not also say those in the north would not gain any.

He has also led a strong attack on Mr Pradhan over ‘imposition of Hindi’, including accusing him of “blackmail” for threatening to withhold funds if the education policy is not fully implemented.

With input from agencies

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In a major embarrassment for Pakistan, a senior diplomat was denied entry into the US despite having a valid visa and necessary documents, reported The News, a Pakistani media outlet. KK Wagan, the ambassador of Pakistan to Turkmenistan, was stopped by the US immigration on his arrival in Los Angeles and deported.

Quoting an unnamed official in the Pakistan foreign ministry, the report said the envoy had an “immigration objection”.

Mr Wagan, a seasoned diplomat, was on a personal trip to Los Angeles. The report said he had a valid US visa and other travel documents.

Immigration authorities stopped Mr Wagan after he arrived in Los Angeles with officials flagging concerns over diplomatic protocol. The US officials flagged “controversial visa references” of Mr Wagan, though there is no clarity over the specific concerns, the report said citing diplomatic sources.

He was then asked to return from where he had arrived in Los Angeles.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other top officials have been briefed on the issue, according to the report. Mr Wagan is likely to be summoned to Islamabad to give an explanation over the incident.

GeoTV, another Pakistani outlet, said their foreign office has confirmed Mr Wagan was on a private visit to Los Angeles and that the matter is being thoroughly investigated.

The incident is a major cause of embarrassment for Islamabad amid reports that US President Donald Trump would soon impose a travel ban on the country that effectively stops the entry of Pakistanis into the US.