Trinamool Congress MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad has raised questions over India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, coach Gautam Gambhir, and ICC chairman Jay Shah taking the World Cup trophy won on Sunday to a Hindu temple in Ahmedabad.. Team India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, ICC chairman Jay Shah, and coach Gautam Gambhir at the Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad on Sunday night, just after the victory in the final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium. (ANI Video Grab). “Why NOT a Mosque? Why NOT a Church? Why NOT a Gurudwara?… The Trophy Belongs to 1.4 BILLION Indians of EVERY Faith — NOT ONE RELIGION’S VICTORY LAP!” read the X post by Azad, who was a member of the team that won the 1983 ODI World Cup.. He said called it shameful that one religion got precedence. “When we won the World Cup under Kapil Dev in 1983, we had Hindu Muslim Sikh and Christian in the team. We brought the trophy to our religious birth place our motherland India Bharat Hindustan,” he wrote.. “This Team Represents INDIA — not Surya Kumar Yadav’s or Jay Shah’s Family,” he further said, and then mentioned non-Hindu players too make his point: “(Mohammad) Siraj never paraded it at a Mosque. Sanju (Samson) never took it to a Church… latter had a major part to play and was man of the tournament.”. It was on Sunday night that Suryakumar Yadav, head coach and former BJP MP Gambhir and International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah, son of Union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah, visited the Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad and took blessings with the T20 World Cup trophy in hand.. Azad’s party TMC, ruling Bengal for over a decade, has been at loggerheads with the BJP as state elections are barely a couple of months away. It has accused the BJP of communalising the state’s politics with a Hindutva-centred strategy, while the BJP accuses CM Mamata Banerjee of “appeasing” Muslims instead.. Team India made history by securing a record-breaking third T20 World Cup title and becoming the first-ever team to defend the title and win it as a home nation, following a 96-run win over New Zealand at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. 

 The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday released the first National Highways Green Cover Index (NH-GCI), establishing a baseline for measuring vegetation along the country’s highway network using satellite-based assessment.. The first assessment cycle has covered around 30,000 kilometres of national highways across 24 states. (Image sourced from Doordarshan). Subsequent annual cycles will track year-on-year changes along the same highway stretches, enabling monitoring of improvements in roadside vegetation over time, NHAI said in a statement.. The index was prepared in coordination with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after a memorandum of understanding was signed by both agencies in January 2024 to develop a scientific and quantitative framework for assessing plantations along national highways.. The index uses high-resolution satellite sensors to detect chlorophyll content along highway corridors, enabling an estimate of vegetation within the right of way on both sides of the road.. The first assessment cycle has covered around 30,000 kilometres of national highways across 24 states for the period between July and December 2024.. Also Read: NHAI to build bridge, 2 km road to ease traffic at Masani Barrage. According to NHAI, the index is a technology-based approach for macro-level estimation of green cover along highways and could help identify stretches with relatively lower vegetation levels where plantation management may require attention. The framework also enables comparison and ranking of highway sections based on green cover. It said the use of satellite data offers a cost-effective and time-efficient method for monitoring vegetation along the expanding national highway network.. The release of the NH-GCI report follows NHAI’s publication of its sustainability report in July 2025, which outlined the agency’s sustainability initiatives and environmental performance across highway development and operations site. 

 When YouTuber Anurag Dobhal, popularly known as UK07 Rider, was critically injured in a car crash on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway in Ghaziabad, a friend and follower of the social media influencer rescued him from the mangled SUV.. Anurag Dobhal was later referred to another hospital in Delhi and was in a stable condition, officials informed.. The accident took place on Saturday near Hawa Hawai restaurant in the Masuri police station area. The event was captured on a social media live where Dobhal told ‘goodbye’ to thousands of followers before crashing his car into a barrier. He is currently admitted to the ICU and recovering from the injuries.. Police have said that a friend and follower of the influencer reached the spot before the police and rushed him to a nearby hospital in Meerut.. According to the UP Police, Anurag was heading towards Delhi from Meerut when his SUV crashed near the Hawa Hawai Aeroplane Restaurant and went to the opposite lane in Meerut.. “The crash was so severe that his car was mangled and the wheels came off. We received information about the incident on the emergency helpline number 112 from his friends.” Ajay Kumar, station house officer, Masoori police station said.. Surendra Nath Tiwari, deputy commissioner of police, Ghaziabad (Rural) told HT that they received information about the incident on the emergency helpline number from his friends. By the time police reached the spot, his friends had already rushed him to the nearest hospital.. Friend, follower rushed to the spot. Police also said one of his friends and social media follower, Ashish Chaudhary from Mehrauli, was the first to reach the spot.. Ashish told HT that he came after watching the live video on social media. “I am familiar with the DME. My friends and I rushed to the spot and rescued him from the mangled SUV. Locals also helped us at the spot,” he said.. Also read: Anurag Dobhal ‘fighting for his life’ in hospital after car crash, manager sends a message for ‘haters’. The influencer was later referred to another hospital in Delhi and was in a stable condition, officials informed. They also said that the exact reason behind the incident would be ascertained after recording the victim’s and his family members’ statements.. A resident of Dehradun, Anurag, told his viewers he felt completely alone and had no one left to call during his Instagram live. He was seen driving his SUV on the Delhi–Meerut Expressway, with the speedometer showing 140-150 kmph.. Also read: Anurag Dobhal in ICU after crashing car at 140 kmph during ‘final drive’ with 80,000 watching livestream. Multiple clips of the live also went viral, showing the influencer being emotional and turning the steering sharply.. Police said that based in primary investigation, it is suspected to be a case of suicide, adding that further investigation is still underway to determine the exact cause.. Meanwhile, in a recent picture shared from Anurag’s Instagram stories, the 

 West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday accused chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of disrespecting women and shouting at a delegation of the party that met him and the two election commissioners in Kolkata, escalating tensions between the two sides.. TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya quoted Kumar as saying that he is helpless, as the Supreme Court is monitoring the SIR in West Bengal. (ANI). “Like every time, it was he [Kumar] who did all the talking. After speaking for some time, he suddenly got irritated and said that you [TMC] have moved the Supreme Court. He was shouting. He accused us of shouting,” said TMC leader and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya.. She quoted Kumar as saying that Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has been completed in other states and that he is helpless, as the Supreme Court is monitoring the process in West Bengal. “Is moving the Supreme Court a crime? We have the right to move court,” Bhattacharya said after the meeting. “He [Kumar] was asking me not to shout. I told him that his attitude proves that he does not respect women. That is why names of women voters are being deleted.”. There was no immediate response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to Bhattacharya’s version of what transpired at the meeting.. Earlier on Monday morning, TMC workers carrying placards with “go back” slogans written on them and black flags gathered as Kumar visited the Kalighat Temple. TMC workers showed Kumar black flags and shouted go back slogans after Kumar landed in Kolkata on Sunday evening.. In a statement on the meeting with the representatives of the political parties, the ECI on Monday said that they urged it to conduct the assembly election in one or two phases, protect voters, and deploy Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to curb poll violence. It added that Kumar assured them that the ECI will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring an impartial, transparent, and fair poll.. Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, who are on a three-day visit to Kolkata, are holding a series of meetings to take stock of the poll preparations.. Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sishir Bajoria said they requested the ECI to conduct the elections in one phase or at most two phases. “Holding elections in multiple phases does not help.”. The ECI and the TMC have been at loggerheads over the SIR. On February 24, the Supreme Court invoked its extraordinary powers under the Constitution’s Article 142 to direct the ECI to continue publishing supplementary voter lists even after the final electoral roll is notified on February 28 to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised ahead of the assembly elections.. The court deemed that voters included in supplementary lists would be treated as part of the final roll, effectively neutralising rigid statutory timelines that might otherwise bar inclusion of voters whose verification remained pending. It authoris 

 Kohima, Several Nagaland legislators on Monday expressed concern in the Assembly over the recruitment criteria for state police constables, with some suggesting a review of the balance between physical and written tests.. MLAs express concern in Nagaland Assembly over police constable recruitment criteria. The MLAs raised the issue during Question Hour over the recent Nagaland Police constable recruitment drive conducted in January 2026 to fill 1,176 posts, during which 80 posts remained unfilled after candidates failed to qualify in the physical efficiency tests.. Raising the issue, NPF MLA Tongpang Ozukum welcomed the government’s decision to conduct the recruitment after a long gap, stating that it was a significant opportunity for unemployed youths in the state. However, he pointed out that out of the 1,176 posts advertised, 80 posts remained unfilled across five districts.. According to the data cited by Ozukum, the highest number of unfilled posts was from Mokokchung district with 43 vacancies, followed by Tuensang with 32, while Tseminyu had three and Longleng and Wokha had one each.. While acknowledging that it was not the fault of the department, Ozukum suggested that another opportunity be given to the districts concerned through a separate recruitment drive or by adding the backlog posts to future recruitment.. Replying to the query, Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Home Y Patton, confirmed that 80 posts remained vacant. He clarified that there would be no immediate separate recruitment solely for those posts but assured the House that the vacancies would remain reserved for the respective districts and tribes and would be carried forward as backlog vacancies in the next recruitment drive.. During the discussion, MLA Kuzholuzo Nienu appreciated the fairness of the physical and medical tests but raised concerns over the written examination. He noted that candidates with basic qualifications had to compete with highly educated graduates, making the competition uneven. He suggested that the department examine ways to review the system to ensure fairness for candidates from less advantaged areas.. MLA Achumbemo Kikon also suggested reducing the weightage of written marks and placing greater emphasis on physical tests, stating that constabulary duties require more physical strength and field work.. Responding to the suggestions, Patton said that the views expressed by the members would be examined and the recruitment system reviewed.. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio also stressed that police service primarily requires physical fitness, and candidates must prepare themselves accordingly. He suggested that unfilled posts of the respective districts should be given a second chance, but cautioned that vacancies should not remain indefinitely.. Patton further informed the House that while the minimum educational qualification is Class 8 for forward tribes and Class 6 for backward tribes, the department would review the recruitment process, particul