Pakistan will take part in the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in India next month, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann confirmed on Monday. The six-team competition will be held from October 27 to November 5 in Jalandhar and Mohali. India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea will compete in the tournament. Mann said India’s policy allows the two countries to face each other in multinational sporting events, even though bilateral contests remain restricted. League-stage matches will be played in Jalandhar, while the semi-finals and final will be held in Mohali. India enter as defending champions. (PC: HT)

Counting is underway for Rajasthan’s municipal elections, with results showing a mixed contest between the BJP, Congress and Independents across 309 urban local bodies. In Udaipur, the BJP has secured a clear lead, holding 53 wards against Congress’s 23. The BJP also swept Jodhpur, winning 44 of 98 wards. In Jaipur, 21-year-old Congress candidate Faiz Hasan won Ward 71 with 5,426 votes, defeating Independent Mohammad Salim. Independents made a strong showing in Deeg, winning 25 of 40 wards, while Congress failed to win a seat there. Counting continues amid tight security across the state. (PC: HT)

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday defended religious preacher Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, popularly known as Bageshwar Baba, over his appeal to people to avoid meat during the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations. Speaking in the Assembly, Adhikari said Shastri had expressed his views but had not forced them on anyone. The Chief Minister also said he had seen people burning photographs of the preacher outside Bhawanipore police station. He directed the Kolkata Police Commissioner to take action and arrest those involved. Shastri had made the vegetarian appeal during his recent visit to Liluah, where he also spoke about nationalism, culture and Akhand Bharat. (PC: X)

Speculation is growing over whether former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest the October 6 bypolls from one of two Bengal seats—Nandigram or Rejinagar. Nandigram was vacated by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Banerjee there in 2021. Rejinagar was vacated by Humayun Kabir. Political observers see Nandigram as the safer option, while Rejinagar, with a 65% Muslim population, could also favour Banerjee. TMC insiders have suggested an alliance with Congress. However, the party faces uncertainty over retaining its “twin flowers” symbol amid a rival faction’s claim to being the “real Trinamool”. The BJP plans to contest both seats. (PC: NDTV)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday criticised the previous UPA government over delays in completing the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). Speaking at a ‘NaMo for Viksit Bharat’ event in Vadodara, Modi said the project remained stuck in bureaucratic processes for years. He said his government helped speed up its implementation. The 2,800-km freight corridor has now been completed, marking a major milestone for India’s transport network. Modi said better connectivity is important for a developed India. He called the project a major achievement for 21st-century India. The corridor is expected to improve freight movement and strengthen the country’s infrastructure.  

West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya rejected religious leader Bageshwar Baba’s appeal urging people to avoid non-vegetarian food during Navratri and Durga Puja. Bhattacharya said no religious leader or political party should dictate what Bengalis eat at home. He pointed to Bengal’s tradition of fish and meat and noted that mutton is also offered to Goddess Kali. Bageshwar Baba had criticised the consumption of non-vegetarian food near Durga Puja pandals during an event in Howrah. His remarks sparked reactions among Bengali Hindus and renewed a political debate over food habits in Bengal, months ahead of the state elections. (PC: HT)

West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya rejected preacher Dhirendra Shastri’s appeal for Bengalis to avoid non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja. Shastri, known as Bageshwar Baba, urged people to abstain from meat and called those continuing their regular diet heretics. Bhattacharya defended Bengal’s longstanding culinary and religious traditions, citing goat meat offerings to Goddess Kali and customary dishes such as luchi on Ashtami and goat meat on Navami. He said individuals may offer personal dietary advice, but such views cannot be imposed as societal rules. Bhattacharya also invoked Swami Vivekananda’s legacy and said Shastri’s remarks were not the BJP’s stance. The state BJP unit, he said, does not support a blanket vegetarian mandate.

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke criticised the Centre after a boys’ PG building collapsed in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday.   “Will the PM visit DU again and explain how did this happen?” Dipke asked. He said students should not have to “pay the price for failing infrastructure and neglect”.   AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj and the Congress also reacted and called for better safety and faster rescue efforts.   Around 40 to 50 students were feared trapped when the five-storey building collapsed. Several students were rescued and taken to hospital.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted Opposition leaders with his “dimagi Naxal” remark while addressing students at Shri Ram College of Commerce’s centenary celebrations in Delhi on Saturday. Referring to his recent Red Fort speech, Modi said the phrase acted like a “homeopathic pill” that exposed those promoting what he called the “illness”. His youth-focused address also highlighted crises including the 2013 Kedarnath disaster, the 2008 global financial crisis, COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and West Asia tensions. Modi urged students to think about India’s future and develop an aspirational vision for a developed nation. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the address as political. (PC: NDTV)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay confronted the Opposition DMK in the Assembly on Thursday after Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin questioned the TVK government’s handling of law and order, drug proliferation and protests. Stalin also questioned why the government promoted senior police officers who had served in similar roles under the previous DMK administration. Vijay said he would provide a detailed response to every allegation on Monday and urged DMK members not to walk out during his address. The exchange triggered heated scenes, with Opposition members protesting over crime statistics and the government’s record on protests and student dissent. (PC: PTI)