NEW DELHI/ RAJKOT: Ahead of the launch of year-long “Somnath Swabhiman Parv” by PM Narendra Modi on Jan 11, BJP on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on Congress for its govt’s opposition to the reconstruction of the revered temple and flagged letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to accuse him of “hating” the deity.BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Nehru believed the temple’s reconstruction and association of Congress stalwarts like Rajendra Prasad, then President, harmed India’s global image and said the opposition party continued to follow a similar distaste for the country’s Hindu heritage.At a press conference in Delhi, Trivedi said the first PM addressed his Pakistani counterpart Liaquat Ali Khan as “my dear nawabzada” to protest false reports in that country over the temple’s construction instead of defending India’s civilisational memory.He also wrote to India’s ambassador in China to play down its significance apparently to minimise any adverse reaction from Mao Zedong, the Rajya Sabha MP said, alleging that he pursued “blind appeasement politics by repeatedly emphasising his opposition to then President Rajendra Prasad’s association with its inauguration. “Our opposition to Nehru is not personal but on principles. His letters underline how scary and dangerous his ideas were. We are not tarnishing his image. We are merely unmasking it as Congress continues to follow the same principle,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.Modi will offer prayers at the temple and pay tributes at the statue of Sardar Patel outside its precincts. He is also scheduled to attend a roadshow and Shaurya Yatra, dedicated to those who laid down their lives defending the temple from invaders, and address a large public gathering.“The year marks 1,000 years since Mahmud Ghazni’s attack on the Somnath temple in 1026 AD, while also completing 75 years of Sardar Patel’s historic resolve to rebuild the shrine. To mark this rare convergence, the festival has been planned to honour Somnath’s legacy of resilience and valour,” Gujarat minister Jitu Vaghani said. Highlighting the key attractions of the festival, the Gujarat minister said a mega drone show featuring 3,000 drones – the largest of its kind – will depict the history and grandeur of Somnath in the night sky.Prime Minister Modi’s visit on Jan 11, which marks 1,000 years of the temple’s destruction by Mahmud Ghazni, and his projection of its revival as a tribute to India’s cultural resilience coupled with Nehru’s wariness of the revered temple’s rebuilding have provided a fresh ballast to BJP’s campaign to paint Congress as indifferent if not outrightly hostile to the country’s Hindu heritage but being rather sensitive to interests of minorities, especially Muslims. Nehru wrote over 17 letters to question the need for Somnath temple’s reconstruction, including to the then president, vice president, cabinet ministers and chief ministers, and asked public broadcasters to minimise its coverage.He said Nehru prioritised “external appeasement over internal self-confidence”. “Somnath was plundered by Mahmud Ghazni and Khilji in the past, but in independent India, Pandit Nehru harboured the greatest hatred towards Lord Somnath,” he alleged.

Mumbai: Vinobha Bhave Nagar police have arrested a woman for allegedly extorting Rs 10 lakh from a 31-year-old interior designer from Kurla after he booked an escort service online. The accused, Natasha Dogra, has been booked on charges of cheating, criminal intimidation, criminal breach of trust under the BNS, and the IT Act.According to the FIR, the complainant came across an online link while browsing the internet, which further directed him to an escort website. The website displayed photographs of several women along with their names and WhatsApp numbers. The victim clicked on one of the links, a WhatsApp chat window opened. Police said a conversation allegedly began in which the woman demanded Rs 500 as an advance for a one-hour “service” priced at Rs 3,500. She sent a QR code linked to a bank account, and the complainant transferred Rs 500, followed by another Rs 600 at her request.However, she did not meet him and began citing excuses such as illness. Thereafter, she allegedly continued demanding money repeatedly on various grounds, including travel expenses, a medical emergency involving her father, hospital admission, funeral rituals after the illness and death of her mother, and property transfer expenses in her native place.She claimed she would inherit her parents’ house worth crores and return all the money. According to the victim, she also professed love to win his trust. He further said that when he expressed an inability to pay further, the woman allegedly threatened to send screenshots of their WhatsApp chats to his wife, and file a false rape case. Out of fear, he continued making payments. He finally confided in his brother, who pressed him to lodge a police complaint.Based on the victim’s complaint, police arrested Dogra from Mira Road.

NEW DELHI: The past week was quite turbulent for the cricket world — from Mustafizur Rahman being released by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, to the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision not to send its team to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup, and now the ICC stepping in to reassure the BCB.Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have remained strained since the mass uprising in Bangladesh in 2024 that led to the removal of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the ripple effects are now being felt strongly in the sporting sphere as well.

Amid this ongoing tussle between the two neighbours, former Bangladesh batter Rajin Saleh revisited a significant moment from his career, recalling the ‘big’ support he received from batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and former India captain Sourav Ganguly.Saleh took fans down memory lane to the 2004 tour, when India visited Bangladesh for a Test and ODI series. The assignment proved memorable not just on the field but also for the camaraderie and guidance he experienced from two of Indian cricket’s biggest icons.“I was struggling with the bat in that series. I scored two ducks in a Test match and then didn’t have a good outing in the ODIs either. I scored 14 and 0 in the first two matches. I was feeling so down and dejected. My morale was completely low. That’s when I decided to speak to Sourav and Sachin,” Saleh told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“Ahead of the third ODI, I knocked on Sachin’s door and he welcomed me. I told him about my poor form. He smiled and gave me some tips. He told me how to stay mentally fit going into a game by burying past performances. He said when you walk off the ground after getting out, just leave that innings there and start afresh in the next match,” Saleh said.“Ganguly also came in at that moment and sat quietly, listening to what Sachin was telling me. Ganguly then said, ‘veer ki tarah khelo, yoddha bano’. He asked me to bat fearlessly at the crease. Those words really egged me on. In the next match, I scored in the 80s against India. I scored runs against top bowlers — Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh — in that game,” he added.“One is God (Sachin) and the other is one of the finest captains India has ever produced (Ganguly). I truly admire them. I am grateful that I played against both those stars. Sachin is the god of cricket — I have witnessed that on the ground. The atmosphere was magical whenever he came out to bat. It was only Sachin, Sachin and nothing else. It was really hard to concentrate when he was batting,” Saleh, who played 24 Tests and 43 ODIs between 2003 and 2008, said.Saleh currently serves as the national high-performance batting coach with Bangladesh cricket.“I am currently coaching one of the teams in the BPL season. I am also coaching the Bangladesh senior team and working with the national high-performance setup. We miss playing against India. I played the Under-19 World Cup with Kaif, Yuvraj and many others, and I really miss competing against India.“I even asked Yuvraj for bats on a couple of occasions. He took me to the dressing room and said, ‘le lo jo bhi bat chahiye’. He has such a big heart,” Saleh signed off, leaving fans nostalgic.

Dhurandhar’, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna in lead roles, has continued its golden run at the ticket windows. The film, that is in its fifth week, continued to maintain a steady grip over the box office, seeing only a minor dip in numbers as per early estimates.Dhurandhar Movie Review

‘Dhurandhar’ box office collection Day 34

A report on sacnilk states that the film earned an estimated Rs 4.25 crore on Day 34, its fifth Wednesday at the box office. The Hindi version recorded an overall 10.69 per cent occupancy, even a month after its release. The film that has been on a record-breaking run at the box office, scored the highest fifth week collections in just the weekend. The film beat ‘Chhaava’s Rs 30 crore record by earning an estiamted Rs 33.25 crore net in just 3 days. Monday saw the film face a dip in numbers, earning around Rs 4.75 crore. It maintained its graph on Tuesday, earning another Rs 4.75 crore. With Wednesday’s collections, the film’s total net collection for week 5 has hit an estimated Rs 47 crore.

‘Dhurandhar’ week-wise collections

The film’s week-wise India nett collections stand as follows:Week 1: Rs 207.25 croreWeek 2: Rs 253.25 croreWeek 3: Rs 172 croreWeek 4: Rs 106.5 croreWeek 5: Rs 47 croreWhile the film has managed to surpass the Rs 100 crore mark for the past few weeks, this will be the first time that the movie will only hit the Rs 50 crore net milestone.

‘Dhurandhar’ total gross collections

By the end of Day 34, Dhurandhar has amassed a net total collection of Rs 786 crore nett in India. The film’s gross total collections on the other hand, have hit an estimated Rs 943 crore. With an additional Rs 284 crore coming in from overseas markets, the film has now hit a gross total collection of Rs 1227 crore.

‘Dhurandhar’ becomes No 1 Hindi film

‘Dhurandhar’ on Wednesday, officially became the highest-earning film in a single language (Hindi). As per box office data released by the producers, its total India nett collection climbed to Rs 831.40 crore, thus surpassing the Hindi lifetime business of Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’, which had earned around Rs 830 crore nett. With this, the film also made its way past the other top-grossing Hindi films including Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’ which earned Rs 643 crore and the horror-comedy ‘Stree 2’ that raked in an estimated Rs 627 crore.‘Dhurandhar’ box office collection day 34: The Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna starrer slows down after becoming the highest grossing Indian film, holds better than ‘Ikkis’ and ‘Tu Meri Main Tera’

‘Dhurandhar’ claims box office victory

The makers of ‘Dhurandhar’ also released an official statement that read, “History has been rewritten. With Tuesday’s collections, Dhurandhar has officially risen to become the highest-earning Hindi film of all time, a towering achievement that has redefined Indian box office success.”Yash Raj Films also congratulated the team, calling the film’s success a “milestone moment in Indian cinema”.

Agastya Nanda’s ‘Ikkis’ has showcased no potential to pull the audience to the theaters since its release in theaters, and the box office reports are the proof of the same. The war drama has not yet reached the 25 crore mark, even after seven days since the release. Let’s take a look at how much the film earned on its day 7.

‘Ikkis’ box office collection Day 7

The audience had high expectations from the film, as it was the big-screen debut of Agastya Nanda and a Sriram Raghavan directorial. However, the movie failed to live up to the hopes of the people. According to the Sacnilk report, the war film has earned Rs 1.15 crore at the box office. This brings the movie’s total revenue to Rs 24.25 crore.

Day-wise collection

Day 1 [1st Thursday]: Rs 7 croreDay 2 [1st Friday]: Rs 3.5 croreDay 3 [1st Saturday]: Rs 4.65 croreDay 4 [1st Sunday]: Rs 5 croreDay 5 [1st Monday]: Rs 1.35 croreDay 6 [1st Tuesday]: Rs 1.6 croreDay 7 [1st Wednesday]: Rs 1.15 croreTotal: Rs 24.25 crore

‘Ikkis’ vs ‘Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri’

Comparing the collections of the first seven days of ‘Ikkis’ and ‘Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri’, the Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday starrer was ahead of the war drama. The rom-com earned Rs 28.85 crore in its first seven days.Meanwhile, the movie earned Rs 0.25 crore on its Day 14 (second Wednesday), January 7, 2026. The total collection of the film is now Rs 32.8 crore at the box office.

‘Ikkis’ vs ‘Dhurandhar’

Well, ‘Dhurandhar’ is the beast of the box office right now and has collected over Rs 1200 crore globally. On its day 34 (fifth Wednesday), the movie raked in Rs 4.25 crore. The total collection of the film in India is Rs 786 crore.

More about ‘Ikkis’

Directed by Sriram Raghavan, the film stars Agastya Nanda, Dharmendra (his last screen appearance), Jaideep Ahlawat, Sikander Kher, Simar Bhatia, and Vivaan Shah.The movie is based on the Paramvir Chakra honoree (posthumously), Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was martyred during the India-Pakistan War of 1971.The film was released in theaters on January 1, 2026.

Ahmedabad: A couple from Rajkot approached the Gujarat high court seeking directions to the Centre and RBI against Indian Bank, alleging that gold ornaments worth Rs 1.15 crore pledged for two loans went missing from the bank’s custody, and that the bank kept them uninformed while continuing to accept interest on the loans.The petition was filed by Sangeeta Shah and Shyam Shah, who got two MSME jewel loan facilities in 2023 from Indian Bank’s Rajkot branch by pledging 1004.1 gram of 22-carat jewellery, including gold ornaments and gemstones, with market value of Rs 1.15 crore.

Ahmedabad Headlines Today — Key Stories You Shouldn’t Miss.

The petitioners submitted that the loans were renewed annually and the bank used to appraise the value of the pledged gold. When they requested the bank to renew the loans on Oct 28, 2025, the bank informed them the next day that it could not renew the loans because the “jewel pocket” kept on pledge was missing. It asked them to submit a reimbursement claim, quoting a reference rate of Rs 10,813 per gram for 24-carat gold.The bank informed the petitioners that the ornaments were missing from March 2025, and the bank filed a complaint with the police in July, though no FIR was filed yet. The couple approached the HC after the bank threatened them to classify the loan accounts as NPA, imposed penal charges, and their credit score began getting affected.Their advocate, Nimit Shukla, argued that the bank suppressed the information for several months and continued to demand and accept the interest amount. This was in breach of the duty of care. The couple made a representation on Nov 5, 2025, highlighting negligence and claimed reimbursement of the lost gold, making charges, and the gemstones’ value.The petition contended that the bank did not even provide a timeline for reimbursement. Despite its admission in writing about the gold loss, the bank resorted to coercive steps, which amounted to unjustified abuse of dominance. “The bank’s deliberate suppression of information for several months and its failure to compensate petitioners is in absolute disregard for the guidelines laid down by the RBI,” the petition read.The couple sought directions to the Centre and RBI to take necessary action against the bank and direct the bank to appropriately compensate the petitioners in accordance with law, or to constitute an independent vigilance committee to take necessary action against the bank. They also sought complete details of loan accounts and internal enquiries, and directions against the bank to refrain itself from taking any coercive steps against them regarding the loan accounts.After a preliminary hearing, Justice Aniruddha Mayee issued notice to the Centre, RBI and Indian Bank, seeking their replies by Jan 27, when further hearing was posted.

Justin Langer, the former Australian coach, has mounted some well-deserved praise for Jacob Bethell after his magnificent century at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The former Australian batter has used some tricky phrases and has intrigued the audience.

The Ashes have not marked too many glorious moments for the English cricketers who toured Down Under. However, Jacob Bethell played in his second game of the Ashes series and managed to score his maiden First-class hundred.

Joe Root, on the other hand, has been one of England’s most promising batters and scored his second century of the series. Harry Brook and Zak Crawley also remained among the highest scorers for England.

Jacob Bethell lit up SCG with a stupendous century

Left-handed batter Jacob Bethell not only played a stupendous innings at the SCG but also threatened to take over the no. 3 position in the English red-ball side. Ollie Pope has struggled in the position since last year, as he has either scored centuries or been dismissed for ducks.

Bethell scored his first century and helped England’s innings single-handedly. Harry Brook and Ben Duckett remained the only batters who helped him with the innings. Bethell remained unbeaten at the end of Day 4 and helped England to a lead of 119 runs.

Justin Langer has made the headlines with a quirky response on Jacob Bethell, mounting praises for the English batter, and his comments show he might be in love with the batter’s performances.

“Ah, guess what, my boyfriend’s coming. My boyfriend arrived,” said Justin Langer. The remark made Alastair Cook and the presenter of TNT Sports laugh out loud as they welcomed Jacob Bethell.

“I love his honesty. I love the way he played. And yeah, dare I say, I love him,” the Australian legend remarks made Alastair Cook get all naughty. Cook replied, “I am not going to quote that for the national TV. I’ll let Justin do that.”

Mountains of well deserved praise for Jacob Bethell from the team 🙌

Justin Langer may be in LOVE 😍😂 pic.twitter.com/QpIwPidNzi

— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) January 7, 2026

In another major feat, Justin Langer has credited Jacob Bethell’s upbringing for his fine technique on the back foot. Langer has said that any player who is good on the back foot can evolve to be a promising player in the future.

“He just says it as it is. I just love what he said about growing up in Barbados. I’ve always said, if I were a coach of a kid, I would be teaching them to play off the back foot before the front foot,” said Langer.

“Because if you have any worries about playing off the back foot, it doesn’t matter if you hit 10 billion balls on the front foot. You’re never going to be quite as sharp. So, a great upbringing for him, a great lesson for kids wanting to become really good players,” he added.

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