Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Tuesday slammed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP DNV Senthilkumar S over his remark calling the Hindi heartland states as ‘Gaumutra’ states, saying that it is a “disrespect” of the ‘Sanatani’ tradition. The DMK MP’s statement was in reference to BJP’s victory in three states – Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh – in the recently concluded assembly election. “DMK will soon get to know the benefits of ‘Gaumutra’. They are very well aware that this will not be tolerated by the people of the country. Anyone who tries to play with the sentiments of the country will get a befitting reply from the public,” Lekhi told the media. Dig Deeper

The Uttarakhand government will come up with standard operating procedures (SOPs) that need to be followed during the construction and maintenance of tunnels in light of the Silkyara incident in Uttarkashi. Uttarakhand Disaster Management secretary Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha confirmed the development and said, “We are examining the Silkyara tunnel incident, its causes, and safety gaps to introduce SOPs for the construction of tunnels to avoid such incidents in future.” He said, “The SOPs, once introduced, would be applicable to state, central and joint projects in the state.” Dig Deeper

The Latest News

‘How is it possible?’: Kamal Nath claims ex-MLAs didn’t even get 50 votes in assembly polls. Dig Deeper

‘Core debilities’ reducing efficiency of improving infra in Indian cities: Report. Dig Deeper

INDIA bloc meeting postponed after key leaders decide to skip December 6 huddle. Dig Deeper

India News

Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi shot dead in Jaipur, chilling murder caught on CCTV. Dig Deeper

‘BJP MP told me…I had laughed’: Omar Abdullah on Congress’s Chhattisgarh defeat. Dig Deeper

‘We respect Gau Mata’: Cong’s Adhir Ranjan on DMK MP’s ‘Gaumutra’ remark’. Dig Deeper

Global Matters

UN says ‘not possible’ to create Gaza ‘safe zones’: ‘Unscientific, irrational’. Dig Deeper

‘Seeing same pattern of Israel like north as…’: WHO’s warning for south Gaza. Dig Deeper

Pakistan’s election body asks government to deploy army for general election day. Dig Deeper

Entertainment Focus

Sam Bahadur box office collection day 4: Vicky Kaushal’s Sam Bahadur is going steady at the box office, even as it saw a dip in collections on its forth day at the box office. After managing to touch double digits on Sunday, the numbers have seen a decline on the next day back to single digit. As per the latest report from Sacnilk.com, the Meghna Gulzar film has managed to collect ₹3.50 crore on Monday. On its forth day of release, which was the crucial first Monday, Sam Bahadur had an overall occupancy of about 22.65 percent for its Hindi version, as per the portal. The biopic minted ₹3.50 crore, taking its overall collection after four days to ₹29.05 crore. The film has received unanimous praise for its lead star Vicky Kaushal’s performance, but the main challenge that stands in front of the film is Animal, the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial starring Ranbir Kapoor. It has recorded a stellar first Monday with ₹40 crore. Dig Deeper

Lifestyle and Health

The charm of winter season is unbeatable and it can lure us into indulging in good food and staying in the warm embrace of blankets. No wonder short winter days appear even shorter as our movements are slowed down due to the chilly weather. However, this winter lethargy and decreased physical activity can be detrimental to our overall health, especially cardiovascular wellness. Cases of sudden heart attacks increase during the cold season due to a number of reasons. In winters, our heart has to work extra hard to maintain body temperature and that can take a toll. Icy cold weather can also activate our sympathetic nervous system and the secretion of catecholamines increase which in turn leads to constriction of blood vessel. This can lead to increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Dig Deeper

Sports Goings

There is quite some ambivalence over the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in T20I cricket. India have already begun their preparations for the T20 World Cup next year in June with a 4-1 series win against Australia, however, both their stalwarts have increased their period of hiatus from the shortest format, having last played in the semifinal loss against England in 2022 T20 World Cup. However, while most have raised the question of ‘when’, for former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, it more a ‘whether’, which resulted into him and Irfan Pathan being at loggerheads. Speaking to Star Sports, Manjrekar admitted that while he understood that India are desperate to end their ICC trophy drought, he feels the return of Rohit and Kohli to T20I cricket should depend entirely on their form in the format. He explained that while Kohli will have to prove himself against the likes of the young batters who were picked for the Australia series, Rohit will be in competition with Hardik Pandya. Dig Deeper