Cristiano Ronaldo unlikely to travel to India for FC Goa clash
Margao (PTI): Saudi Arabia's top club Al-Nassr are arriving in India Monday night for their AFC Champions League 2 away match against FC Goa but marquee player Cristiano Ronaldo is unlikely to accompany the visiting team for the game scheduled on October 22.
According to Saudi Arabia's sports newspaper Al Riyadhiah, the 40-year-old Ronaldo is not going to be a part of the travelling party despite multiple requests from the FC Goa management.
Al-Nassr are bracing up for their third game in the continental club tournament after their comfortable league won over Al-Fateh, and their next match is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.
FC Goa had defeated former AFC Cup winners, Al Seeb, to qualify for ACL 2, and were then drawn alongside Ronaldo's Al Nassr in Group D of the tournament.
Al-Nassr and Indian Super League club FC Goa being drawn in the same group of the continental tournament has raised expectations of the Portuguese superstar making a trip to India for a competitive match.
It is understood that his contract with Al-Nassr has a clause giving him the right to pick and choose matches outside Saudi Arabia.
Al-Nassr will be arriving at the Dabolim international airport.
Ronaldo, who is looking to play in next year's World Cup, is also focussed on managing his workload and give himself a chance to compete in the showpiece.
Moreover, Al-Nassr have won both their group-stage fixtures of Asian AFC Champions League 2 in the absence of Ronaldo, and are poised to advance to the next round.
After their match against FC Goa, Al-Nassr will be taking on rivals Al Ittihad in a round of 16 clash of the Kings Cup on October 28.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
