Will protest strongly with ICC: BCCI on Indian team being denied Asia Cup trophy by Naqvi
Mumbai (PTI): The BCCI will lodge a "very strong protest" in the next ICC meeting in November against Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, who walked away with the Asia Cup trophy after the Indian team refused to accept it from him in Dubai.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia justified the team's refusal saying that India cannot accept the trophy from a person who is "waging a war against the country."
India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final on Sunday with Tilak Varma hitting an unbeaten 69 to be adjudged the Player of the Match for the summit clash.
"So far as the trophy is concerned, trophy distribution, India cannot take the trophy from the person who is waging a war against our country," Saikia said.
"We have taken a decision not to accept the trophy but that does not allow the gentleman to take away the trophy and the medals to his hotel," he added.
"This is unexpected, very childish in nature and we will launch a very strong protest with ICC in the forthcoming ICC meeting to be held in Dubai in the first week of November."
Naqvi is also the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Interior Minister of his country. Saikia praised the Indian team for their unbeaten run in the competition.
"India won all the seven matches at the group stage. India won all the three matches. Thereafter in the group of four they won the matches and finally also," he said.
"Out of these seven matches, India won against Pakistan 3-0. So this is a big victory and (a) big time cricket achievement for the country."
On the team's decision to play the tournament despite massive criticism of engagement with Pakistan in the backdrop of Pahalgam terror attack, Saikia said the Board has followed the policy set by the Indian government.
"...when it is a bilateral tournament, India is not going to play against Pakistan or any other hostile country and BCCI has been doing it for last 12 to 15 years," he said.
"And now the Government has said that in multinational tournaments -- Asia Cup is a multinational tournament --, or an international tournament where a lot of other countries are also involved. In those tournaments, Indian team, whether it is cricket or football, we have to play."
"Otherwise, our other games will suffer or the federation will be banned by international federations, so we followed the policy of the central government. We participated inspite of the fact that there are some protests or some resistance from some quarters," he continued.
Saikia said beating Pakistan across three games of this Asia Cup will bring "happiness to our people".
"Today, with this handsome win over Pakistan and the thumping victory of 3-0, I am sure we will bring a lot of happiness to our people. The country is really proud of the performance of Indian cricket team," he said.
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SC to hear pleas for reviewing wages of priests, temple staff
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the wages and other benefits given to priests, 'sevadars' and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta is likely to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, seeks directions to the Centre and states to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the remuneration and other benefits given to the priests and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
"Petitioner also seeks a declaration that priests and temple staff are employee' under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019. Petitioner submits that once the State assumes the administrative, economic and financial control over temples, an employer-employee relationship arises and denial of dignified wages to priests and temple staff violates the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21," it said.
Upadhyay said the cause of action accrued on April 4, when he went to Varanasi to attend a public programme and after performing 'Rudrabhishek' in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which is controlled by the state, he came to know that even the minimum wages to live with dignity are not given to the priests and temple staff.
"Recently, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, priests and temple staff organised a large-scale protest demanding the minimum wages. Priests and temple staff are not getting even the minimum wage prescribed by the State for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. This is a systemic exploitation. State is acting as a model employer through the endowments department, but violating the minimum wages Act and the directive principles of state policy (Article 43)," it said.
The plea further said the continued refusal to meet the minimum wages with the 2026 inflation-adjusted cost of living index has forced the petitioner to seek judicial intervention to prevent the further marginalisation of priests and temple staff.
Upadhyay further said the precarious nature of livelihood was starkly exposed on February 7, 2025, when a Tamil Nadu department issued a circular at the 'Dandayuthapani Swami Temple' in Madurai, strictly prohibiting priests from accepting 'dakshina' in 'aarti plates'.
"It is necessary to state that priests in such temples often receive no formal salary from the State and rely entirely on 'Dakshina'; the State's administrative order directly threatened them with starvation. Although withdrawn due to public outrage, the incident highlights the State's arbitrary power over the survival of the priests. This is also a bitter truth that States are controlling lakhs of temples but not a single mosque or church," the PIL claimed.
The petition, alternatively, sought direction to the Centre and states to take appropriate steps for the welfare of priests, sevadars and other temple staff in the spirit of the Allahabad High Court's earlier judgments.
