Get married: Lalu Prasad Yadav tells Rahul Gandhi at press meet
Patna, June 23: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Friday gave a paternal reprimand to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his refusal to tie the nuptial knot, pointing out the consternation it was causing to his mother Sonia Gandhi.
The aging septuagenarian, who was the last among the galaxy of opposition leaders to address the press briefing after the much vaunted opposition meet, was in his element as he regaled the delegates and the media persons alike with his characteristic sense of humour.
"You do not heed our advice to get married", said Prasad while complimenting 53 years old Gandhi for wearing a half sleeved shirt, which the RJD supremo said was a perfect foil for the "Modi kurta".
"Baat maaniye, shaadi kariye", said Prasad, adding "your mummy keeps fretting over your refusal to get married".
"We would like to be a part of your wedding procession (baraat) said Prasad, evoking a shy smile from Gandhi and guffaws from others present on the occasion.
The seasoned politician was, however, not all mirth and levity as he also lauded Gandhi for the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" and slammed the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for withdrawing Rs 2,000 notes, less than a decade after these were introduced following demonetization.
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IPL mega auction to be held in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on November 24, 25: BCCI
New Delhi, Nov 5: The mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25, the BCCI announced on Tuesday.
This is the second successive year the auction is being held overseas as Dubai hosted the previous one ahead of the IPL 2024.
The player registration officially closed on Monday and a total of 1,574 cricketers (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) have been signed up for the auction, which will clash with the third and fourth day’s play of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth, which begins on November 22.
Each franchise will be able to form a maximum squad of 25 players (including respective retained players), and a total of 204 slots will be up for grabs from the auction.
The list includes 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players and 30 players from the Associate Nations.
Among capped players, 48 are from India. Moreover, 965 uncapped players of the country will also be part of the auction.
This year’s auction will feature some high-profile India stars such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh.
The 10 franchises will collectively have around Rs 641.5 crore to spend for the available 204 slots.
Out of those 204 slots, 70 are earmarked for overseas players.
As of now, 46 players have been retained by the 10 franchises with cumulative expenditure of Rs 558.5 crore.
Each franchise was allocated Rs 120 crore to build their squads but after the retention process, which was announced on October 31, Punjab Kings have the biggest purse -- Rs 110.5 crore.
The Punjab outfit retained just two uncapped players -- Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh for Rs 9.5 crore.
Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson, have the smallest purse of Rs 41 crore after retaining six players.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have also retained six players but they have a remaining purse of Rs 51 crore.
