New Delhi, Sep 28: Days before the RSS celebrates its 100th anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday showered praise on the Hindutva organisation for its selfless service and discipline, and said “nation first” is always supreme in every action of its volunteers.

In his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address, Modi said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was established by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar on Vijayadashmi in 1925 to free the country from intellectual slavery, and its journey since has been as remarkable and unprecedented as it is inspiring.

A former RSS pracharak himself, Modi also praised Hedgewar’s successor M S Golwalkar and said his statement that “this is not mine, this belongs to the nation” inspires people to rise above self-interest and embrace dedication to the nation.

He said, “This statement by Guruji Golwalkar has shown millions of volunteers the path of sacrifice and service. This spirit of sacrifice, service, and the discipline it teaches is the true strength of the Sangh. Today, the RSS has been relentlessly and tirelessly engaged in national service for over a hundred years.”

The PM has been generous in his praise of the Hindutva organisation in the 100th year of its journey, lauding it in his last Independence Day address and commending the leadership of its chief Mohan Bhagwat on his birthday on September 11.

The RSS, which will turn 100 on Vijayadashmi next week, is considered the ideological inspiration for the ruling BJP.

When the Sangh was founded, the country had been bound by the chains of slavery for centuries, Modi said, adding that it had deeply hurt its self-respect and self-confidence. The world’s oldest civilisation was being made to face an identity crisis, he said.

He said, “Our countrymen were becoming victims of an inferiority complex. Therefore, along with the country’s independence, it was also important that the country be freed from intellectual slavery.”

RSS volunteers are the first to reach when a natural disaster strikes anywhere in the country, he noted.

He added, “This spirit of ‘nation first’ always remains paramount in every action and every endeavour of millions of volunteers.”

In his 126th Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi made another strong push for swadeshi and urged people to buy a khadi item on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.

He asked people to resolve to celebrate this festival season only with swadeshi items, and said it will make their joy rise manifold.

He said, “Make vocal for local shopping your mantra. Resolve that for all times, you will buy only what is produced in the country. You will take home only what is made by the people of the country. You will use only those goods which bear the toil of a citizen of the country.”

It will bring hope to a family, honour the hard work of an artisan, and give wings to the dreams of a young entrepreneur, he said.

Modi also said the government is working towards getting the ‘Chhath’ festival included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

On account of similar efforts by the government, he said, Kolkata’s Durga Puja also became a part of this UNESCO list.

During the broadcast, the prime minister also spoke with women navy officers — Lieutenant Commander Dilna and Lieutenant Commander Roopa — for exemplifying true courage and unshakable resolve during the Navika Sagar Parikrama, a sailing expedition to circumnavigate the globe.

He lauded their efforts and said women are making rapid strides in every field.

Noting that October 2 is Gandhi Jayanti, Modi said, unfortunately, the attraction for khadi in India had gone down after Independence.

“However, over the last 11 years, the attraction for khadi has grown remarkably, with sales rising steadily,” he said.

“I urge you to buy Khadi products on October 2. Say with pride, this is swadeshi,” he said, adding that other indigenous products have also been seeing a strong revival.

Modi also paid tributes to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and noted singer Lata Mangeshkar on their birth anniversary.

“Amar Shaheed Bhagat Singh is an inspiration for every Indian, especially the youth of the country,” the prime minister said.

Hailing the contribution of Lata Mangeshkar, Modi said she sang patriotic songs that inspired people a lot.

‘Jyoti Kalash Chhalke’, a song sung by Mangeshkar, was also played during the radio broadcast.

Ahead of the birth anniversary of Saint Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, and a revered personality, especially among Dalits, on October 7, Modi said temples dedicated to Nishadraj and Maharishi Valmiki were also built alongside that of Ram in Ayodhya.

He said, “This influence of the Ramayan is on account of the ideals and values of Bhagwan Ram enshrined in it. Bhagwan Ram embraced everyone with a spirit of service, harmony, and compassion. That is why we feel that the Ram of Maharishi Valmiki’s Ramayan is complete only with Mata Shabari and Nishadraj.”

He urged people to visit these temples as well when they go to the Ram temple.

In his remarks, Modi also paid tributes to Zubeen Garg, the celebrated singer from Assam whose untimely death plunged the state into collective grief, with lakhs of people joining the mourning in an unprecedented sight, and noted Kannada author S L Bhyrappa.

Dubai, Sep 28: Riding on Tilak Varma’s incredible half-century, fancied India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the summit showdown to win their second Asia Cup title in the T20 format here on Sunday.

India bowled out Pakistan for a modest 146 and then chased down the target of 147 with two balls remaining.

Varma smashed an unbeaten 69 in 53 balls, while Shivam Dube contributed a breezy 22-ball 33 during a vital 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav was the star of the show with excellent figures of 4/30 in four overs, while fellow spinners Varun Chakaravarthy (2/30), Axar Patel (2/26) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/25) were also among the wickets after India opted to bowl first.

Sent in, Pakistan were well-served by the opening duo of Sahibzada Farhan (57 off 38 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (46 off 35 balls), who stitched together 84 runs in under 10 overs to lay the foundation for a big total.

However, the Indian spin trio of Varun, Kuldeep and Axar suddenly picked up a few wickets to quickly tighten the screws on Pakistan, who lost their last nine wickets for just 33 runs.

This was India’s third victory over Pakistan in this edition of the continental event after winning in the league and Super 4s stages.

Brief scores:

Pakistan: 146 all out in 19.1 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 57, Fakhar Zaman 46; Kuldeep Yadav 4/30).

India: 150 for five in 19.4 overs (Tilak Varma 69 not out, Shivam Dube 33).

New Delhi, Sep 28: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is soon expected to attach assets worth crores of rupees of certain sportspersons and actors under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to an online betting and gaming platform.

Official sources told PTI that an investigation into the case related to a portal, ‘1xBet’, has found that some of these celebrities utilised the endorsement fee paid to them for acquiring a variety of assets which qualified as the “proceeds of crime” under the anti-money laundering law.

The federal probe agency is expected to soon issue a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach these movable and immovable properties, including some located abroad in countries like the UAE.

The quantification and valuation of these assets is currently underway. The properties acquired or created from the funds generated out of money laundering are categorised as proceeds of crime, and they are attached so that the persons who indulged in this crime are not able to enjoy the fruits of such a criminal act, the sources said.

After issuing the attachment order, it will be sent to the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA for confirmation and, once approved, a chargesheet will be filed in a designated court for confiscating these assets, they added.

The ED, over the last few weeks, questioned cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan apart from actors Sonu Sood, Mimi Chakraborty (a former TMC MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali cinema) as part of this investigation.

Some online influencers were also questioned.

The agency recorded the statements of these celebrities under Section 50 of the PMLA.

The sources said a number of them furnished the statement of accounts and transactions, through which they allegedly received their endorsement fee from the online platform, to the investigating officer of the case.

Statements of a few more sportspersons and actors are to be recorded by the agency in this case.

Actor Urvashi Rautela, the “India ambassador for 1xBet”, was summoned, but she did not depose as she was stated to be abroad by the sources.

According to Curacao-registered 1xBet, it is a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry.

Customers can place bets on thousands of sporting events, with the company’s website and app available in 70 languages, according to the company information available on its website.

1xBet has not responded to an email sent by PTI for a response on the ED investigation.

The Union government recently banned real money online gaming in India by bringing legislation.

According to estimates by market analysis firms and probe agencies undertaken before the government ban, there were about 22 crore Indian users in various such online betting apps, out of which half were regular users.

Officials have earlier said that the line of questioning for these celebrities, who deposed before it recently, included specific queries like how were they contacted by the betting company seeking their endorsement, the nodal person(s) for contact in India, the mode of payment (cash through hawala or banking channel) and place of the payment (in India or abroad), etc.

The agency, while recording the statements of the cricketers and actors, is also understood to be asking them if they knew that online betting and gaming was illegal in India. It has also asked them to furnish a copy of their contracts and all relevant email and paper documentation made by them with 1xBet.