Top news headlines of today – 20 Dec 2025

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit West Bengal's Nadia district on Saturday, where he will inaugurate national highway projects and address a public rally, amid heightened political tensions over the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.

This would be Modi’s first visit to the state since the draft SIR rolls were published, and the third in the past five months.

The Prime Minister, political observers said, is scheduled to address the growing unease amongst the Matua community members post the publication of the draft rolls from his strategically located BJP rally venue in Taherpur area of Ranaghat, not far from the heartland of the Namasudra Hindu community in adjacent Bongaon.

In the process, Modi is likely to sound the BJP’s bugle for the assembly polls, which are due in the state early next year and finalise the roadmap for the party’s big push for the crucial elections.

Follow this page as we track big developments of the day...

Dec 20, 2025 18:17 IST
PM Modi visits Assam BJP headquarters to chair crucial meeting ahead of 2026 polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Assam BJP headquarters in Guwahati on Saturday evening to chair a strategic meeting with about 280 leaders of the party, with an eye on next year's assembly polls.
Modi reached the Vajpayee Bhawan in Basistha area of the city after leading a massive 3.8-km-long roadshow from Sarusajai. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 17:51 IST
Modi govt bulldozed MGNREGA, says Sonia Gandhi, vows fight against 'black law'
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday accused the Modi government of bulldozing the MGNREGA, and asserted that the "black law" that seeks to repeal it will be defied the lakhs of party workers.
In a video message, she said that by weakening MGNREGA, the Modi government had attacked the interests of crores of farmers, labourers, and landless across the country. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 17:08 IST
PM inaugurates new terminal of Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport in Guwahati
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a new terminal of the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport (LGBIA) here.
The Integrated Terminal 2 Building is designed to handle 13.1 million passengers per year.
The PM also undertook a tour of the new terminal built at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 16:53 IST
Cong high command will call us at 'appropriate time,' will wait, says Shivakumar
With the leadership issue involving him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah coming to the fore again, deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Saturday said the Congress high command has told the two leaders as to when they will be called to Delhi to to discuss the matter.
He said that both of them will go to Delhi and meet the high command, when summoned. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 16:48 IST
129 flights cancelled at Delhi airport amid dense fog
At least 129 flights were cancelled at the Delhi airport on Saturday due to dense fog, according to an official.
Flight operations have been disrupted for the past several days at Delhi and other airports due to dense fog, resulting in low visibility conditions.
The official said at least 66 arrivals and 63 departures have been cancelled. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 16:10 IST
On way to PM's rally, 3 mowed down by train amid dense fog; Modi condoles deaths
Three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 15:56 IST
Will end TMC's ‘maha jungle raj’ in Bengal, says PM Modi as fog delays chopper
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday lashed out at the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, calling the state’s prevailing situation “maha jungle raj” and alleging that corruption, nepotism and appeasement of the ruling dispensation have prevented development in the state.
Addressing a massive gathering at Taherpur in Nadia district over the phone from Kolkata, Modi urged the people to provide a chance to the BJP in the upcoming assembly polls to form a “double engine government” in the state. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 15:43 IST
Gill dropped; selectors call back Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh for T20 World Cup
Taking a bold call with an eye to maximise impact over reputation, the Indian selectors on Saturday dropped Shubman Gill from the T20 World Cup squad and brought back wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan along with Rinku Singh.
Gill's omission is the most interesting decision of the selection meeting in Mumbai although given his form, it wasn't very surprising. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 15:29 IST
Bit short of runs at the moment: Ajit Agarkar on Shuman Gill's omission from T20 squad
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Saturday identified Shubman Gill’s recent lack of runs and the combination compulsions as reasons for his omission from India’s squad for the T20 World Cup.
Gill, who was recently appointed as the national T20 vice-captain, could not fire in the recent home series against Sri Lanka, making 4, 0 and 28 before missing the fifth match because of an injury.
“We know what a quality player he is, but, perhaps short of a little bit of runs at the moment,” said Agarkar in the press conference for India’s squad announcement. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 15:22 IST
T20 WC: Shubman Gill ignored; Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh make cut
In a bold move, the national selection committee on Saturday omitted out-of-form vice-captain Shubman Gill from the 15-member Indian squad picked for the home T20 World Cup.
All-rounder Axar Patel was named the vice-captain of the squad which also saw the return of an in-form Ishan Kishan, who pipped Jitesh Sharma as the second wicketkeeper behind Sanju Samson.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar admitted that Gill has been dropped from the squad for lack of runs. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 13:51 IST
Dense fog prevents PM’s helicopter from landing in Taherpur, Modi may address rally virtually
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the Taherpur rally in West Bengal’s Nadia district in virtual mode after dense fog prevented his helicopter from landing at the venue and forced him to return to the Kolkata airport on Saturday, an official said.
Owing to low visibility, the PM’s chopper made a U-turn after hovering over the makeshift helipad ground in Taherpur for a while and returned to Kolkata airport, he said. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 13:20 IST
Low visibility prevents PM’s helicopter from landing in Nadia, Modi returns to Kolkata airport
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter failed to land at the Taherpur helipad in West Bengal owing to low visibility on account of dense fog in the area on Saturday, an official said.
The PM’s chopper made a U-turn after hovering over the helipad ground for a while and returned to the Kolkata airport, he said.
Till reports last received, the Prime Minister was waiting at the airport for further updates on the weather situation. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 11:59 IST
Ranveer Singh's 'Dhurandhar' crosses Rs 500 crore mark at box office
Aditya Dhar's directorial "Dhurandhar", featuring Ranveer Singh in the lead role, has crossed the mark of Rs 500 crore at the domestic box office, the makers said on Saturday.
Released on December 5, the film also features Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, R Madhavan and Rakesh Bedi. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 11:03 IST
Yearender 2025: Oil is king again, with India driving global demand comeback
After years of forecasts predicting an imminent peak in oil demand amid a swift shift to renewables, oil and gas made a quiet but unmistakable comeback, with India emerging as a central driver of global consumption.
Major energy outlooks - from BP and McKinsey to the IEA - pushed peak oil into the 2030s and revised 2050 demand upward. And every forecaster said India will emerge as the epicentre of global demand growth, with its rise in appetite for energy outpacing that of China and Southeast Asia combined. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 10:32 IST
PM to embark on 2-day Assam visit, inaugurate new airport terminal, interact with BJP workers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to arrive here on Saturday for a two-day visit to Assam during which he will launch several projects, interact with BJP workers and address public meetings, officials said.
The PM will unveil an 80-foot-tall statue of Assam's first chief minister Gopinath Bardoloi, sculpted by eminent artist Ram Sutar, outside the new terminal of the airport named after him, they said. READ MORE



Dec 20, 2025 09:55 IST
Noted actor Sreenivasan dies at 69

Kochi: Noted Malayalam actor-director Sreenivasan died at a private hospital near here on Saturday morning, film industry sources said. He was 69.
Read more...



Dec 20, 2025 09:16 IST
8 elephants killed after being hit by Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Exp in Assam's Hojai dist
Nagaon/ Guwahati: Eight elephants were killed and one injured after a herd was hit by the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam’s Hojai district in the wee hours of Saturday, a forest official said.
Read more...



Dec 20, 2025 09:15 IST
Bangladesh set to hold funeral of Sharif Osman Hadi amid unrest in country
Dhaka: Bangladesh is set to hold the funeral of a prominent youth leader on Saturday amid tight security following unrest in the country triggered by his death.
Read more...