
MP Priya reflects on three-year wait before engagement to Rinku, says it was worth every second
Samajwadi Party MP Priya Saroj took to social media to post a heartwarming message after getting engaged to Indian cricketer Rinku Singh and reflected on the long road they had to take to get here.
The engagement took place on Sunday in Lucknow with their wedding date locked in for November 18 at the Taj Hotel in Varanasi.
"This day has been in our hearts for so long — almost three years — and the wait was worth every second. Engaged — with full hearts and a forever to go," posted Priya Saroj on her 'X' account.
Besides the families of Rinku and Priya, several prominent leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Jaya Bachchan along with Ram Gopal Yadav and Shivpal Yadav, attended the ceremony.
Board of Control of Cricket India (BCC) vice-president Rajeev Shukla was also present at the ceremony to extend his best wishes to the couple.
However, several of Rinku's teammates couldn't make it to his engagement celebration, as the Indian Test squad has already departed for England ahead of the Test series starting June 20.
Former India cricketer Praveen Kumar was in attendance and extended his heartfelt wishes to the couple on their special day.
Rinku Singh, Priya Saroj with family members and friends during their engagement ceremony. Photo / X
Rinku, hailing from Aligarh, has played two ODIs and 33 T20Is for India in the last couple of years and is an important member of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, who lifted the title in the 2024 season.
The 26-year-old Priya is a first-time MP from Jaunpur's Machhlishahr constituency. Priya, a practising advocate, is known for her legal acumen and youthful energy. She is among India's youngest MPs.
Hailing from Karkhiyaon village in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, she has continued her father's legacy with her career in politics.
Her father, Tufani Saroj, is a three-time MP and current MLA from UP's Kerakat. Priya began her career as a politician in 2024 after she was elected as the MP of Machhlishahr after defeating BJP veteran BP Saroj by over 35,000 votes.
Indo-Asian News Service

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Gulf Today
10 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Climate change heightens risk of Indian farmer suicides
On a small farm in India's Maharashtra state, Mirabai Khindkar said the only thing her land grew was debt, after crops failed in drought and her husband killed himself. Farmer suicides have a long history in India, where many are one crop failure away from disaster, but extreme weather caused by climate change is adding fresh pressure. Dwindling yields due to water shortages, floods, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall, coupled with crippling debt, have taken a heavy toll on a sector that employs 45 percent of India's 1.4 billion people. Mirabhai's husband Amol was left with debts to loan sharks worth hundreds of times their farm's annual income, after the one-hectare soybean, millet and cotton plot withered in scorching heat. He swallowed poison last year. "When he was in the hospital, I prayed to all the gods to save him," said 30-year-old Mirabai, her voice breaking. Amol died a week later, leaving behind Mirabai and three children. Her last conversation with him was about debt. Their personal tragedy is replicated daily across Marathwada, a region in Maharashtra of 18 million, once known for fertile farmland. Last year, extreme weather events across India affected 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) of cropland - an area bigger than Belgium - according to the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment research group. Over 60 per cent of that was in Maharashtra. "Summers are extreme, and even if we do what is necessary, the yield is not enough," said Amol's brother and fellow farmer Balaji Khindkar. "There is not enough water to irrigate the fields. It doesn't rain properly." Between 2022 and 2024, 3,090 farmers took their own lives in Marathwada, an average of nearly three a day, according to India's Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan. People walk across the dried-up Godavari river in Beed district in Maharashtra. File / AFP Government statistics do not specify what drove the farmers to kill themselves, but analysts point to several likely factors. "Farmer suicides in India are a consequence of the crisis of incomes, investment and productivity that you have in agriculture," said R. Ramakumar, professor of development studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Farming across many Indian smallholdings is done largely as it has been for centuries, and is highly dependent on the right weather at the correct time. "What climate change and its vulnerabilities and variabilities have done is to increase the risks in farming," Ramakumar said. This "is leading to crop failures, uncertainties... which is further weakening the economics of cultivation for small and marginal farmers." The government could support farmers with better insurance schemes to cope with extreme weather events, as well as investments in agricultural research, Ramakumar said. "Agriculture should not be a gamble with the monsoon." Faced with uncertain weather, farmers often look to stem falling yields by investing in fertilisers or irrigation systems. But banks can be reluctant to offer credit to such uncertain borrowers. Some turn to loan sharks offering quick cash at exorbitant interest rates, and risking catastrophe if crops fail. "It is difficult to make ends meet with just farming," Mirabai said, standing outside her home, a tin-roofed hut with patch-cloth walls. Khadija Bi (right), whose son Shaikh Latif Sheru, a farmer who committed suicide due to mounting financial loans, sits under the shade of a tree along with her family members at their farmland in Mochi Pimpalgaon village of Beed district. File / AFP Her husband's loans soared to over $8,000, a huge sum in India, where the average monthly income of a farming household is around $120. Mirabai works on other farms as a labourer but could not pay back the debt. "The loan instalments piled up," she said, adding that she wants her children to find jobs outside of farming when they grow up. "Nothing comes out of the farm." The agricultural industry has been in a persistent crisis for decades. And while Maharashtra has some of the highest suicide rates, the problem is nationwide. Thirty people in the farming sector killed themselves every day in 2022, according to national crime records bureau statistics. At another farm in Marathwada, 32-year-old farmer Shaikh Imran took over the running of the family smallholding last year after his brother took his own life. He is already more than $1,100 in debt after borrowing to plant soybean. The crop failed. Meanwhile, the pop of explosives echoes around as farmers blast wells, hoping to hit water. "There's no water to drink," said family matriarch Khatijabi. "Where shall we get water to irrigate the farm?" Agence France-Presse


Al Etihad
a day ago
- Al Etihad
Young badminton players do UAE proud in Spain
10 June 2025 00:15 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)The teen members of the UAE Junior badminton team notched memorable performances while representing the country over the weekend in Alicante, Spain.A haul of five medals – two golds, two silvers and one bronze – at the Spanish International Under-19 Championship at the Pabellon Municipal Centre courts propelled the UAE to dominate the podium in three out of the five categories and finished ahead of badminton powerhouses such as Germany, Thailand, and the Men's Singles, days after turning 15, Riyan Malhan overcame some nervous moments but moved from strength to strength against higher-ranked and older opponents before eventually taking the gold in a proud achievement for the Dubai-born Indian teen."Winning the Spanish International U19 is a dream come true," said Malhan in a message from Spain. "I'm grateful to my coaches, teammates, and the UAE Badminton Federation for believing in me. This is just the beginning – I'll keep working harder to make my country proud on the world stage."The prodigy had also made history last year by becoming the first player from the UAE and West Asia to clinch a medal, bronze, at the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships in Chengdu, China. His father was a state-level player in India before moving to the UAE many years back as an this is not enough, there is more promising talent in the pipeline as was evident when his compatriot, Adam Jeslin, who is yet to turn 15, showcased equal resilience and skill to earn the silver medal behind the Women's Singles, there was familiarity on the honours board where Prakriti Bharath lived up to her second-seed billing with an emphatic, undefeated run to defend her title."Standing on top of the podium means more than just a win; it is a reward for every early morning and every tough training session. I'm proud to represent the UAE and hope this inspires more girls back home to chase their badminton dreams," Prakriti said on her successive title from the Spanish tournament. In doing so, she overcame her teammate Mysha Omer in the finals, who fought valiantly to bring home the to the medal count, the new pairing of Jeslin and Omer, 17, brought home a respectable bronze in the Mixed Doubles category, given their ages and mixed experience. Omer had won the women's doubles bronze last year with Taaiba with the raw talent of Jeslin, the experienced Omer still had to impress to stun the second-seeded German pair of Alexander Zhang and Aurelia Wulandoko though they could not prevent the latter from taking the silver. The UAE mixed pair then bowed out from the semi-final stage, losing to the eventual champions and Thailand's siblings, Tonkid Saeheng and Tonrug marked improvement in the performances is a reflection of the robust infrastructure and vision laid out by the UAE Badminton High-Performance Department, led by Michael Norbek as Performance Director. With strategic support from the UAE Ministry of Sports and development programmes such as "Road to Dakar 2026" and "Pathway to Los Angeles 2028", UAE's young shuttlers are firmly stepping onto the global stage. "To stand atop the medal tally in a field that includes Europe's and Asia's finest is a proud moment for UAE badminton. These results reflect our belief that excellence is achievable with the right support and hard work," a statement from UAE Badminton Federation President Noura Al Jasmi said. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi


Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
MP Priya reflects on three-year wait before engagement to Rinku, says it was worth every second
Samajwadi Party MP Priya Saroj took to social media to post a heartwarming message after getting engaged to Indian cricketer Rinku Singh and reflected on the long road they had to take to get here. The engagement took place on Sunday in Lucknow with their wedding date locked in for November 18 at the Taj Hotel in Varanasi. "This day has been in our hearts for so long — almost three years — and the wait was worth every second. Engaged — with full hearts and a forever to go," posted Priya Saroj on her 'X' account. Besides the families of Rinku and Priya, several prominent leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Jaya Bachchan along with Ram Gopal Yadav and Shivpal Yadav, attended the ceremony. Board of Control of Cricket India (BCC) vice-president Rajeev Shukla was also present at the ceremony to extend his best wishes to the couple. However, several of Rinku's teammates couldn't make it to his engagement celebration, as the Indian Test squad has already departed for England ahead of the Test series starting June 20. Former India cricketer Praveen Kumar was in attendance and extended his heartfelt wishes to the couple on their special day. Rinku Singh, Priya Saroj with family members and friends during their engagement ceremony. Photo / X Rinku, hailing from Aligarh, has played two ODIs and 33 T20Is for India in the last couple of years and is an important member of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, who lifted the title in the 2024 season. The 26-year-old Priya is a first-time MP from Jaunpur's Machhlishahr constituency. Priya, a practising advocate, is known for her legal acumen and youthful energy. She is among India's youngest MPs. Hailing from Karkhiyaon village in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, she has continued her father's legacy with her career in politics. Her father, Tufani Saroj, is a three-time MP and current MLA from UP's Kerakat. Priya began her career as a politician in 2024 after she was elected as the MP of Machhlishahr after defeating BJP veteran BP Saroj by over 35,000 votes. Indo-Asian News Service