India’s campaign for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council received fresh backing from four Central European countries at a meeting on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.

The Visegrad Group, comprising Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, backed India’s call for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

The support came during the first V4+India foreign ministers’ meeting involving External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts from the four-member grouping.

What Slovakia said on India’s UNSC bid

Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said the four Visegrad countries agreed that India should have a permanent place on the UN Security Council.

Blanar described India as a country from the Global South and an emerging power in the Indo-Pacific region while expressing the group’s support for India’s permanent membership.

The statement was made after the meeting with Jaishankar in New York.

India has been seeking reform of the Security Council, including permanent membership, arguing for greater representation of today’s global political landscape.

India and V4 agree to deepen cooperation

The meeting was not limited to the Security Council issue. Jaishankar said India and the four Visegrad countries agreed to strengthen cooperation across several areas.

The countries agreed to hold annual meetings of foreign ministers and establish an annual business forum to deepen economic engagement.

The discussions also covered technology and innovation, research and education, defence, space, connectivity, culture and people-to-people relations.

Jaishankar described the first V4+India meeting as a “new historic occasion” and said India had very good relations with the four countries.

The ministers also discussed major international developments, including the conflict in Ukraine and developments in the Gulf.

What is the Visegrad Group?

The Visegrad Group, also known as V4, is a regional grouping of four Central European countries — Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The group was established in 1991 and provides a platform for cooperation in areas including political, economic, security and other matters.

India seeks permanent seat on UN Security Council

The UN Security Council currently has 15 members, including five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

India has been seeking comprehensive reform of the Security Council and a permanent seat as part of that process.

The backing from the Visegrad Group adds four more countries to the list of nations supporting India’s permanent-membership demand. However, the V4 countries’ support by itself does not change the existing structure of the Security Council or complete the UN reform process. Any expansion would require the necessary agreement among UN member states and changes to the UN Charter.

The Aam Aadmi Party has taken its Punjab government report card directly to households as the BJP steps up its statewide campaign against drugs ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly election. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann began the door-to-door outreach from Dhuri, his Assembly constituency.

The move comes after the BJP launched its “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra”, which is focused on the drug menace, law and order and corruption. The BJP’s yatra is planned to cover all 117 Assembly constituencies before concluding in Jalandhar.

AAP is using its “Yudh Nashean Virudh” campaign and the Mann government’s wider governance record as the focus of its grassroots outreach.

AAP’s anti-drug strategy

The Punjab government is highlighting a five-point approach covering police enforcement, prevention in schools, youth engagement, community vigilance and rehabilitation.

According to government figures cited in the report, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force registered 61,824 FIRs and arrested 81,433 people between March 2025 and September 2026.

The government said the seizures during this period included 3,918 kg of heroin, 991 kg of opium, 47 tonnes of poppy husk, 1,416 kg of ganja and 65 lakh tablets and capsules.

In schools, a 14-week anti-drug curriculum is being taught to around 7.5 lakh students across 3,600 schools. The government is also promoting sports, cultural activities, mental-health clubs and other youth programmes.

Village vigilance and rehabilitation

The government said around 1.25 lakh people have joined nearly 15,000 Village and Ward Defence Committees.

It also said more than 51,000 citizen tip-offs received through the Safe Punjab WhatsApp Helpline have contributed to over 25,000 drug-related arrests.

On treatment, Punjab currently has 547 OOAT (Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment) centres, 219 de-addiction centres and 91 rehabilitation centres, according to the figures cited by the government.

Admissions to government de-addiction and rehabilitation centres rose from more than 12,200 in 2024 to nearly 34,000 in 2025, the report said.

BJP’s anti-drug campaign

The BJP’s “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra” has placed the drug issue at the centre of its political outreach in the state. The campaign is also raising concerns related to law and order and corruption and is planned across all 117 Assembly constituencies.

AAP’s response is to take its own record directly to voters, with the party highlighting action against drugs alongside welfare and development initiatives.

The door-to-door campaign comes as political parties begin intensifying their grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly election.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged donation theft at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has identified 105 instances through CCTV footage, the Supreme Court was informed on Monday.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, while referring to the SIT’s status report, presented details of the investigation before the top court. The probe is nearing completion and the chargesheet is expected to be filed by September 25.

The Supreme Court reviewed the SIT’s status report during the hearing of the case and took the information presented before it on record.

What the SIT report found

According to the status report, investigators examined CCTV footage along with witness statements and other evidence to identify those allegedly involved in the donation theft.

The report specifically identified 105 incidents of donation theft through CCTV footage.

The court was also informed about the arrests made in the case and the evidence collected during the investigation.

The report further stated that receipts for valuables received as donations are generated through software, while the valuables are kept in a State Bank of India locker.

Supreme Court declines plea for SIT report copy

During the hearing, the petitioners sought a copy of the SIT report. The Supreme Court declined the request, with the bench headed by the Chief Justice saying it did not want to take the matter out of the Sessions Judge’s hands.

The court said it would pass an order if it considered further investigation necessary.

Eight accused arrested

The FIR in the case names eight people — Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu — along with other unidentified individuals.

According to the report, all eight named accused have been arrested and booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

SIT probe and changes at Ram Mandir Trust

The three-member SIT, headed by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 at the request of the Ram Mandir Trust.

The panel submitted its preliminary report to the state government on June 23 and made several recommendations.

Following the donation theft controversy, top Ram Mandir Trust officials Champat Rai and Anil Mishra were removed from their posts. A CEO-led administrative structure has since been introduced, with former military officer Jitendra Mishra appointed as CEO.

The SIT investigation is now nearing completion, with the chargesheet scheduled to be filed by September 25.