Indian-origin gas station owner becomes first Indian-American elected to Texas city council
Yash Asarsa arrived in the United States more than two decades ago with $950. On May 14, 2026, he was sworn in as a member of the Rusk City Council, becoming the first person from India to hold elected office in the small East Texas city. Assarsa, owner of the TruCarz gas station in Rusk, won the District 3 seat unopposed in the May 2, 2026 election. His victory is a milestone in the community of about 5,000 residents in Cherokee County, about 130 miles southeast of Dallas.Born in India, Asarasa said he was attracted to Texas western culture and cowboy imagery. What kept him at Rusk, he said, were the people there. After operating and growing his business for more than 15 years, he has become a familiar face behind the counter at TrueCare, interacting daily with residents from all walks of life.“This community embraced me,” Asarasa told CBS19. “This community made me who I am, so I think I’m very grateful to this community.”After seeing the division in the community he decided to contest the elections. Asarasa said, “I believe God has given us two ears and one mouth, so listen twice and speak once.” “I’m a good listener and that’s what makes me different. I can understand people’s problems.”He believes his experience in retail has prepared him well for public service. “You see people from all walks of life and you learn how to understand people better,” he said.As a new council member, Assarsa has outlined several priorities: fixing roads, hiring a police chief, addressing the city’s budget deficit, and revitalizing Downtown Rusk. Most of all, he wants residents to feel heard. He also sees his role from a broader perspective. “I feel like I am a representative of India – an ambassador of India,” Asarasa said.The election of an Indian-origin man to a city council in Texas comes at a time when the state is angry over Indian takeover. Dallas and Frisco have become centers of anti-India sentiments. But Asarasa doesn’t care. “If you work hard and have passion, all dreams are possible in this wonderful country,” Asarasa said.Assarsa ran unopposed for the seat and will work closely with other council members as the city tackles local challenges. His swearing-in took place at Rusk City Hall. In the city where he started out as an immigrant business owner, Asarsa’s choice reflects the community that embraced him more than 15 years ago. From the gas station counter to the council chamber, his story is rooted in service to the very people who embraced him.
Warning against any attempt to cast “fake votes” in favor of any particular political party, Mann said AAP leaders and workers would be deployed along with booth level officers (BLOs) at every polling station across Punjab to monitor the exercise and prevent any irregularities. Responding to a question, he said that SIR of voter list is going to start in Punjab from June 15 and said that the Election Commission of India should resolve the issues raised by all political parties in this regard. We do not want negativity to spread in Punjab that real votes get deleted and fake votes are created, or votes of supporters of a particular party get deleted or fake votes are created. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here, Mann said, “We will monitor (SIR) ourselves, our booth level agents and our volunteers will be present. No eligible citizen’s vote will be removed and we are in touch with the ECI for this.” He said that the SIR should be conducted in a transparent manner, if any political party has any complaint, the ECI should resolve it. Concerns raised in several states regarding deletion of genuine votes and inclusion of fake entries have created concern among citizens, making it imperative for the ECI to act with utmost responsibility and neutrality. Complaints have emerged from various states about deletion of lakhs of genuine votes and manipulation in the verification process, but the people of Punjab will not allow such practices in the state,” he claimed. He urged the Election Commission (EC) to conduct the entire SIR exercise with complete honesty, transparency and fairness, while also ensuring that public objections are resolved without any delay. Clarifying AAP’s stand on the amendment of the voter list, Mann said, “The names of dead persons or those who have moved abroad permanently after acquiring foreign citizenship should naturally be removed from the voter list, but no bona fide resident of Punjab should face harassment or denial of the right to vote under any circumstances.” The CM further revealed that about 83 per cent of voter mapping has already been completed in Punjab and urged citizens to actively participate in the verification process to protect their democratic rights. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra on Thursday had said that under the SIR, booth level officers across Punjab will go door-to-door from June 25 to July 24 to fill voter forms. For this exercise, the entire election machinery including 24,453 BLOs and 2,476 observers has been deployed. He further informed that the training of BLOs and other preparatory arrangements related to the SIR exercise will be done from June 15 to June 24. He said that the objective of this exercise is to ensure inclusion of name of every eligible citizen in the voter list and removal of names of ineligible persons from the voter list.
indus water treatyDeclared the decision ‘null and void’.External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has never recognized the establishment of the court and will not accept any proceedings, awards or judgments issued by it.Responding to media queries, Jaiswal said, “The illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has issued an award on May 15, 2026, in respect of the Maximum Pond, supplementing the award on issues of common interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty.”“India categorically rejects the current so-called award, just as it has strongly rejected all prior declarations of illegally constituted CoA,” he said.Jaiswal further said that any action taken by the tribunal has no legal validity from India’s point of view.He said, “India has never recognized the establishment of this so-called CoA. Any proceedings, awards or decisions issued by it are invalid.”He also reiterated that India’s decision to keep the Indus Water Treaty on hold will remain unchanged.“India’s decision to keep the Indus Water Treaty on hold will remain in force,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.This comes after the Court of Arbitration on May 15 issued an award related to the ‘maximum pond’ issue under the Indus Waters Treaty. India has consistently said the court was created in violation of the treaty and has repeatedly rejected its jurisdiction over disputes related to the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.Last year too, India had rejected a supplementary award issued by the court, terming the arbitration mechanism as ‘a play at the behest of Pakistan’ and accusing Islamabad of misusing international forums by continuing support for cross-border terrorism.The Indus Water Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 with World Bank assistance, regulates the sharing of the waters of the Indus River system between the two countries.Under the treaty, the total waters of the eastern rivers, Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, were allocated to India for unrestricted use, while the waters of the western rivers, Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, were largely allocated to Pakistan.However, India is allowed to use water from western rivers for domestic use, irrigation and hydro-electric power generation. But due to lack of storage capacity, India is not able to fully utilize its legal share.
KKR became the second team after Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to play 100 IPL matches at the same venue at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.A win for Gujarat Titans, who are on a five-match winning streak, will make them the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs. A defeat for KKR will end their playoff hopes.Former KKR captain before the start of the match