The editorial Page: gen Z’s parents have to answer for their politics which created this crisis 10 THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2026 JouRnalIsm of CouRage kolkATA, lATE CITy, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) l www.indianexpress.com dA I ly f R o m : A h m E dA B A d , C h A N d I GA R h , d E l h I , j A I P U R , ko l k ATA , l U C k N o w , m U m B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , vA d o dA R A happening today lBomBay HCwill pronounce its verdict on Goa government’s plea challenging Tarun Tejpal’s acquittal in a sexual assault case. lSC willresume hearing pleas of Uddhav Thackeray-led faction against the EC’s decision recognising Shinde-led faction as “real Shiv Sena”. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Business as usual By EP UNNY aS oF Now, No PRoPoSal To EXTEND moNSooN SESSioN: PaRliamENTaRy aFFaiRS miNiSTER Govt reaches out to Opp, ready to soften FCRA Bill, allay concerns ‘can’t leave without justice’: jharkhand protest brings job Money Bill route pending aspirants together Rijiju meets Rahul to break deadlock; Opp seeks Shah statement on police action on protesters before SC, Govt chooses it to raise strength of judges apurva Vishwanath New Delhi, August 5 Deeptiman Tiwary, liz mathew & manoj C G New Delhi, August 5 on The day it reached out to theoppositioninanattemptto break the deadlock in Parliament where proceedings remain disrupted, the governmentWednesdaysignalledthat the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, express special opposition mPs protest outside Parliament, Wednesday. PTI 2026wouldnothaveanypenalising retrospective provision. Civil society and religious groupshaveexpressedconcern that asset-vesting rules in the »CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2 The RAJYA sabha Wednesday passed the supreme Court (number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to increase the sanctioned strength ofsupremeCourtjudges from 34 to 38 including the Chief Justice of India. The Bill, which cleared lok sabha Monday, was passed as a money Bill, a route it had also taken in 2019 when the supremeCourtstrengthwasraisedto 34. In 2018, a key dissenting opinioninasupremeCourtruling had described this route as a “fraud on the Constitution.” The statement of objects and Reasons of the Bill cites the expenditureinvolvedincreatingfour additional posts of judges, Protest swells into a wider movement for reforms in recruitment, education E. »CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2 Leader of opposition in Jharkhand assembly Babulal marandi at the protest site in ranchi, Wednesday. PTI Shubham Tigga Adhikari aide’s murder: Father of accused says ‘son was like shadow, made scapegoat’ Ravik Bhattacharya & atri mitra Kolkata, August 5 ACRoss shYAMPukuR in kolkata, there are still posters thanking voters on behalf of sagar sonkar, the “Dadar Anugami (the brother’s follower)”, for the victory of the BJP — the “brother” being Chief Minister suvendu Adhikari, whom the posters hail as “the architect behind change in West Bengal”. however, on the ground, a lot has changed since May, when the Assembly results swept Adhikari to power. sagar, 29, and his 20-year-old brother saheb are in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody on charges of orchestrating the murder of Adhikari’s personal assistant Chandranath Rath on May 6, two days after the Assembly results. Their arrests, on July 31, came more than two months after the CBI, which took over »CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2 The world ProPosed deal will give iran control over shiPs entering hormuz Page 12 inside air india Picks ex-grouP chief of ethioPian airlines as its Page 9 ceo & md gold rings, coins & laPtoPs: Big sPending in vijay’s deBut Page 8 Budget a poster by sagar sonkar congratulating chief minister suvendu adhikari in kolkata’s Jorabagan. RAvIk BhATTAChARyA Pmvideoremoval: metaapologises, Housecommittee wantstohearit fromZuckerberg Regret India allowed public event: Dhaka Want to go back in December, our (1971) victory month, says Hasina Shubhajit Roy Soumyarendra Barik & Jatin anand New Delhi, August 5 New Delhi, August 5 soCIAl MeDIA giant Meta’s global affairs head Joel kaplan Wednesdayreiteratedthecompany’s apology over the brief takedown of a video posted by PrimeMinisternarendraModi. he conveyed this during a meeting chaired by IT Minister Ashwini vaishnaw. Meta is learnt to have said that the video’s removal was an inadvertent error, and it was strengthening its internal checks and balances. In a statement, kaplan said, “Iapologisedtotheministeron behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi’s post.” A contingent of Meta’s policy and regulatory officials, including kaplan and neil Potts, vice president of public policy at the company, had two separate meetings with government officials on Wednesday — a meeting with senior bureaucrats from the IT Ministry, »CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2 DeClARInG ThAT her “life moved beyond calculations of personal safety long ago”, formerBangladeshPrimeMinister sheikh hasina, who has been living in India ever since her ouster in August 2024, said Wednesdaythatsheplanstoreturn to her country, stand with its people and help improve their lives. Asked when she plans to return,hasinareferredtothe1971 Bangladesh liberation war and said, “December is our victory month, so I want to go back in »CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2 cannot stay away while my countrymen are suffering: ex-Pm sheikh hasina. REUTERS fIlE Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos is guest at Express Adda today Express News Service New Delhi, August 5 The WAY we watch stories has changed dramatically over the past decade. streaming has transformed not only how entertainmentreachesaudiences, but also how films and series arecreated,discoveredandcelebrated across the world. As storytelling continues to evolve, so do the questions: What does the future of enter- netflix co-ceo Ted sarandos tainment look like? how will changing audience habits and »CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2 l moneTary PoLIcy commITTee raIses GroWTh ouTLook, cuTs InfLaTIon forecasT marGInaLLy RBI keeps interest rates unchanged, opts for caution amid uncertain global outlook akash mandal & George mathew tained the neutral policy stance andmarginallyraiseditsgrowth forecast for FY27 to 6.7 per cent Mumbai, August 5 from 6.6 per cent, it lowered its The ReseRve Bank of India’s inflation projection to 5 per cent Monetary Policy Committee from5.1ercent,signallingconfi(MPC) Wednesday dence that price page 1 kept its key policy pressureswillmoderrepo rate unchanged ate over course of the at5.25percent,opting yeardespiterisks.The for caution as volatile crude oil decision,takenunanimouslyby prices, geopolitical tensions in thesix-memberMPCchairedby West Asia and an uncertain glo- RBI Governor sanjay Malhotra, bal outlook cloud the inflation means borrowing and trajectory. depositratesare Whilethecentralbankmain»CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2 anchor rBI Governor sanjay malhotra (third from left) and deputy Governors shirish chandra murmu, swaminathan Janakiraman, Poonam Gupta and rohit Jain in mumbai, Wednesday. PTI Kolkata Ranchi, August 5 BRAhMAnAnD kuMAR MahatofromRamgarhliesonathin matbeneaththestatueofolympian,writerandpoliticianJaipal singh Munda at Ranchi’s iconic Jaipal singh Munda stadium. his white shirt, unchanged for four days, is drenched in sweat and the pouring rain, the streaks of mud on it the only realindicationofthepassageof time. Around the 30-year-old, fellow protesters sit gently pressing his arms and feet, while doctors hover nearby to monitor his health. “I had no idea how a hunger strike was observed. I’ve never done it before. I just came here, lay down and began my protest,” Mahato says, his voice feeble. “I don’t know how long this will continue, but if this is what it takes to get justice, I’m prepared to stay here.” Mahato is one of seven people who have been on a hunger strike for the last four days as part of a wider movement for sweeping reforms in Jharkhand’s recruitment and educationsystem,longrifewith allegations of irregularities. Thecontroversybegansoon after the Jharkhand Public service Commission (JPsC) »CoNTiNUED oN PaGE 2