The editorial Page: Fixing exam system won’t be enough; bigger task is restoring trust 10 TUeSDAy, JUly 28, 2026 JouRnalIsm of CouRaGe neW DelHI, laTe cITy, 20 PageS ₹7.00 (₹8 RaIPUR, ₹15 SRInagaR) 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 lThe Delhi high CourT will hear a public interest litigation raising concerns over the “en masse requisition” of government school teachers as booth level officers and enumeration staff for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. lAs The russiA-ukrAine war grinds on, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com FirsT MeeTing oF pArliAMenT AFTer DhArMenDrA prADhAn’s resignATion As eDuCATion MinisTer Deadlock nears end, LS all set to discuss anti-paper leak Bill today Speaker, Govt floor managers reach out to Opp; 6 hours kept for discussion, may be extended pradhan’sday inparliament: Cheersfrom BJp,jeersfrom oppmembers Deeptiman Tiwary, Damini nath, harikishan sharma & Amrita nayak Dutta Deeptiman Tiwary New Delhi, July 27 New Delhi, July 27 Business as usual By eP UNNy politics Page 6 CJP warns govt: withdraw all Cases or Protest will resume nation Page 7 aFTeR a week of repeated disruptions, the government and the opposition on monday reached an understanding to end the logjam in lok Sabha, paving the way for a discussion on The Public examinations (Prevention of unfair means) amendment Bill, 2026, from Tuesday. This comes two days after dharmendraPradhanresigned as the education minister on Saturday, following over a month-long protest spearheadedbytheCockroachJanta Party (CJP) over the NeeT(ug) question paper leak. The breakthrough on monday came after a day of behindthe-scenes negotiations led by Speaker om Birla and government floor managers even as both Houses were repeatedly adjourned amid the opposition’s protests against the alleged police excesses during the student protests. Sources said Birla, who repeatedlyappealedintheHouse for a discussion on the Bill, personally reached out to floor »ConTinueD on pAge 2 express special Before Pradhan quit, govt offered to change his portfolio; CJP said no liz Mathew New Delhi, July 27 BeFoRe eduCaTioN minister dharmendra Pradhan submitted his resignation to thePrimeministeronSaturday, the government had proposed a change in his portfolio as a compromise solution to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The government was hopeful the CJP and student leaders at the helm of the protests would be amenable to Pradhan beingdivestedoftheeducation portfolio but still remaining a Cabinet minister. J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh, the two ministers representingthegovernment,hadin their discussion with CJP, suggested that students could end the protest with a new education minister, and all other subsidiary demands of CJP being met, top sources told The Indian Express. “The government had made that proposal. But the protesters were adamant that Pradhan should resign,” said a source in the government. Sources in the CJP confirmed that the ministers said making changes to the Cabinet is the prerogative of the Prime minister, but there could be a reshuffle and the education minister could be replaced by another face. “However, the »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Cop suspended for AK-47 use, Bihar E. explained says no action against protesters assam, Bihar act santosh singh & himanshu harsh Patna, July 27 sC seeks forensiC auditor in ram temPle ‘theft’ Case Former education minister dharmendraPradhan being welcomed by nda mPs at Parliament, monday. PTI TWo dayS after the police crackdown on the July 25 student protests in the state, includingthedetentionofseveral hundred people and injuries to three in police firing, the Bihar government announced monday evening that it would not take “any punitive” legalaction against anyone over the agitation, and announced the withdrawal of the FiRs already registered and the release of those detained or arrested. earlier, police suspended a constable over the use of an aK-47 to control the protesters inSiwan,afterpurportedvideos of the same went viral, drawing outrage.Policealsoannounced that separate FiRs had been »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Police firing at protesters in siwan on July 25. VIDeo gRab The withdrawal of cases against the protesters was among the demands raised by the Cockroach Janta Party in its discussions with the government before calling off the protest at Jantar Mantar. The decisions of the governments in Bihar and Assam are in line with the Centre’s assurances. relATeD reporT, pAge 6 dHaRmeNdRa PRadHaN’s first appearance in Parliament afterresigningasunioneducation minister turned into a study in contrasts on monday — a hero’s welcome from the BJP and jeers from the opposition,allagainstthebackdropof anotherdaywashedoutbyprotests. When Pradhan walked into Parliament through the makar dwarinthemorning,agroupof BJP lok Sabha members was waiting for him. They greeted him with chants of "dharmendraPradhanZindabad",draped ascarfaroundhisshouldersand escorted him into the building, applaudingasheacknowledged thegreetingswithfoldedhands. Barely a few metres away, opposition mPs were staging their daily protest over the police action against protesters at delhi's Jantar mantar and the Ram Temple donation row. as Pradhancrossedtheprotestsite, opposition members hooted at him and raised slogans. The charged mood outside quickly spilled into the House. lokSabhaSpeakeromBirla hadbarelyfinishedreadingout congratulatorymessagesforindia's Commonwealth games medallists and announced the start of Question Hour when opposition mPs trooped into the Well, demanding that union Home minister amit Shah make a statement on the alleged police excesses against protesters. Repeated appeals from the Chair to allow Question Hour to function went unheeded, forcing the first adjournment within minutes. as the House stood adjourned, Pradhan once again found himself surrounded by BJP colleagues,whowalked up to congratulate and encourage »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Right to peaceful protest guaranteed, police excesses can be examined: SC ‘All injuries to individuals, be it police officer or protesters, are of equal concern’ Ananthakrishnan g & Apurva Vishwanath New Delhi, July 27 STaTiNg THaT there cannot be police excesses or violence merely because there is an agitation, the Supreme Court on monday underlined the need for a “balanced” approach, a pan-india “protocol” and a “self-evolved discipline, which is integral to the democratic process”. Thethree-judgebench,presided over by Chief Justice of india Surya Kant, was hearing a clutch of petitions, including one by RJd Rajya Sabha mP manoj Jha, alleging police excesses against protesters in delhi’s Jantar mantar and elsewhere. “Right to protest, peaceful protest, lawful protest, is abso- lutely guaranteed under the constitutional scheme. So long as there is a peaceful agitation, merely because there is an agitation, there can’t be excesses,” CJi Surya Kant said. “There should be a protocol in place. if they want to agitate on an issue... They should be provided with proper space... There should be no restriction or impediment in that. But if there is someone else, some anti-social element, or somebodyhasdoneanythingwrong, that of course can be taken care of,” the CJi said. The CJi advised all sides not to adopt an adversarial approach. “if there are excesses committed,yes,thoseshouldbe independently looked into. (it) should be examined that who are the persons responsible? »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Setback for Vijay: HC cancels jobs for Karur stampede victims’ kin Arun Janardhanan Fire, PWD, I-T: For a month now, MSRDC case: HDFC Bank Board govt notices to Jauhar University warns MD, CFO, sets Rs 1 lakh fine Maulshree seth nation Rampur, July 27 aS moHammad ali Jauhar university stares at razing of 38 of its 40 buildings over alleged irregularities, it is only one of the several official actions it is facing. Starting with a showcausenoticebytheincomeTax department on June 17, the university has got notices from multiple agencies over the past month, including the Rampur developmentauthority(Rda), george Mathew Page 8 university gets interim stay on demolition students have been protesting in support of the university in rampur, Uttar Pradesh. FIle theFiredepartment,thePublic Works department as well as Jal Nigam. The first action came from taxofficials which,afterthenotice of June 17, sent another on »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Mumbai, July 27 THe BoaRd of HdFC Bank, india’s largest private sector lender, on monday decided to issue warning letters and impose a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each for three senior employees followinganinternalreviewofthe arrangement with maharashtra State Road development Corporation (mSRdC) for deposits in 2017 and 2021. The employees under the The Indian Express report published on may 27 scanner are managing director & Ceo Sashidhar Jagdishan, Chief Financial officer (CFo) Srinivasan Vaidyanathan and groupHeadofRetailassetsarvind Vohra. Based on the findings and recommendationoftheSpecial disciplinary Committee of independent directors, the board at its meeting on July 23 concluded that the conduct of the employeesconstitutedbusiness overreachratherthananymala fide action, personal enrichment, or improper motive, the »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Chennai, July 27 Tamil Nadu Chief minister Vijay’s decision to provide government jobs to the families of thosekilledinastampedeathis Karur rally last year was struck down on monday by the madras High Court, which warned thatexecutivecompassioncannot override constitutional safeguards. adivisionBenchofJustices C V Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel held that the state’s order granting jobs to the families of the 41 victims was contrary to articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before law and equal opportunity in public employment. The judgment came less 41 people, including children, were killed in a stampede at a TVk rally last year. FIle thanthreeweeksafterthesame Bench had allowed Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government to distribute appointment orders to the victims’ families, but only on a temporary basis and »ConTinueD on pAge 2 l Finished wiTh 264-kG liFT in The men’s 60-kG weiGhTliFTinG eVenT From washing dishes for Rs 150 in Imphal dhaba to CWG silver in weightlifting nitin sharma from working at construction sitestoearnextramoneyforthe family,”Rishikanta,whoisnow oN SuNday night, Rishikanta an indian Navy Petty officer, SinghChanambamwalkedinto told The Indian Express. the indian contingent’s dining “my father, irabot Singh, hall in glasgow with a Com- worked as a taxi driver, and monwealthgamessilvermedal thingsweresobadthatwecould for his 264-kg lift in afford only one meal the men’s 60-kg a day. i remember page 1 weightlifting event. eating rice or wheat But as he looked at flour balls without the kitchen staff, his any vegetables, mindtravelledbacktomanipur which my mother, Chandrajini — to a roadside dhaba near im- devi, used to make. For over phal,toan11-year-oldboyearn- three months, i worked for Rs ing Rs 150 a day. 150 per day to support my “Before i got into sports as a family. and today, as i was havteenager, i worked as a helper ingdinnerwiththesilvermedal at a local dhaba, washing uten- stillinmypocketandseeingthe sils and carrying water, apart kitchen staff work, i was reChandigarh, July 27 anchor minded of all those days. This medalisforpeoplelikeme,who havehad no supportand had to share the burden of their family,”Rishikantasaid,turning emotional. The path from the Ngaihaktang makha maning leikai village to the Commonwealth games podium began almost by chance. at a village fair, a sports teacher noticed the wiry youngster, then 12, who mostly played football. Rishikanta then appeared for trials at the Sai academy at Khuman lampakStadiuminimphal.Hewas shortlisted for both boxing and weightlifting before the coach at the time, S Brojendra Singh, rishikanta singh chanambam in Glasgow, scotland, sunday. PTI took the final call. “When Rishikanta came to the trials, he was very thin, but his muscles were very strong. i could see the willpower in his eyes, and he took up weightlift- ing with natural ease,” remembers coach Singh, who is now secretary of the manipur Weightlifting association. Thestadium,whichhadnurtured champions such as mirabaiChanu,alsogaveRishikanta something he had never taken for granted — regular meals. “Training at the sports complex meant that i did not have to worry about meal time during thetimeoftraining.iwouldvisit the local sports shops to get the local shoes and belts modified with stuff from discarded belts or shoes,” Rishikanta said. after turning 18, the budding lifter stepped away from the sport for nearly a year — with the family battling finan- cial hardship and no job or financial security in sight. “i was demotivated. my family would talkaboutallthehardshipsand how those who could afford it could not win medals, and we did not have any idea about a job through sports,” he said. “it was when the then manipurWeightliftingassociation secretary, Sunil elangbam, called me and asked me about my training. i told him that i hadleftweightliftingduetomy family’sfinancialconditionand thatiwasnoteligiblefortheSai academy. Sunil sir told me about the newly opened Weightlifting Centre of excellenceinTakyelinimphal,andi gave the trials and was selected New Delhi for that. it was like a new life for me,” the weightlifter recalled. The second chance transformed his career. Rishikantabecamenational champion in the men’s 55kg category in 2019 before winning gold at the Commonwealth Championships in Samoalaterthatyear.Thesame season also brought him financial security through a job with the indian Navy. on Sunday, Rishikanta becamethefirstmaleweightlifter frommanipurtowinamedalin theCommonwealthgames.He knows how he is going to celebrate the medal. “i will hand this medal to my parents and »ConTinueD on pAge 2