The editorial Page: Fixing exam system won’t be enough; bigger task is restoring trust 10 TUeSDAy, JUly 28, 2026 JournalIsm of CouraGe kolkaTa, laTe cITy, 16 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 lThe Delhi high CourT will hear a public interest litigation raising concerns over the “en masse requisition” of government school teachers as booth level oficers 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 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 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 New Delhi, July 27 New Delhi, July 27 Business as usual By eP UNNy »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Former education minister dharmendraPradhan being welcomed by nda mPs at Parliament, monday. PTI 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 Cop suspended for AK-47 use, Bihar says no action against protesters santosh singh & himanshu harsh E. Patna, July 27 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 »ConTinueD on pAge 2 explained assam, Bihar act Police firing at protesters in siwan on July 25. VIDeo gRab Withdrawal of cases against protesters was among the demands raised by CJP in its discussions with the government before calling off the protest. The decisions of Bihar and Assam are in line with Centre’s assurances. 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 »ConTinueD on pAge 2 SC says right to peaceful protest guaranteed, police excesses can be examined 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 »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Fire, PWD, I-T: For a month now, MSRDC case: HDFC govt notices to Jauhar University Bank Board warns MD, 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), Page 7 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 taxofficialswhich,afterthenotice of June 17, sent another on »ConTinueD on pAge 2 CFO, sets Rs 1 lakh fine george Mathew 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 eachforthreesenioremployees following an internal review of the arrangement with »ConTinueD on pAge 2 The Indian Express report published on may 27 l Finished wiTh 264-kG liFT in The men’s 60-kG weiGhTliFTinG evenT nitin sharma from working at construction sitestoearnextramoneyforthe family,”Rishikanta,whoisnow oN SUNDay night, Rishikanta an indian Navy Petty officer, SinghChanambamwalkedinto told The Indian Express. “My father, irabot Singh, the indian contingent’s dining hall in glasgow with a Com- worked as a taxi driver, and monwealthgamessilvermedal thingsweresobadthatwecould afford only one meal for his 264-kg lift in a day. i remember the men’s 60-kg page 1 eating rice or wheat weightlifting event. flour balls without but as he looked at any vegetables, the kitchen staff, his 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 have had no support and 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 ICA-D1087(4)/2026 From washing dishes in Imphal dhaba to CWG silver »ConTinueD on pAge 2 Kolkata kolkATA neeT proTesT Violence accused walked barefoot as cops recreate scene Tanusree Bose Kolkata, July 27 The KolKaTa police on Monday arrested two more people overtheNeeTprotestviolence, and paraded five of the 14 accusedarrestedearlier,barefoot, toreconstructthe“crimescene”. each of the paraded accusednarratedwhathappened during the protest on Friday, fromwheretheyhadcome,and what they did afterwards, police said. TheIndianExpressreached out to additional Commissioner of Kolkata Police Kunal agarwal for comments on the accused being walked barefoot but he refused to respond. The police identified the »ConTinueD on pAge 2 one of the accused walks barefoot as police recreate the scene, kolkata, monday. exPReSS relATeD reporT, pAge 3