LIVE | Modi announces Nilekani-headed task force for exam reforms; Cong rakes up 2024 panel

In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s post announcing the formation of a high-powered task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to work on exam reform, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reminded the people that the Modi government is yet to finish implementing the K Radhakrishnan Committee’s 101 recommendations.

“Friends, in June 2024, after it bungled multiple examinations including NEET-UG, the Modi Government constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts headed by Dr. K Radhakrishnan to ‘ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations.’

“In July 2026, after the Modi Government has yet again bungled the NEET-UG and other examinations, it has constituted a ‘High Powered Task Force’ to focus on examination reform.

“The Modi Government has still not finished implementing the K Radhakrishnan Committee’s 101 recommendations. Indeed, for most of the two years between the 2024 and 2026 paper leaks, it didn’t even appoint a full-time Director General for the National Testing Agency.

“This is ultimately only a High-Powered attempt to fix the Pradhan Mantri’s irretrievably compromised image,” Ramesh wrote on X.

Activist Sonam Wangchuk will be discharged from Medanta Hospital on Monday and will visit Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi before leaving for Ladakh, his team said.

Wangchuk, who is recovering in the hospital in Gurugram after he broke his 26-day fast late Friday night, is expected to be discharged at around 11.30 am on Monday.

Wangchuk had joined the agitation on June 28 and remained on an indefinite fast for 26 days. He was forcibly shifted to Safdarjung Hospital on July 18, where he said he felt like he was being kept in detention. Following a Delhi High Court order, Wangchuk was shifted to Medanta Hospital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced in a video message posted on X that a high-powered task force has been constituted under the leadership of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to work on exam reforms.

Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat on Sunday expressed pride that Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and a resident of his assembly constituency, had “sparked a revolution” and deserved security.

Shirsat, who is also the guardian minister of Aurangabad West constituency, was speaking to reporters after visiting Dipke’s family in the Waluj MIDC area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Shirsat said Dipke, who is yet to return home despite the CJP calling off its protest as he has got typhoid, must be given security.

“His parents were worried because every parent wants their kids to remain safe. They are like family, and I came here not merely as the guardian minister. Security must be provided to Abhijeet when he reaches Maharashtra. I will talk to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about this,” he said.

The minister, whose party is an ally of the ruling BJP, said he did not visit Dipke's family earlier because it might have been viewed through a political lens. Shirsat said he has known Dipke's family for more than 25 years and had also enquired about the 30-year-old activist's health.

The BJP on Sunday lodged police complaints against Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra seeking her arrest on grounds that she publicly displayed an obscene and offensive image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a students’ protest rally in Kolkata two days ago.

While a complaint against Mitra was lodged at the Anandapur Police Station by BJP leader and party spokesperson Keya Ghosh, reports of complaints having been filed against her at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station and several other police stations across several districts were also received.

Mitra had joined the demonstration at Esplanade on July 24 and posed for a photograph while holding a poster. According to the complaint, the poster displayed an offensive image of the Prime Minister.

Responding to the allegations, Mitra said she had joined the protest in solidarity with students and young people but claimed she was not wearing her prescription glasses and, hence, could not clearly see the poster she displayed.

“The police were carrying out a baton charge at the time, so my photograph was hurriedly taken. I never even turned the poster around to check what kind of image of the PM it displayed,” she said.

“I may be opposed to the BJP, but calling me an anti-national is completely ridiculous. It is equally absurd if anyone thinks that I deliberately chose to hold that poster and pose for the photograph,” she added.

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said the Opposition would demand the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against students protesting in New Delhi over the alleged NEET paper leak.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Brittas said the Opposition would raise in Parliament the appointment of Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary, Department of Higher Education, when the session resumes on Monday.

He said the Opposition would raise both issues forcefully in Parliament.

"Last day, Shah said the government respected the youth who led the protest. Where was that respect for the last 36 days? When students were being beaten on the streets of the national capital, and their skulls were being cracked open, where was that respect?" Brittas asked.

"If there is even a grain of sincerity in those words, Amit Shah too should resign. Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned. The home minister, who is responsible for this brutal assault on innocent students, must resign," he said.

Brittas said the Opposition would support any move to strengthen laws aimed at preventing examination-related fraud, but questioned the government's claim that fresh legislation was the solution.

He pointed out that Parliament had passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act in 2024 after the government claimed it would curb examination fraud.

"Now the government is only proposing amendments to that law. The problem is not the absence of legislation but the lack of political will to enforce it and the authorities' alleged compromise with vested interests," he alleged.

Haryana Congress president Rao Narendra Singh led a "Victory March" in Bhiwani claiming that the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was a victory for students, youth and democratic protests.

The march was organised on the directions of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to mark what the party described as the success of students' struggle for a fair and transparent education system.

Calling the march a symbol of the unity of young people, democracy and justice, Singh said the party would continue to fight for the rights of students, youth and the common people.

Three more persons were arrested on Sunday (July 26) in connection with the violence during a protest in Kolkata two days ago against the NEET paper leak, taking the total number of apprehended people to 14, police said.

The fresh arrests were made after investigators identified the accused through CCTV footage and video recordings from the protest site, following which raids were conducted at multiple locations, a senior officer said.

The three arrested have been identified as Shahbaz Khan (34), a resident of the Karaya Police Station area, Mohammad Salman Hussain of the Rajabagan locality and Mohammad Zohiruddin Mal of Bijoyganj in South 24 Parganas district, he said.

All 14 accused are scheduled to be produced before a city court on Sunday, where the police will seek their custody for further investigation, the Kolkata Police officer said.

"We have been examining CCTV footage, mobile phone videos and other digital evidence to identify those involved in the violence. The investigation is progressing, and anyone found to have participated in the attacks or destruction of public property will face strict legal action," a senior Kolkata Police officer said.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said the state, for the first time, invoked its newly enacted anti-goonda law against those accused of orchestrating violence during Friday's NEET paper leak protest, warning that they would face punishment "their next three generations will remember".

Following the Centre’s assurance that cases against the NEET paper leak protesters would be withdrawn, Delhi Police sources on Sunday (July 26) said it would take further action only after receiving official communication and guidelines from the competent authority.

The source said 15 FIRs have been registered so far at different police stations in the New Delhi district in connection with the July 20 violence and other incidents linked to the ongoing protests.

"We will act according to the guidelines and official communication after receiving from the competent authority," the source said.

The source, however, said the announcement regarding withdrawal of the cases would not affect the ongoing investigation into the alleged larger conspiracy behind the clashes.

Police are examining CCTV footage, digital evidence, mobile phone records, and statements of witnesses to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify those suspected of planning, instigating or participating in the violence.

A man has been arrested in Kolkata for allegedly setting fire to a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and lighting a cigarette from the flames during a protest in Kolkata against the alleged NEET question paper leak.

The man, identified as Soumik Chattopadhyay, is a resident of Badu in Barasat police station area in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas district.

The incident took place on Friday ahead of a protest march from Sealdah to Esplanade in Kolkata. The march was organised by various Left-affiliated student organisations demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET question paper leak.

A photograph purportedly showing Chattopadhyay setting fire to the prime minister’s photograph and lighting a cigarette from the flames later went viral on social media.

Following a written complaint lodged by BJP workers at Barasat police station on Saturday morning, police initiated an inquiry and arrested Chattopadhyay within hours.