Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded that Amit Shah be removed as the Union home minister, alleging that he was responsible for “the brutality carried out against students” during their protest in Delhi on July 20. He also demanded an investigation by a Supreme Court-monitored high-powered committee into violence against protesters.
Gandhi said at a press conference that either Shah ordered the violence or that he did not know it was happening. “If he didn’t know it was happening, he is incompetent,” the Congress MP said. “If he knew, then he is culpable. In either case, he has to go.”
Earlier, while speaking in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi had alleged that Shah had “authorised the shooting of our students” during the nationwide youth protests.
“He put the pellets into the blood of our students,” the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. “He ordered the students of India to be shot.”
His remarks triggered protests in the House, leading to an adjournment. Read on.
The Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the anti-paper leak law through a voice vote amid protests by Opposition MPs demanding “justice” for students who took part in the July 20 march to Parliament. Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi said the legislation would usher “in a tougher legal framework to combat examination malpractices”.
The bill will now go to the Rajya Sabha and, if passed, be sent for presidential assent before becoming a law.
The 2026 Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Amendment Bill proposes stricter penalties, including up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh for using unfair means in public examinations, up from Rs 10 lakh. It also provides for a Special Task Force to investigate paper leaks and fast-track courts for related cases.
The bill comes days after nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in the conduct of competitive examinations, which led to Dharmendra Pradhan stepping down as education minister. Read on.
The Delhi Police has registered a first information report against social media platform X over allegedly defamatory and objectionable posts about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during youth protests. The police has also written to X seeking that the “derogatory, malicious and defamatory content” about “constitutional heads” be removed.
The case was filed by the Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit under charges including criminal intimidation, public mischief and defamation.
The police had earlier identified 450 social media accounts that allegedly shared deepfake videos and AI-generated content during protests over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations. Read on.
The toll in the Assam floods rose to 75 after seven more deaths were reported in Sivasagar district, according to the state disaster management authority. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma increased the ex gratia payment for families of those killed to Rs 9 lakh from Rs 4 lakh.
Sarma said families can claim compensation without submitting post-mortem reports and can instead provide certificates from circle officers. He added that persons who remain missing for over a month will also be eligible.
Charaideo is the worst-affected district, with 1.4 lakh people impacted. Read on.
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