Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed serious concern over ongoing student protests in Delhi, accusing the opposition of using them as a 'political tool' to further their interests. He urged opposition parties to raise issues in Parliament rather than on the streets, amidst demonstrations against the NEET paper leak.
Monday's proceedings demonstrated that the legislative debate has become inseparable from the broader political crisis surrounding the NEET controversy.
'BJP wanted a compromised Opposition and found a match in this faction of the Trinamool.'
It was left to an incensed Gen Z to show the rest of India that enough was enough, and that the time had come to shatter the fear psychosis generated by the government's authoritarian approach to protests and criticism, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
'The made-up stories really angered me. Forget angering me, it actually made me feel, okay, if they want to play this game, let me play along.'
Ideology is dead; long live the numbers game that is being played with the sole intention of securing a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha for the NDA, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Twenty-three political parties and an Independent MP have jointly written to Chief Justice Surya Kant regarding the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and other election-related issues, a move spearheaded by the INDIA bloc.
Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is grappling with an unprecedented political crisis following its recent electoral defeat, which has seen a significant number of its legislators openly challenging her authority and forming a rebel faction.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for staging a protest outside the Prime Minister's residence regarding the NEET paper-leak issue. Pradhan accused Gandhi of using students as "political tools" to disrupt Parliament, while asserting the government's commitment to discussing NEET concerns in the House. The incident involved Gandhi and other opposition leaders being detained after refusing to end their sit-in.
A Congress spokesperson, quoted in media reports, summed up the party's thinking by saying, 'Whenever BJP is in trouble on the ground, a new 'apolitical' or 'alternative' party appears with the same ideology and the same backers.'
Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation is significant because it punctures, however slightly, the perception that the Modi government never retreats under pressure. Every long-serving government eventually reaches a point where every institutional failure is identified with the leader himself. Removing the minister may have prevented that political burden from falling directly on Modi. Whether it also resolves the underlying crisis is another matter, notes Ramesh Menon.
'After more than 12 years in power, he has been forced to retreat under public pressure. The education minister's resignation is the biggest political climbdown of his government so far.'
V D Satheesan, a 61-year-old lawyer-turned-politician, has emerged as a prominent figure in Kerala politics, known for his aggressive opposition to the Left government and his role in revitalising the Congress party. His journey from student politics to a key leadership position highlights his strategic acumen and dedication to addressing local issues.
Vande Mataram, the national song that has stirred passions and political controversies for more than a century, received legal protection on Thursday with Parliament passing a bill making any insult to it a punishable offence, rekindling the long-running debate over its place in India's history and identity.
The rejection of senior Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination papers transformed what should have been a routine Rajya Sabha election into a lesson in contemporary political warfare.
Sri Lankan opposition leaders are protesting the detention and alleged mistreatment of former state intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, who was hospitalised after a hunger strike. Sallay was arrested in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings investigation, and his wife has raised concerns about his treatment and restricted access.
The Congress escalated its campaign against alleged examination irregularities by marching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, transforming the issue into a direct challenge to his political authority and demanding the resignations of top government officials.
The Rajya Sabha has passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, making insult to the national song 'Vande Mataram' a criminal offence. The bill, which also covers other national symbols, was passed amidst protests from opposition parties regarding the NEET paper leak. Union Minister Nityanand Rai criticised the opposition's stance, emphasising the song's historical significance and its role in national unity.
The Indian government and opposition are preparing for a contentious Monsoon Session of Parliament, with key issues including the Constitution Amendment Bill on delimitation and women's reservation, the alleged NEET paper leak, and a row over Ram temple donations set to spark heated debates.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
The dramatic development marked the culmination of a revolt that began with allegations of forged signatures on a letter proposing a Leader of Opposition and snowballed into an open challenge to the party leadership following the TMC's defeat at the hands of the BJP in the assembly elections.
The BJP is significantly increasing its digital engagement with young people on Instagram, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers, in response to the NEET-UG paper leak controversy and subsequent student protests. This strategic shift aims to counter the narrative and communicate government actions on examination reforms.
Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh has appealed for peace and dialogue amid the nationwide protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, urging people to work towards an amicable solution.
Pollster Pradeep Gupta predicts the BJP's current political dominance, which began in 2014, is likely to last at least 20 years, drawing parallels with the Congress's long period of power.
The 2026 election appears to have reinforced a new political formula in Assam: Strong organisation, continuous grassroots engagement, effective alliance management and welfare-based voter outreach.
'Our leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, are in touch with all Opposition parties, including the DMK and the AAP.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded young Indian innovators for the country's first privately developed orbital rocket, Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1, which made India the third nation with private orbital launch capabilities. While praising the 28-year-old average age of the Skyroot team, Modi made a veiled remark about a "56-year-old young man," widely understood to be a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who recently turned 56.
Bollywood has captured the essence of India's youth activism and student protests, from fighting corruption in Yuvaa to demanding accountability in Rang De Basanti.
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
An all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session on Sunday saw the entire opposition staging a symbolic walkout over the invitation to rebel Trinamool Congress MPs and a demand for a discussion on the issues of Ram temple donation 'theft', NEET paper leak and mixing of ethanol in petrol.
Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai has launched a new political movement focused on 'common man politics,' rejecting personality cults and hereditary power, aiming to position Tamil Nadu as the premier state in India.
After six days of stalemate, a discussion on the anti-paper leak bill began on Tuesday in Lok Sabha with the government describing it as a reaffirmation of ruling dispensation's commitment to safeguard the welfare of students but opposition hit back over the lathi-charge on protesters, saying every blow on them hurt the government's prestige more than the backs of the youth.
Amid renewed speculation about political realignments and a potential merger, senior leaders from two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule clarified her party's position on the proposed Delimitation Bill, stating that while a uniform 50 per cent increase in seats across states would be hard to oppose, any final decision would be made after discussions within the INDIA bloc.
The BJP and the Opposition have engaged in a war of words over the implementation of the women's reservation bill, which aims to reserve seats for women in legislatures. The bill was defeated in the Lower House, leading to accusations and counter-accusations between the parties.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray have announced a joint 'morcha' (protest march) in Mumbai on July 26 to express solidarity with students protesting the NEET paper leak and alleged police atrocities.
Opposition leaders across party lines have condemned the forced removal of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi, accusing the BJP-led central government of undermining democratic freedoms, curbing dissent, and choosing force over dialogue.
'This generation decides on their own what is good or bad for them.' 'They got an outlet to vent their anger against this government through CJP and they did that.' 'They felt how can the government control us or lathi charge us?'
The appointment of Rathan U Kelkar as secretary to Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has sparked a political controversy, with the CPI(M) accusing the Congress of double standards regarding appointments of election officials.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation, alleging that orders to use force against students during the July 20 "Sansad Chalo" march over the NEET exam paper leak must have come from Shah himself. Dipke also criticised the appointment of Pralhad Joshi as the new Education Minister and dismissed Yoga guru Ramdev's comments on Gen Z.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has clarified that an Indian passport is primarily a travel document issued to regulate the departure of citizens and is not intended as proof of citizenship. This statement comes amidst a debate on its use for verifying citizenship, particularly concerning electoral rolls, and has drawn criticism from opposition parties.
