www.thestatesman.com | @TheStatesmanLtd FOLLOW US: India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | Evolve @thestatesmanltd ` 5.00 | People’s Parliament, Always in Session thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR 8th Day The Odyssey: Transcending the eponym | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | 26 July 2026 S P O RT S Cleaning up cities with clear headed plans Clinical India thrash Zimbabwe by 90 runs to seal series 2-0 Page 16 Cockroach Janta Party scores big as Pradhan finally resigns Pralhad Joshi given charge of Education Min: STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 25 July U nion Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday announced his resignation from the Union Cabinet, conceding one of the key demands of protesters who have been camping at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over alleged examintion irregularities and the NEET paper leak. Mr Pradhan announced his decision in a letter addressed to the country’s youth and posted on X after submitting his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, just hours before the third round of talks between the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the Centre. “We will not let the country’s youth power fall into a web of confusion ~ this is my resolve,” Mr Pradhan said in the letter. The minister’s resignation marked a significant political milestone, making him the second Union minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to resign under sustained public pressure after M J Akbar (during the first term of the Modi government). His exit fulfilled the protesters’ principal demand and is expected to break the deadlock in talks between the Centre and the CJP. Calling the decision “not a matter of personal prestige,” Mr Pradhan said he stepped down to ensure that the ongoing agitation was not exploited by “anti-national forces” and that students’ futures were not jeopardised. “The situation that has emerged at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere in the country should not be exploited by anti-national forces. The unity of the country must remain intact. The future of every student should not get entangled in legal complications,” he said Asserting that events of the past 10 days had left him “deeply saddened”, he also alleged that “certain individuals” holding positions of responsibility had attempted to mislead students. New Delhi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday was assigned the charge of the Ministry of Education after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan from the Union Council of Ministers. Mr Pradhan’s resignation was accepted with immediate effect, and Mr Joshi will continue to hold his existing portfolio along with the Education Ministry charge. Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister and a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Dharwad constituency in Karnataka, is shouldering the responsibilities of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Minister of New and Renewable Energy. CJP withdraws agitation as govt accepts all demands STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 25 July The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday announced the immediate withdrawal of its agitation over the NEET examination issue, after the government accepted all the demands of the party, including the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and withdrawal of FIRs against all protesters. “All our demands have been accepted. We request all our supporters and protesters, whether they are present at Jantar Mantar or at other locations, to withdraw peacefully,” said CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, at a joint Press conference with Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and Union Minister Jitendra Singh. The government will give “honourable compensation” within rules to the families of the students who committed suicide after the NEET test cancellation and ensure withdrawal of all FIRs registered against the protesters, said Mr Nadda. Mr Das said the government New Delhi, 25 July The Centre will introduce and seek passage of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha on Monday, 27 July, as part of its legislative push to crack down on examination paper leaks and restore confidence in India’s public examination system in the wake of the nationwide outrage over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and other examinationrelated controversies. According to the Lok Sabha List of Business for Monday, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh will move for leave to introduce the Bill and also seek that the legislation, which proposes amendments to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, be taken into consideration and passed by the House. The move follows the Union Cabinet’s approval on Friday of the amendment Bill proposing significantly tougher punishments for those involved in examination fraud. The proposed legislation is aimed at strengthening the existing legal framework by prescribing harsher penalties, ensuring faster prosecution through fast-track courts and creating a stronger deterrent against organised paper leak rackets. According to media reports, the Bill proposes increasing the maximum punishment for paper leak offences to 10 years’ imprisonment along with a fine of up to Rs 10 crore. It also seeks to raise the minimum jail term for those convicted in such cases from the existing three years to five years. Besides enhancing punishments, the legislation is expected to streamline investigations and trials through fast-track judicial mechanisms to ensure quicker convictions and timely justice. The proposed amendments come against the backdrop of widespread public anger over alleged irregularities in competitive and recruitment examinations, particularly the alleged NEETUG 2026 paper leak, which triggered massive student protests across the country and evolved into one of the biggest political challenges confronting the government. The controversy has also dominated the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, with Congress and other INDIA bloc parties repeatedly disrupting proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha while demanding the resignation of former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accusing the government of failing to protect the integrity of public examinations. The Opposition has maintained that it will not participate in substantive parliamentary discussions until political accountability is fixed, leading to repeated adjournments that largely washed out the first week of the Monsoon Session. sweeping reforms in the conduct of competitive examinations and greater transparency in the examination system. According to the C JP delegation, the government is expected to provide a written guarantee by Tuesday confirming the withdrawal of the cases and other assurances. The two sides also held detailed discussions on the CJP’s five-point charter seeking reforms in the education and examination system. Mr Nadda said deliberations on the five-point charter would continue, and another round of talks would be held to discuss the proposals in greater detail. Mr Das said the two sides would meet again after four weeks to continue discussions on the submitted charter. CAG flags inflated Amphan claims, duplicate payouts Govt set to introduce anti-paper leak Bill in Lok Sabha on Monday SHAHID K ABBAS had also agreed to withdraw all FIRs registered against protesters in Delhi as well as in BJP-ruled and allied-ruled states. “Around 15-20 FIRs were registered in Delhi, and copies of all the FIRs will be shared within three to five days,” Mr Das said, adding that the government had assured that no further action would be taken against protesters or organisers, either now or in the future. The CJP has been spearheading protests since 20 June, with a continuous sit-in at Jantar Mantar in the national capital, demanding accountability for the alleged NEETUG 2026 paper leak and irregularities in the CBSE’s on-screen evaluation process. The agitation also sought STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 25 July Cheers Erupt CJP supporters celebrate Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation after days of protests demanding his exit over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, on Saturday. AGENCIES The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged serious irregularities in West Bengal’s assessment and distribution of relief following Cyclone Amphan, including an “exaggerated and unrealistically high” damage assessment, duplicate payments to 9,226 beneficiaries and discrepancies in bank account details involving Rs 125.07 crore. The CAG report on the state’s response to the Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan that hit the state in 2020 was tabled in the West Bengal Assembly on Saturday. Bibhudutta Basantia, the Principal Account General (Audit-I) said that the CAG had shared the reports with the state government but no action was taken in the past four years. The Trinamul Congress was at the helm of the state between 2011 and 2026. “We had shared our findings and reports with the state government. However, we could not table or release the reports. No action taken reports were submitted to us by the state government agencies either,” Mr Basantia said. Amphan had made landfall along the West Bengal-Bangladesh coast on 20 May 2020. According to the report, the then state government had sought Central assistance of Rs 35,018 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), with Central assistance of Rs 2,707.77 crore recommended. “The claim sent by the previous state government was inflated by Rs 32310.23 crore. A large section of the claim was with regard to damages caused to houses. When the Central teams visited the affected areas where damaged houses were reported by the state, they could find no such damage. Many beneficiaries received financial assistance multiple times. The same photographs of damaged houses were uploaded under the names of multiple beneficiaries,” a senior CAG official said. After 28-year wait, Sarnath gets UNESCO World Heritage tag STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Varanasi, 25 July Twenty-eight years after entering UNESCO’s Tentative List, Sarnath, where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon and the Buddhist Sangha took shape, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming India’s 45th World Heritage Site and Uttar Pradesh’s fourth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the inscription of Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh on the UNESCO World Heritage List, describing it as “a proud moment for every Indian” and saying the recognition celebrates India’s rich civilisational and spiritual heritage while bringing global attention to the teachings of Lord Buddha. The recognition announced during the 48th Session of the World Heritage Committee puts one of Buddhism’s holiest places on the world’s highest heritage platform and gives a major boost to UP’s Buddhist Circuit. Sarnath had remained on UNESCO’s Tentative List since 3 July 1998. Its induction is also significant for Uttar Pradesh because its three existing World Heritage Sites, the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, are concentrated in the Agra region. Sarnath now extends the state’s World Heritage footprint to eastern UP while bringing its Buddhist legacy into the fold. For Buddhists worldwide, Sarnath marks a defining moment in the faith’s history. It was here that Buddha delivered the Dhammachakrapravartana, or First Sermon, after attaining enlightenment, setting the Wheel of Dhamma in motion. The sacred landscape has sustained a pilgrimage tradition spanning around 2,500 years and preserves some of the earliest and most important expressions of Buddhist monastic life, architecture and art. The UNESCO property brings together Chaukhandi Stupa and the Archaeological Remains of Sarnath, located 626 metres apart. Chaukhandi commem- orates Buddha’s meeting with his five companions, while the archaeological complex encompasses landmarks including the Dhamek Stupa, Dharmarajika Stupa, monastic remains and the Ashokan Pillar. Together, these surviving layers document Sarnath’s evolution as one of the world’s most important centres of Buddhist faith and learning. Conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, who prepared Sarnath’s nomination, said the site’s case rested on something larger than the importance of its individual monuments. “Sarnath brings together the place of the First Sermon, the beginnings of the Buddhist Sangha, some of the earliest Buddhist architectural forms and a pilgrimage tradition spanning nearly 2,500 years. That combination gives the site an exceptional place in world heritage,” she said. In a post on social media platform X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed delight over the development and said the honour would encourage more people from across the world to visit the historic site. “A proud moment for every Indian! Delighted that Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List,” Mr Modi wrote. “Sarnath has a close association with Lord Buddha, whose timeless message of wisdom, compassion and harmony inspires the world,” he said.