FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Wednesday, 29 July 2026 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia call for joint diplomatic efforts to secure Strait of Hormuz PERSPECTIVE Price of dependence Page 10 Bengal’s youth dividend at risk How para-athlete Sharmila rewrote life with a historic CWG gold Page 7 Page 12 Page 6 BRIEFLY India slams Pak’s PoK polls as ‘cosmetic exercise’: New Delhi: Coming down heavily on Islamabad for conducting the “so-called” Assembly elections in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), India on Tuesday stated that the “current cosmetic electoral exercise” is nothing but an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation. India’s reaction came following reports of clashes and election rigging during the first phase of polling in PoJK. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “The entire Union territories of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas currently under illegal occupation and forcible occupation of Pakistan, are integral and inalienable parts of India. The current cosmetic electoral exercise is nothing but an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation and hide its grave human rights violations in the region. SC moots independent probe into police action on students PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 28 July T he Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that a prima facie case had been made out for an independent and fair investigation into allegations of police excesses, including the alleged use of pellet guns, during the crackdown on students peacefully protesting and demanding the resignation of the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. The Court ordered the release of all students below the age of 18, directed that no coercive action be taken against arrested or detained protesters having no criminal antecedents, and called for preservation of all evidence relating to the police action. Issuing notice to the Centre and the governments of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pra- desh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala, where similar protests and police action were reported after the 20 July crackdown at Jantar Mantar, a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohan directed the Delhi Police to preserve CCTV footage, drone footage, body-worn camera recordings, wireless communications, PCR logs and all other related material. Before ordering an independent probe, the Court granted the Centre and the Delhi Police an opportunity to place their version of the police action on record. It said that the other states may also file their responses. The Court further directed that the personal information and digital data of student protesters be preserved and not brought into the public domain for the time being. It also directed that no personal High-voltage debate in Lok Sabha on anti-paper leak Bill STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 28 July The Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed an intense debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026. The Treasury benches pitched the proposed law as a decisive step to restore the credibility of India's examination system, while the Opposition argued that stricter penal provisions alone would not address the systemic failures that led to the nationwide outrage over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. The debate, initially allocated six hours, was later extended after consultations between the government and the Opposition. Opening the government's case, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh described the legislation as a comprehensive reform aimed at safeguarding the integrity of public examinations and ensuring that deserving candidates are not deprived of opportunities because of organised cheating rackets. He said the Bill proposes stringent punishments, including imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines of up to Rs 50 lakh on individuals involved in organised examination fraud, enhanced penalties for institutions facilitating unfair means, time-bound investigations and special fast-track courts for speedy disposal of cases. Mr Singh said the government was committed to restoring public confidence in the examination system following the NEET controversy and other recent incidents. From the Opposition benches, Congress general secretary (Organisation) and MP K C Venugopal questioned whether tougher punishments could substitute for political accountability. He questioned the absence of the Prime Minister and senior members of the government during portions of the debate, saying the country expected accountability from the highest levels. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra focused her intervention on the treatment of protesting students, questioning the government's using police action against young aspirants demanding a fair examination process. Delhi to launch Lakshmi Yojana portal on 1 August; Cabinet clears `2,500 monthly assistance scheme STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 28 July The Delhi government will launch an online portal on 1 August for eligible women to apply for financial assistance under its flagship Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Tuesday. The announcement came after the Delhi Cabinet approved the guidelines for the scheme at a meeting held at the Delhi Secretariat. The portal will open on 1 August, allowing eligible women to submit their applications. The entire application process will be conducted online through the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana Portal, she added, offering a transparent district-level mechanism for the scrutiny of applications, final approval and the speedy redressal of grievances. According to officials, the guidelines for ‘Delhi Lakshmi Yojana’ (DLY), assisting Rs 2,500 to eligible women in Delhi, were approved in today’s Cabinet meeting. The scheme, with a budget of Rs 5,110 crore allocated in the 2026-27 Budget, is expected to benefit more than 17 lakh women across Delhi, officials said. “The scheme would usher in a new chapter of financial security and self-reliance for lakhs of women,” said Ms Gupta. According to the approved guidelines, women aged between 21 and 60 years with an annual family income of up toRs 2.5 lakh will be eligible, provided they are not beneficiaries of any other government welfare scheme. Officials said women who pay income tax, file GST returns, have more than three living children, or have a criminal record will not be eligible. The scheme will also exclude women whose family members are employed by the Centre, state governments, government organisations or public sector undertakings (PSUs). (Photo: Subrata Dutta) details of the protesters be published. Summing up the submissions made before the Court, Chief Justice Surya Kant observed: “...the question is why there should not be an independent investigation?” He added that a “prima facie case for an independent investigation has Govt seeks explanation from Meta over PM Modi video removal STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 28 July Meta has apologised to the Centre after a Facebook video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefly made inaccessible to users in India, attributing the incident to an unintended technical error. The social media company restored the video after identifying the mistake, even as the government began examining the circumstances surrounding its removal. In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said: “The content was removed in error and has since been restored.” The video, originally uploaded on 23 July, carried the Prime Minister’s message to students and young people amid protests over alleged examination irregularities organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Before the video was restored, Facebook users attempting to access it in India reportedly received a message stating that the content had been withheld in the country following a legal request. However, according to sources, the government has not accepted the matter lightly and is scrutinising both Meta’s explanation and the sequence of events that resulted in the temporary restriction. Officials are also examining whether established procedures were followed before the content became unavailable. Sources indicated that Meta executives, along with officials concerned with the issue, could be asked to explain the incident before the government. Meanwhile, sources stated that on Tuesday that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has summoned senior global officials from Meta over the temporary blocking of the PM’s Facebook video. been made out.” The Chief Justice further observed: “Whosoever has committed excess, committed atrocities on innocent people, law will take care of them. For that, there needs to be a completely independent and fair investigation. Probe is meaningless if no respon- sibility is fixed.” The Court also observed that there may be a need to revisit the existing guidelines and protocols governing crowd control in tune with changing times. It said that the principles laid down in earlier decisions require to be collated and a stronger protocol formulated. The matter arose from a batch of petitions alleging police brutality against students protesting across the country over examination paper leaks and other systemic irregularities. The Court also heard petitions filed on behalf of injured police personnel and media persons. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Delhi government, said that if students had been attacked, it was a serious matter and accepted the Court’s suggestion of an independent investigation monitored by a retired judge appointed by the Court at its discretion. Pradhan gets hero’s welcome: Bhubaneswar: Former Union Education Minister, MP Dharmendra Pradhan received a rousing welcome from BJP workers and supporters at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Tuesday during his first visit to Odisha after stepping down from the Union Cabinet. Supporters hailed Mr Pradhan’s resignation as a “sacrifice in the interest of the youth and the nation” and described him as a leader who had put public interest above office. Mr Pradhan arrived in Bhubaneswar to attend the release of a book on late Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. Significantly, RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale was the chief guest at the event alongside Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.