FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 14 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW N Chandrasekaran to step down as Tata Sons Chairman K’taka portfolios allocated; Shivakumar retains finance, law LS panel indicts Justice Varma in cash-at-home controversy: New Delhi: Former Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma has been found guilty of all three charges in the cash-at-home case by a three-member Lok Sabha inquiry committee. The panel, in its report, concluded that substantial unexplained cash was found at his official residence, material evidence was not properly preserved, and his explanations about the episode were evasive and unsatisfactory. The findings relate to the cash discovered in a storeroom at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi after a fire was reported on 14 March 2025. The panel said Justice Varma’s explanation remained “evasive and unsatisfactory” and that he “failed to furnish a satisfactory explanation on the presence and ownership of cash found in store room of his residence”. Page 5 | Thursday, 13 August 2026 Afghanistan to ‘host’ India in Delhi for three T20Is WORLD Six killed in Houthi strike on ship in Bab el-Mandeb Page 11 Page 14 Page 9 Page 10 BRIEFLY SILIGURI SPORTS NATION BUSINESS | Parliament still deadlocked despite Amit Shah’s appeal VIBHA SHARMA New Delhi, 12 August T he penultimate day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session again ended in chaos, with the Opposition rejecting a direct appeal by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who on Wednesday personally assured the Opposition and the House of a detailed discussion on all issues. Mr Shah also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and urged him to consult Opposition parties and facilitate a discussion on the protests by students over the NEET examination. “I request you to consult with the Opposition and, based on mutual agreement, allocate as much time, whether in terms of days or hours, as you deem appropriate, starting today. I intend to remain present in the House during the scheduled time to participate in the discussion on this matter and am prepared to answer all questions raised by the Opposition,” Mr Shah said. Mr Shah said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had agreed at a Business Advisory Committee meeting to a discussion on student protests related to NEET. He noted that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, had already been discussed, but no Opposition MP had raised the NEET issue during that debate. Nevertheless, the government remained willing to discuss it again. Earlier, with no sign of breakthrough as the Monsoon Session headed towards its last day, Mr Shah rejected the Opposition’s allegations that he was avoiding Parliament. “I have been coming to Parliament regularly since the session began; I sit in my chamber, but since the Opposition is not allowing Parliament to function ~ in either House ~ what is one supposed to do?” he told media persons. His appeal to Opposition parties to submit a letter to Mr Birla if they were ready for a debate on student unrest and NEET went unheeded as they continued to gun for the government, in particular Mr Shah, both inside and outside Parliament. Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said that the Opposition was “not interested in Amit Shah’s lecture”. “The Opposition has clearly said that we are not interested in Amit Shah giving us a lecture. When I say 'we', I mean the younger generation of this country. Who shot the students? Who gave the order to beat up the students with lathis with nails? “Did Amit Shah give this order to shoot our children? If he did, then he should resign. For the last 20 days, Amit Shah has been missing. The Home Minister of India has no courage; he cannot come to the House," he added. Lok Sabha refers FCRA Amendment Bill to JPC amid disruptions STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 12 August The Lok Sabha on Wednesday referred the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) of both Houses amid a massive uproar in the House. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai (photo) moved the motion after the Lok Sabha resumed proceedings following an adjournment in the morning. The motion was adopted by voice vote amid fierce protests and objections from Opposition MPs. The decision to refer the Bill to a JPC was announced shortly before the Lok Sabha resumed at 2 p.m. through the supplementary list of business, which stated that Home Minister Amit Shah would move the motion. The proceedings that followed saw a sharp exchange amid Opposition and Treasury Benches, including one between Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. Apparently responding to Mr Rijiju’s observation on Monday after a meeting of the Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee, Mr Yadav said: “I want to ask the honourable minister, tell us, which bill has this government brought so far that was not against minorities?” Mr Yadav said, to which Mr Rijiju hit back, challenging him to identify a single provision targeting minorities. Calcutta HC cancels all OBC-A, OBC-B certificates Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday cancelled all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates categorised as OBC-A and OBC-B issued under the revised rules introduced by the previous Trinamul Congress regime in West Bengal. The High Court in its judgment said the OBC-A and OBC-B classification no longer exists in the state. A Division Bench of Justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Anuj Singh said the certificates issued under the earlier classification had accordingly lost their validity. Those holding such certificates will now be treated as the general category. The OBC controversy dates back to the period after 2010, when the state government divided OBC communities into two categories ~ OBC-A and OBC-B. There was widespread allegation of irregularities and corruption in the issuance of OBC certificates. Page 2