vijayawada l monday l july 27, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Rajnath issues strong warning to Pak on 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas Operation Sindoor showed the fate that awaits those who use terrorism against India, Rajnath Singh said at the Kargil War Memorial on Sunday ‘Indian response can be beyond imagination’ praises troops for 1999 kargil victory Warning Pakistan against any misadventure, the defence minister said India can respond in a manner “beyond their imagination.” He added that “there would be no talks with Pakistan, and any dialogue would focus solely on PoK,” describing the region as an integral part of India. Recalling Operation Sindoor, he said India dealt a big blow to the backers of terror ■ ■ Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorates the culmination of Operation Vijay, the name given to India’s military action to reclaim the heights of Kargil after Pakistan’s infiltration in 1999 “The victory in Kargil wasn’t just a military or diplomatic success; our soldiers exhibited indomitable courage and valour,” Rajnath said 545 Indian soldiers lost their lives fighting in the 1999 Kargil war CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Pralhad Joshi assumes charge as Union education minister Rahul writes to Amit Shah on use of pellet guns on students Shortly after taking charge of education ministry on Sunday, Union minister Pralhad Joshi held a review meeting. School education secretary TK Anil Kumar and outgoing higher education secretary Vineet Joshi briefed him. MoS Jayant Choudhary attended the meet Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has written to Home Minister Amit Shah demanding accountability for the “barbaric assault” on students and whether he approved the use of “lethal force”, including pellet guns, against the protesting youth Nandan Nilekani-led task force to reform exam system Special panel to push technology-driven reforms to overhaul existing processes LS braces for Oppn heat as paper leak bill comes up today RAJE S H K UMAR T HA K UR @ New Delhi A day after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union education minister and the protesting students called off their 36-day agitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a high-powered task force headed by former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani to carry out examination reforms. Making the announcement through a video message posted on his Instagram handle, Modi said the task force would explore technology-driven reforms aimed at creating a transparent examination system, adding that t h e g o ve r n m e n t wo u l d a c t o n i t s recommendations. Apart from Nilekani, a multidisciplinary group of domain experts will be part of the task force. The other members are IIT Chennai director V Kamakoti, former Isro chairman S Somanath, former IB director Tapan Deka, former education secretary Anita Karwal, and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena. Explaining the objective of the task force, Modi said it would focus on examination reforms. “And based on its report, steps will be taken to ensure the credibility of upcoming examinations at the earliest.” The task force will recommend immediate steps to secure upcoming tests and suggest ways to overhaul national examination and testing systems to make them leak-proof. In his latest outreach to students through Instagram, the PM noted that the government had established fast-track courts to ensure justice for students and was taking all necessary steps to make the examination system more transparent. Modi said examination reforms would be undertaken based on the report submitted by the high-powered task force. “The government is continuously taking measures for the students. Those who tampered with students’ future are languishing in jail. We have already established fast-track courts,” he said, adding that the government was moving fast to bring stringent legal provisions to check paper-leak racketeers. We must look to the future. To make sure our examination system is trustworthy, transparent and the technology is used optimally, we have decided to constitute a high-powered committee Narendra Modi, PM Domain experts in panel Apart from Nilekani, a multidisciplinary group of domain experts are part of the task force. They are IIT Chennai director V Kamakoti, ex-Isro chairman S Somanath, former IB director Tapan Deka, former education secretary Anita Karwal, and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi AS Parliament reconvenes on Monday after a washout of the first week of the Monsoon Session, the deadlock may ease slightly with Op, position sources saying INDIA bloc parties may be inclined to participate in the debate on the Bill seeking to strengthen the two-year-old anti-paper leak law. The government has listed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026 for the Lok Sabha on Monday A final decision on the Opposition’s . floor strategy will, however, be taken at a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders in Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber in Parliament on Monday morning, sources said. Speaking to this paper, an Opposition leader said parties did not want to be seen as blocking reforms given that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has quit. A heated debate on the paper leak issue is expected if the government and the opposition break the ongoing deadlock in both Houses of Parliament. The Congress-led Opposition plans to keep up the pressure over the alleged police crackdown on protesting students, demanding action against those responsible and an apology from PM Modi. TMC’s Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose submitted a notice under Rule 267 seeking an immediate discussion on “use of excessive force on student protesters” in Jantar Mantar. The Opposition is also preparing to corner the government on Ram temple donation theft and the ethanol blending controversy . Siddaramaiah not to contest 2028 polls E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Mysuru Nearly two months after stepping down as Karnataka chief minister, veteran Congress leader Siddaramaiah made his most definitive political announcement on Sunday, declaring that he will not contest the 2028 Assembly elections. Ending weeks of speculation over his electoral future, the 79-year-old leader revealed his decision at a function in KR Pete taluk in Man- dya district, saying it was prompted by advancing age, health concerns and growing corruption in politics, but said he will remain active in public life. Addressing a gathering at a programme to mark the birth anniversary of KR Pete Krishna, Siddaramaiah responded to repeated appeals from supporters urging him to continue in electoral politics for another decade. While acknowledging the affection of his followers, he Havelock Bridge set to get `47 cr tourism makeover K V S a i l e n d r a @ Rajamahendravaram Once hailed as the jewel of the River Godavari, the iconic Havelock Bridge is set to reclaim its lost glory with a maj o r m a ke ove r t h at blends heritage with modern tourism.   As part of the A k h a n d a G o d ava r i Project, the State government has sanctioned `47 crore to convert the historic structure into a premier tourist attraction for Godavari Pushkarams 2027. After decades of neglect and uncertainty over its future, the century-old railway bridge across the Godavari river is being transformed into a worldclass tourism destination. Built by the British in 1897, the 2.7-km-long steel bridge, supported by 56 spans, was among Asia’s longest railway bridges of its time. For nearly a century it served as a vital rail link , across the Godavari before being decommissioned in 1997 following the construction of a new P4 railway bridge.  made it clear that he had already taken a decision not to seek another electoral mandate. His remarks assume significance as the former CM has never publicly spoken about his electoral future after resigning from the post on May 28. Soon after the event, Siddaramaiah took to X to formally announce his decision. “Since the political field has become corrupted today, I will not contest the 2028 Assembly elections. However, remaining active in politics, I will continue to stand as a voice for the people’s hardships and joys,” he wrote. 50 years in politics The former CM said by 2028, he will have completed 50 years in public life. “I have seen both victory and defeat, but I have... satisfaction of never acting against the principles.” E x p r e s s Re a d Flood alert system for State Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government is deploying an AI-powered early warning system designed to predict flash floods well in advance. Officially named City Flood Alert, the system is being launched first in Vijayawada to tackle the city’s longstanding battle with the volatile Budameru stream | P4 No convictions in cybercrimes Vijayawada: The accused in cybercrime cases reported in AP are walking free as no convictions have been recorded in the past few years. According to the data, cybercrime cases have increased from 1,899 in 2020 to 2,528 in 2024. Yet, the conviction rate has remained zero | P3 Mirabai, Manipur’s golden girl, threepeats Nervous starts in S & C&J In both snatch and the clean & jerk sections, she failed to complete the first lift of 82kg and 105kg respectively but made amends in the second attempts to finish the contest Games’ record broken Every lift by her set a CWG record. Be it her 82kg and 85kg lifts in snatch or 105kg in clean and jerk. Her overall lift of 190kg as well Mirabai Chanu wells up after her record-breaking lifts on Sunday | PTI f i r o z m i r z a @ Chennai FOR more than a decade, Mirabai Chanu has been the country’s biggest medal hope in weightlifting. And it was no different at the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games (CWG). Living up to her billing, the diminutive 31-yearold lifter from Manipur completed a hat-trick of CWG gold at the SEC Armadillo auditorium on Sunday, beating her opponents by miles. The gold was also the country’s first at this edition of the Games. The 2017 world champion and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist’s superiority among her opponents can be gauged by the fact that her total lift was 22kg more than the nearest rival — Ruth Asuquo Nyong from Nigeria. En route to her top of the podium finish, she also set the CWG record four times in the 48kg weight category While lifting . 85kg in the snatch section in her third attempt, she also set a Commonwealth record. Mirabai had won a gold each in the 2018 and 2022 editions with the previous one coming in the 49kg division. In 2014, she won a silver medal (48kg). Earlier in the day, another Manipuri lifter, Rishikanta Singh Chanambam pocketed silver in the 60kg weight category . Krishna Delta faces severe water crisis Y B r a h m a j i @ Vijayawada A silent calamity seems to be unfolding in the Krishna Delta, one of India’s major paddygrowing regions, as irrigation water continues to elude vast stretches of tail-end ayacut. Newly transplanted paddy crop in thousands of acres has started withering due to lack of irrigation water. The acute irrigation water shortage has snowballed into a full-blown agrarian crisis, crippling the rural economy and pushing , thousands of small and marginal farmers and ag ricultural labourers into severe financial distress. The State government commenced the release of irrigation water into the Krishna Delta canal system for the Kharif crops on July 1. A total volume of 13.75 TMC of water has been released so far. At present, 5,635 cusecs of water is being supplied through the Krishna canal system, including 2,015 cusecs to Ryves Canal, 700 cusecs each to KEB and Bandar Canals, 708 cusecs to Eluru Canal and 1,516 cusecs to Krishna Western Canal. P4