bengaluru l wednesday l july 29, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION FDA suspends food licences of Cricket Club of India, MIG CC Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food business licences of the CCI & MIG CC for violations. A look... File pic violation of food safety, hygiene an issue cockroaches, cobwebs at mig cricket club “The CCI’s kitchen lacked segregation between vegetarian and nonvegetarian food preparation areas, and FDA inspectors also found a large number of cockroaches and flies near food handling and waste disposal areas,” the FDA statement said. It also cited the absence of colour-coded chopping boards which increases the risk of cross-contamination ■ ■ The food licence of MIG Cricket Club was suspended as an unauthorised catering agency without a valid FSSAI licence was operating from the premises, the FDA said The inspection at MIG Cricket Club also found live cockroaches and cobwebs in the kitchen, it said Three other clubs, apart from cci and mig cc, were also suspended 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 High-voltage debate in Lok Sabha on anti-paper leak bill Govt pushes reforms; Oppn flags systemic failures, calls for accountability Cauvery row State to challenge order to release 3.5k cu water to TN P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ B e n g a l u r u THE Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed an acrimonious debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 as the government defended the tougher law as necessary deterrent while the Opposition dismissed it as a belated attempt to salvage the Centre’s credibility after the NEET paper leak controversy . The nine-hour marathon debate mostly shifted beyond the provisions of the bill as Opposition members raised the alleged police action against protesting students and demanded that Union home minister Amit Shah order an SIT probe. However, the Treasury bench maintained that the government had acted swiftly to protect students’ interests by bringing in a tougher law. Opening the discussion, Union minister Jitendra Singh said incidents of question paper leaks and examination-related malpractices have occurred in different states over the years, highlighting the need for a comprehensive national legal framework. The government introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday days after student pro, tests over the NEET fiasco led to Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union education minister, to provide for stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and a heftier fine of `50 lakh for paper leaks. The House witnessed noisy scenes after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made The Karnataka government has decided to challenge the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) direction to Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water daily for 15 days (4 tmcft) to Tamil Nadu, before the Cauvery Water Management AuthorMandya farmers ity (CWMA). CWRC’s direcerupt in protest tion on Tuesday came as a Farmers in Cauvery basin shocker to the state that is intensified their already facing a deficit rainagitation on Tuesday fall and water levels in resafter the CWRC directed ervoirs, especially in the Karnataka to release Cauvery basin, remaining 3,500 cusecs of water extremely low. per day for 15 days to Water Resources MinisTamil Nadu. The order ter Ramalinga Reddy told triggered widespread The New Indian Express protests in Mandya that the state has water district, with farmers, only to meet drinking needs political leaders and and nothing more. “We are farmer organisations not in a position to release warning the State any more water now. I diGovernment against rected our officials to get implementing the ready to file an appeal directive |P4 against the order. We will file the appeal either on Wednesday or Thursday he said. ,’’ Reddy has called a meeting with senior officials from the Water Resource Department in Bengaluru on Wednesday Earlier in the day in New Delhi, Red. dy had said he would discuss the issue with Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.  P4 MeitY summons Meta over PM post takedown The Centre on Tuesday summoned Meta’s public policy head after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post of July 23—addressing India’s youth and promising stringent measures against paper leaks—was restricted by the social media giant. IT Secretary S Krishnan said while Meta has apologised for the mistake, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sought more details. According to Meta, a glitch in its automated content filters restricted the prime minister’s post | P15 Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi speak in the Lok Sabha | pti If the prime minister wants to win over Gen Z, then he needs to change his ‘dil ka angle’, not the angle of cameras Priyanka Gandhi CJP warning The CJP on Tuesday warned of a fresh agitation, alleging the Centre was avoiding giving a promised written assurance on withdrawing FIRs against all protesters some strong remarks about new education minister Pralhad Joshi, prompting Treasury bench members to seek an apology The remarks were later ex. punged from records. In a strongly worded speech, Priyanka accused the government of betraying the trust of young Indians. She said Modi and Shah must answer as to who authorised the use of pellet guns and AK-47s on protesting students. Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi, who opened the debate from the Opposition side, said the amendments exposed the government’s failure to prevent repeated paper leaks despite the existence of a law. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor argued that India must move away from a high-stress model of exam to a computer-based system, with multiple attempts throughout the year. “The National Testing Agency needs strong professional cadres and accountability must be established,” he said. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said the recurrence of paper leaks across the country underscored the need for a stronger legal framework. Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said the previous UPA government had failed to enact similar legislation despite having the opportunity. He also criticised the Congress’ education record, saying India continued with an outdated system for decades because no new education policy had been introduced during its tenure. Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde said the Centre had acted responsibly by ensuring accountability Pointing out . that Pradhan had resigned, he said the government conducted the NEET re-examination within 37 days and declared the results within 25 days. While DMK MPs argued for abolishing NEET, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav compared police action at Delhi protest to Emergency and said that Pradhan’s exit saved Modi. The Lok Sabha will continue the discussion on the bill on Wednesday . Panel coming to probe charges of police excesses, indicates SC s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi Delhi and other states may proceed with investigation of FIRs; however, no coercive measures ... against the protesting students Supreme Court THE Supreme Court on Tuesday, while hearing a batch of petitions against police excesses, said prima facie a case is made out for an independent and transparent inquiry by a commission to probe police excesses on student protesters in several states and UTs. “Why should there not be an independent probe into these allegations? Whoever has committed excesses, 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 responsibility is fixed,” said a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant. The court called for framing a protocol to meet situations like the Delhi protests in the future. That apart, the bench restrained states from taking any coercive action against protesters and directed them to release those under 18 on the condition that none of them should have criminal antecedents. Observing that “agitations in a democracy are bound to happen,” the bench indicated it will order the constitution of a high-powered committee to probe incidents of violence in Delhi and elsewhere. It directed the preservation of all CCTV footage, drone footage, bodyworn camera recordings, wireless communication and PCR logs. It also told the states to ensure that personal information and digital data of protesters are not placed in the public domain for now. Bronze just start, target Paralympic gold: Shilpa G ayat h r i M K u r u p @ Bengaluru flying high India’s Sarvesh Anil Kushare celebrates after winning silver in high jump. Sharmila Dhankar (gold) and Shilpa K Shyla (bronze) added to the tally in para athletics (shot put F57) | pti P19 Para athlete Shilpa K Shyla from Karnataka, who clinched the bronze medal in the Women’s F57 Shot Put at the 2026 ongoing Commonwealth Games, said the achievement is the result of perseverance, sacrifice and determination despite severe financial hardships. Hailing from Mysuru, the 36-year-old athlete said representing both Karna- taka and India at the international stage and returning home with a medal is a proud moment. Looking ahead, she said her goal is to win a gold medal at the 2028 Paralympic Games. Shilpa told TNIE that her father is a farmer, while her mother is a homemaker. She began pursuing athletics seriously only in 2023, leaving behind her job as a private school teacher to train full-time. P7  vijay writes to pm on mekedatu: P4 Permanent commission for women in Coast Guard J a v a r i a r a n a @ New Delhi ENDING years of resistance that had drawn sharp censure from the Supreme Court, the Defence Ministry on Tuesday cleared permanent commission for women officers in the Indian Coast Guard. The move brings the maritime force in line with the Army Navy and Air Force, where women , have long been eligible for full-tenure careers. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the policy along with easing , of ex-gratia to families of personnel missing at sea. The policy ensures equal opportunities for career progression right from the ab-initio training phase. It is also applicable to existing women officers on Short Service Appointment, who will be given the option to convert to Permanent Appointment, while serving PA women officers will be considered for promotion to higher ranks.