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 ■ ■ cjp’s dire warning tirupati l tuesday l july 28, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION CJP on Monday warned it would be forced to resume its agitation if the government does not give written assurance of withdrawal of criminal cases against protesters by Tuesday CJP spokesperson Saurav Das accused police of continuing coercive action despite the deal. “Hundreds of students arrested in Bihar and Bengal,” he said CJP also flagged several reports of Instagram accounts linked to students and volunteers being taken down Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said CJP submitted a draft deal to ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh, and it was agreed that they would share a written agreement by Tuesday Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal announced legal support for those facing police action and said he would pay `1 crore for a legal assistance platform The CJP had called off its 36-day agitation at Jantar Mantar on Saturday after the government accepted its key demands Day’s developments 1 Bihar govt to withdraw all cases lodged against protesters over NEET paper leak, release those jailed, as per a late night notification 2 A Bihar police constable has been suspended for opening fire on protesters with an AK-47 in Siwan during Bihar Bandh on July 25 over the paper leak issue 3 SC defers consideration of conducting NEET-UG in online mode, stating it will see what the new task force suggests 4 Amid charges of the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery exam paper leak, the Gujarat Ayurved University said it has ordered an inquiry Stand-off over, debate on paper leak bill in LS today Bill introduced amid protest, Speaker allocates 6 hrs for discussion P R E E THA NAI R @ New Delhi THE Lok Sabha is likely to function normally on Tuesday after a week-long stalemate with the Opposition agreeing to participate in the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026. The bill, introduced in the House on Monday by Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh amid loud protests and sloganeering, initially failed to break the impasse as Opposition parties continued to demand a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the police action against student protestors. The legislation proposes stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and `50 lakh fine for the guilty . With repeated disruptions stalling proceedings, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla intervened and adjourned the House, urging both sides to resolve their differences. He gave the government and Opposition a three-hour window to negotiate so that discussion on the bill could We did not want begin at 5 pm. to be seen as According to sources, duropposing examination ing the back channel talks, reforms. We are the government conveyed conscious of the that it was prepared for a six-hour discussion if the fact that the youth are watching Opposition cooperated. The Opposition, in turn, sensed A senior Oppn leader that insisting on a boycott could allow the government to push the bill through without any debate. Senior Congress leaders subsequently met the Speaker and informed him that the Opposition was ready to participate in the discussion on Tuesday . “We have decided to join the debate while raising the issue of police brutality against students protesting at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere,” a senior Opposition leader said. As the House reassembled at 5 pm, Opposition members continued sloganeering amid calls by the chair to discuss the bill as the matter pertained to the future of crores of youth. Protests can’t justify police excesses: SC s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday said the right to peaceful protest was constitutionally guaranteed and cannot be denied merely because there is agitation, while questioning police excesses on protesters during the CJP’s Sansad Chalo march on July 20 and calling for a uniform national protocol on handling demonstrations. The top court’s three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said it will hear all pleas filed against police excesses at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday . “Any allegations of police Just because there excess must be independently examined. The right to is agitation does not mean there can peaceful, lawful protest is abbe ‘lathi charge’... solutely guaranteed under discipline is needed Constitution. So long as it is which is essential peaceful agitation, merely beto democratic cause there is agitation, there process can’t be (excess)... Merely because agitation is there, it CJI Surya Kant doesn’t mean lathi-charge. Discipline is integral to democratic process,” CJI Kant orally remarked. He also clarified that the life of every individual, including police personnel, is equally important. The bench made the observations on hearing a batch of petitions, mentioned by lawyers for hearing, concerning police action during recent student protests. Justice Bagchi stressed that injuries to individuals, whether students or policemen, are of equal concern. The petitioners sought appropriate directions and orders from the court for an independent probe into the police action. E x p r e s s Re a d Lokesh dares Jagan for open debate on DSC Vijayawada: TDP national working president Nara Lokesh challenged YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to an open debate on the DSC recruitment process and alleged liquor and land scams. He defended the recruitment and denounced ‘fake propaganda | P4 Bhogapuram airport ready for take-off Vijayawada: Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the `4,727-crore ASR International Airport at Bhogapuram on August 1. Built in a record 31 months, the greenfield airport is expected to enhance North Andhra’s connectivity | P5 lifters continue to dominate Gyaneshwari Yadav (pic) bagged a silver in 53kg while Bindyarani Devi won bronze in 58kg at CWG | pti CM advoccates crop shift amid El Nino threat S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to bring awareness among farmers over the impact of El Nino. In view of forecasts indicating a strong El Nino impact throughout the year, the Chief Minister instructed officials to strengthen the measures already in place and intensify awareness ef for ts among farmers. He said farmers should be in- formed about the likely consequences of El Nino and encouraged to adopt suitable alternative crops wherever necessary. He also instructed the Agriculture department to effectively implement the Crop Insurance action plan. During a review meeting at the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) Centre in the Secretariat on Monday, the Chief Minis- ter assessed the performance of various departments. The Chief Minister observed that there are still gaps in the delivery of government services in remote areas of the State. Referring to feedback received from the public during his recent visit to Alur Assembly constituency, he stressed that employees’ performance must align with public expecP4 tations.  Concern over suicide by student CM Naidu expressed concern over the suicide of a meritorious student. He asked officials to train teachers to identify psychological stress early A Dubai-Mumbai IndiGo flight that made emergency landing at the Rajkot International Airport on Monday after smoke was detected in its cargo hold | PTI