FRIDAY 24 JULY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard H O U T H I AT TA C K INDIA INVITES BANGLADESH PM TO SEPTEMBER BRICS SUMMIT IN DELHI TRUMP WARNS IRAN OF ‘PUNISHMENTS’ Iran and the US vowed on Thursday to step up attacks, after Tehran’s Houthi allies struck Saudi shipping and sent oil prices soaring PAGE 9 Could pave way for first Modi-Rahman meet A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI Higher education secretary Vineet Joshi transferred; Rahul visits Gandhi Smriti Wangchuk breaks fast Sonam Wangchuk ended hunger strike close to midnight in presence of two Union ministers Crowds pour in (L) Rahul Gandhi, opposition MPs at Gandhi Smriti on Thursday. (R) Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike after 26 days | PTI Despite restrictions and barricading at several major roads in Delhi, crowds continued to swell at the site amid heavy sloganeering Roach party issues call for nationwide protests today Panchayati Raj, appointing Naresh Kumar Gangwar as THE NEET paper leak contro- Joshi’s replacement in the highversy escalated into a wider po- er education ministry And T K . litical confrontation on Thurs- Anil Kumar was brought in as day as the Cockroach Janta the school education secretary . Party (CJP) called for nationThe Opposition, meanwhile, wide protests on Friday, and intensified its campaign against the Opposition led by Rahul the Centre following the showGandhi staged a symbolic down in Parliament. Carrying march to Gandhi Smriti in soli- copies of the Constitution and darity with the agitating stu- the Tricolour, INDIA bloc MPs dents. The developled by Leader of the ments came amid Opposition Rahul heightened security Gandhi marched to and heavy deployGandhi Smriti at The students of our ment of personnel Tees January Marg. country are on the across central Delhi, streets, so we felt the At the memorial, the with several metro MPs switched on Opposition should stations shut, mobile their mobile phone also be on the internet services sus- streets. Our message flashlights and obpended in parts of the is simple: we are with served a silent tribute the students. The city and businesses in to students who allegentire Opposition Connaught Place adedly died by suicide stands with them vised to close early in the wake of the exahead of anticipated amination controverRahul Gandhi demonstrations. sy. Several leaders Adding to the momentum of also held placards demanding the protests, actors Kareena Ka- accountability and the resignapoor Khan, Varun Dhawan, Sara tion of Dharmendra Pradhan. Ali Khan and Ananya Panday The MPs travelled from Rahul’s expressed support for agitators residence amid heavy police dethrough social media, calling for ployment and barricades. “In a fair, transparent and account- solidarity with the students, able examination system. we wanted to take the OpposiSeeking to control the situa- tion MPs to India Gate, but we tion, the government shifted were not allowed. Then we deHigher Education Secretary cided to go to Gandhi Smriti,” Vineet Joshi to the Ministry of Rahul said. P3 PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi Cabinet to discuss paper leak today: PM M U K E S H R A N J A N & R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi THE government will unveil tougher measures to tackle examination fraud in Friday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a video message late on Thursday night. The announcement came hours after he said the govern- ‘4 attempts ment would set up fast-track for dialogue courts to ensure swift punish- with CJP’ ment to the culprits. The Centre, Friday’s Cabinet meeting which has roped will discuss a draft legislation in Union for fast-track courts and strict- Ministers J P er punishment for paper leak, Nadda and and the draft bill will be intro- Jitendra Singh duced in Parliament as early as as interlocutors possible, Modi added. to engage with “The departments have in- the protesters, formed me late night that the on Thursday draft proposal in this regard said it had with provision of strict punish- made four ment is ready and the same will attempts in the be taken up during the meeting past 24 hours to of the Union cabinet. After dis- initiate dialogue cussing the matter with my cabinet colleagues, we will take a final decision,” he said. He said the government is aware that examination paper leak is very painful for students and their parents, adding that as soon as the crime was detected, swift action was taken and the culprits were put behind bars.  J8.00  Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign affairs Shama Obaed Islam said Dhaka has received the invitation from New Delhi and forwarded it to the Prime Minister’s Office. If Rahman accepts the invitation, the summit could provide the first opportunity for a direct meeting between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi since the BNP’s return to power | P7 PAGES 12 No principals in 828 govt schools, UPSC starts hiring I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi NEARLY four years after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) flagged the shortage of school heads in Delhi’s government schools, 828 of the capital’s 1,230 schools—nearly 68%—continue to function without regular principals. The UPSC has now announced these vacancies under the Delhi government’s Education Department in an attempt to bridge the leadership gap. The crisis first came into focus in 2022, when the NCPCR issued a notice to the Delhi chief secretary after finding that only 203 of the then 1,027 government schools had regular principals or head teachers. The commission sought an explanation from the government, warning that the absence of school heads could adversely affect governance, accountability and students’ right to quality education. Despite the warning, the shortage has persisted. Hundreds of schools continue to be run by officiating principals or teachers holding additional charge, often while managing multiple responsibilities. A government school principal, requesting anonymity, said, “Such temporary arrangements in schools weaken institutional leadership, delay administrative decisions, affect teacher supervision and compromise the implementation of academic and welfare programmes. Think about the current situation when most teachers are on SIR duties, due to which attendance has come down severely .” The recruitment will be conducted through direct selection. Principals will be appointed in Level 12 and vice-principals in Level 10 of the pay matrix. EXPRESS READ ‘Kusha’ fired as part of air shield plan The Defence Research and Development Organisation has conducted the maiden flight test of the Kusha long-range surface-to-air missile. The missile is part of India’s most ambitious indigenous air defence programme. With the test, the programme has entered into flight trial phase. P7 Gujarat under water, two lives lost Two people have died in rain-related incidents in south Gujarat after relentless monsoon rains triggered widespread disruption across the state. Around 3,000 people were rescued from different parts of the state and sent to shelter homes. NDRF teams have been deployed in affected areas. P8 SHREE JAGANNATH RATHA YATRA 2026 Jagannath mandir, hauZ Khas, neW delhi organiZer: sree neelachala seva sangha, new delhi. FIRST LARGE-SCALE GEN Z AGITATION At Jantar Mantar, a protest unlike any before A M I TA V A S A N YA L @ New Delhi JANTAR Mantar is a republic of handf ans these days. Hundreds of young volunteers are furiously fanning those filing in and out of the protest site in the muggy heart of Lutyens’ Delhi. It’s a small gesture of kindness that marks the evolution of a motley crew of first-time protesters who have learnt to organise more efficiently and sustain a movement in the face of inclement weather and immense pressure from an intemperate administration. Welcome to India’s first large-scale Gen Z protest, where planning and posing go hand in hand with protesting. Here is a snake of youngsters carrying in food, water and medicine for those fasting and camping overnight. There, a group of medicos slinging stethoscopes are urgently ushered in. Every few metres, video makers are speaking into phone cameras. The hoarse sloganeering of yesteryears is partly replaced by printed memes. The humour, too, is reflective of the zeitgeist. Twenty-nothings from some of Delhi’s top colleges are holding up neatly-visualised posters A protester fanning participants as a gesture of kindness | AMITAVA SANYAL screaming,“There’s 20% ethanol in my exam”, “Swiping left on national issues like it’s Tinder” and “Dande Mataram”. A large neem evergreen is marked as “Pradhan resignation tree”. It’s as if the Gen Z protesters are embodying pre-Boomer political theorist Hannah Arendt’s idea that exposing authority to contempt through laughter is an effective way to undermine it. On the other hand, millennial Rajesh Sau, a 31-year-old from Bihar’s Begusarai who has come to the capital for the first time, holds up a serious-minded, AIgenerated poster of the Cockroach Janta Party’s Abhijeet Dipke next to Bhagat Singh that he claims to have downloaded from Facebook. Kindness is mostly shown in the form of food and medicine. Members of Sikh foundations are handing out khichdi plates and juice bottles to outstretched hands. Garbage bags are filling up faster than cleaners are moving them out. In a show of supreme irony, parked government ambulances are handing out masks to guard against teargas and spraying pain-relievers on shoulders injured by lathi charges. Some among the volunteers are blaring whistles to referee crowds when they behave like petulant Argentinian footballers. Only a few near the stage wear the white tees sporting the ‘official’ cockroach logo. At the main stage, humour gives way to the serious demands of resignation, education reforms, court-mandated probe and negotiations with the government. There is talk of shifting demands “from Pradhan to pradhan mantri”. There is also exhortation for restraint from the stage. CJP’s Saurav Das warns against giving in to polarising banter by “planted miscreants”. When you enter the site, a pankha is given. When you leave, you deposit it back so that others can use it A volunteer Parliament stalled for fourth day Parliament proceedings were stalled for the fourth consecutive day amid Oppn protests over the NEET-UG paper leak. Sources said though Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju reached out to Oppn leaders, they insisted on Pradhan’s resignation before any debate can take place | P7 Programme details: ratha Yatra: 16th July 2026 (thursday) Bahuda Yatra: 24th July 2026 (Friday) suna Besa: 25th July 2026 (saturday) Cultural evening Programme: JulY 17 2026 to JulY 25 2026 ravinder nath Pradhan secretary