Hundreds of sadhus, saints, monks, along with common people, demonstrated at the District Magistrate’s office in the religious city of Kashi on Monday, demanding that the cow be declared National Mother and that a Central law be enacted to ban cow slaughter nationwide.

During this period, signed petitions and memorandums were submitted through the district administration to the President, Prime Minister, Governors, and Chief Ministers of the respective states.

Mahant Balak Das, associated with the campaign, stated that as part of the second phase of the “Gau Samman Aahwan Abhiyaan,” aimed at ensuring the service, protection, and respect of the cow, signed petitions and memorandums were submitted through District Magistrates in all districts across the country on Monday.

He explained that this campaign has been led by saints, cow protectors, and cow devotees across the country for the past six months. Through the campaign, more than 30 key demands were placed before the government, including the enactment of a Central law prohibiting cow slaughter across the country, honoring Mother Cow as Mother of the Nation, freeing grazing lands from encroachment, establishing a Central Cow Ministry, formulating a Central Cow Fodder Policy, and incorporating agriculture, medicine, the environment, education, and other human-related issues into a national cow-centric policy. A nationwide public awareness and signature campaign was also launched in support of these demands.

He stated that due to the lack of expected decisions on the demands, reminder petitions containing signatures from over 150 million citizens across the country were sent to the government in the second phase of the campaign. A petition containing signatures from approximately 5.5 lakh citizens from Varanasi district was also sent to the central government through the district administration.

The program began with the worship of Mother Cow, the blowing of conch shells, and the collective chanting of the mantra “Shri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram.” Following this, cow devotees marched to the District Magistrate’s office in a peaceful and disciplined prayer march, carrying flags, banners, placards with campaign messages, and singing hymns.

The prayer march included a tableau of Lord Krishna and Balram, a tableau of Mother Cow, and a symbolic display of signatures collected as part of the campaign. Following this, a delegation of saints, the district executive, representatives of various social and religious organizations, and prominent citizens submitted a memorandum and a signed petition to the district administration.

Campaign representatives stated that Mother Cow is not only a matter of religious faith, but also an important foundation of Indian culture, agriculture, the environment, rural economy, and public welfare. They urged the government to take a prompt, positive decision on demands related to the service, protection, and respect of Mother Cow. They also stated that the campaign is being conducted in a completely peaceful, democratic, and constitutional manner and will continue in phases until a decision is reached in accordance with public sentiment.

On this occasion, saints and mahatmas of the district, representatives of various social and religious organizations, women power, youth, farmers, businessmen, public representatives and a large number of cow devotees were present.

Indian boxer Sachin Siwach continued his impressive run at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, defeating England’s William Hewitt to book his place in the men’s 60kg quarterfinals.

The world No. 5 delivered a composed performance against the fast-rising English boxer, winning by a 4-1 split decision to move within one victory of the medal rounds.

Siwach dominated the opening two rounds, with four of the five judges scoring both rounds in his favour. Although the contest became more physical in the final round, the Indian landed the cleaner and more decisive punches to seal the bout and advance to the last eight.

The victory followed another convincing 4-1 split-decision win over Canada’s Keoma Al-Ahmadieh in the Round of 32, extending Siwach’s unbeaten run in Glasgow.

With two victories under his belt, Siwach has emerged as one of India’s leading boxing medal hopes at the Commonwealth Games and will now look to carry his momentum into the quarterfinals.

The Indian boxer has looked in control throughout the tournament, following up his Round of 32 victory over Canada’s Keoma Al-Ahmadieh with another assured display against Hewitt to reach the last eight.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has taken serious exception to the state government’s move to allot land to the ruling BJP for its offices and the cancellation of 300 land allotments made under the previous Congress regime to public welfare societies, institutions and other entities.

In a post on his social media ‘X’ handle on Monday, Gehlot stated that during the previous Congress regime (2018-23) land allotments were made for hostels for children from marginalized communities and for other public facilities-utilities.

The allotments by the previous government were not for any political party or political purpose and were formalised with due payments, he said taking a swipe at the incumbent government for its decision to allot land for the ruling BJP’s state/district offices.

While cancelling the allotments made for public welfare purposes and services, the state government saw no issue or hurdles, not even a lack of land, for allotting land to the BJP for their state headquarters or district offices.

For allotments to the ruling party the case files “run fast day and night,” Gehlot taunted. “Is the government lands in Rajasthan are meant only (solely) for allotment for the BJP and not for building utilities-facilities for the children of marginalised strata.

The cancellation of allotment to for public welfare purposes is insult to the needs ones in Gen-Z and the people of backward sections, he quipped.

“Therefore, the orders for the cancellation of the land allotments should be repealed and a White Paper should be issued on the allotment of the land, their cancellation and the reasons/basis thereof,” Gehlot added.

Every week, an average of three Indians lose their lives in workplace accidents in the Gulf region, according to data shared by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Parliament.

According to MEA data, more than 800- Indian expats died in workplace accidents between 2023 and 2025. Out of these, 55 per cent deaths were reported in Gulf countries.

Further, it shared that Saudi Arabia recorded the highest toll, with 182 deaths reported over the three-year period, making it more than one Indian worker every week. It is followed by UAE with 128 fatalities.

Notably, majority of suicides during this period have been reported from Gulf countries, which highlights the challenges faced by migrant workers.

Last month, 12 Indians were among the 13 people killed in a major explosion at a factory in the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar.

“Qatari authorities have confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have unfortunately passed away in the Ras Laffan incident yesterday night,” the Indian Embassy in Doha earlier informed.

The explosion was reported at the Barzan local gas supply facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City, which is operated by QatarEnergy LNG.

In the incident, 66 people, including Indians, were injured.

Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP government has completely ruined the education system in the country. He said that universities, educational institutions, and the examination system face a serious crisis because the government is employing unqualified and unregistered individuals.

According to a statement issued by the party on Monday, Akhilesh Yadav said that the entire Opposition is united to protect education and educational institutions.

Congratulating the youth on the successful movement against the NEET paper leak, he said it was a victory for the students’ struggle and morale.

The SP chief alleged that the BJP government is suppressing the voice of students. Many protesting students in Bihar have been jailed, action is being taken against those writing against the government on social media, and students are being continuously harassed.

Alleging that police in Bihar also used AK-47s during the protests, he appealed to the government not to challenge the consciousness of the youth, stating that the BJP’s policies are anti-student and anti-youth.

Akhilesh Yadav stated that jobs and employment are not on the BJP’s agenda. He questioned what assistance the government provided to the families of the students who died following the NEET exam paper leak.

He stated that the Samajwadi Party will continue its struggle for social justice with the PDA (Backward, Dalit, and Minority) and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure rights and respect for all sections of society under the Constitution.

He claimed that the All India Alliance defeated the BJP in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections and will continue its fight for social justice with the PDA.

OpenAI boss Sam Altman, the brain behind ChatGPT, has declared that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reached the “singularity”, a point in the realm of science fiction when it outpaces human intelligence and becomes harder to control.

While the declaration could be a cause of concern for many, Altman thinks it would be good for the world.

“We’re now, like, in the singularity,” Altman said during his Saturday’s appearance on the Relentless podcast, a documentary series “about the pursuit of far-fetched ideas and unusual aspirations.”

“Now we’re actually in the moment that we used to talk about at the lunch table in a very not-serious way,” he said.

The OpenAI CEO further added, “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life, and I think it’s going to be incredible, hugely positive, awesome for the world.”

Criticises those calling AI advancement dangerous

Without naming anyone, Altman also criticised AI leaders who warns that the technology may be dangerous, calling their vision “terrifying”.

“I also think some of the alternative visions painted by other companies are quite terrifying,” said Altman. “I’m going to make sure that gets pushed against and is not what happens.”

Earlier last month, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, a competitor of Altman’s OpenAI, had warned that world of risks AI may pose to the human world, calling upon AI companies to pause the development of advanced AI systems.

Amodei warned that AI is improving so quickly that it will soon be out of control for humans.

“…it would be good for the world to have the option to slow or temporarily pause” its development,” Anthropic said in a blogpost on June 4.

In his first formal interaction with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) MPs, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to meet 20 rebel MPs in New Delhi on Tuesday, marking a significant development that can reshape the political future of the state as well as the Centre.

The 20 MPs, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy, Dev and Yusuf Pathan, had won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on TMC tickets before joining the relatively lesser-known NCPI, which is currently an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The meeting comes against the backdrop of an ongoing legal and political dispute over the defections. Although Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has not yet recognised the MPs’ change of party, their seating arrangements in the House have already been altered.

The Kalighat camp of the TMC has petitioned the Speaker to disqualify the MPs under the anti-defection law, arguing that they voluntarily gave up membership of the party after being elected on its symbol.

A TMC delegation comprising Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra had earlier met the Speaker to press the demand. However, no decision has been announced so far.

Adhikari is expected to hold the meeting with the NCPI MPs at Banga Bhavan in Delhi at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Last month, during the split in the TMC’s parliamentary party, Adhikari had attended a meeting at the residence of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.

However, this will be his first meeting with the defecting MPs after they formally joined the NCPI and the party aligned itself with the NDA.

While the official agenda has not been disclosed, several MPs indicated that discussions are likely to focus on coordination with the West Bengal government in implementing projects funded through the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

The meeting may also review issues the MPs intend to raise during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Anubrata Mondal, the Trinamool Congress leader who has of late switched his allegiance to the rebel Ritabrata Banerjee camp, was granted anticipatory bail by the Calcutta High Court in the brick kiln corruption case on Monday.

Mondal, popularly known as “Kesto”, was accused of looting a brick kiln in Birbhum district of Bengal. He had approached the Calcutta High Court challenging the lower court’s order which had earlier rejected his anticipatory bail plea.

Mondal’s counsel informed Calcutta High Court Justice Tirthankar Ghosh on Monday that one of the accused in the case has already been granted bail.

The case originated when a businessman named Suvendu Bikash Mondal filed a written complaint with the Santiniketan police station against 13 people including Anubrata Mondal. He mentioned in his complaint that bricks worth about Rs 30 lakh were looted from a brick kiln at gunpoint, soon after the 2021 election results were announced.

The businessman alleged that the incident took place on the orders of the then Trinamool president of Birbhum prompting him to flee the spot in fear of his life.

Based on the complaint, the Santiniketan police station started an investigation into the incident.

Though Anubrata Mondal applied for anticipatory bail in the Suri District Court of Birbhum, the lower court rejected his plea. Following this, Mondal approached the Calcutta High Court seeking anticipatory bail on July 1.

Indian hurdler Tejas Ashok Shirse qualified for the men’s 110m hurdles final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after finishing third in Heat 1 to secure automatic qualification on the opening day of athletics competition.

The 24-year-old recovered well after a modest start to clock 13.76 seconds, finishing behind Jamaica’s Jerome Campbell (13.33s) and England’s Samuel Bennett (13.20s).

Under the qualification format, the top three finishers from each of the two heats advanced directly to the final, along with the next two fastest athletes overall. By finishing third, Shirse sealed his place without having to rely on his time.

Tejas Shirse clocks 13.76s to book his place in the Men’s 110m Hurdles Final – becoming the first Indian since Gurbachan Singh Randhawa (1966) to reach the Commonwealth Games final. 👏

Watch him in the Final on 28th July, 2:15 AM, LIVE & EXCUSIVE on Sony Sports Network TV… pic.twitter.com/AQzp8JSH6I

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 27, 2026

Shirse eyes podium after composed heat

Although Shirse’s time was slower than his personal best of 13.27 seconds, it was enough to keep his medal hopes alive as he advanced to the final, scheduled for 2:15 AM IST on Tuesday.

The qualification continued a positive start for India’s athletics contingent after long jumper Murali Sreeshankar also progressed to the final with a first-attempt leap of 8.01m.

However, there was disappointment in the men’s 100m, where national record-holder Gurindervir Singh failed to advance beyond the heats after clocking 10.39 seconds.

Shirse will now look to produce his fastest race of the season as he bids for a Commonwealth Games medal.

A Mumbai-bound IndiGo flight from Dubai was diverted to Gujarat’s Rajkot on Monday afternoon after smoke was detected in the aircraft’s cargo hold.

The incident prompted the crew to declare an emergency and make a precautionary landing, IANS reported.

Flight 6E-1452 was carrying 194 people at the time of the incident. The cockpit received an indication of smoke in the cargo hold area.

In line with standard aviation safety procedures, the crew decided to divert the aircraft to Rajkot International Airport instead of continuing to Mumbai.

To prepare for the aircraft’s arrival, the airport authorities had declared a full emergency at 2.45 p.m., with fire tenders, ambulances, and other emergency response teams being deployed and remaining on standby as the aircraft approached the airport.

The aircraft landed safely at around 3.27 p.m., with all the 194 people on board disembarked safely, and no injuries reported.

An official said that the diversion was made after smoke was detected in the cargo hold. “The aircraft would undergo a technical inspection to determine the cause of the smoke indication,” the official added.

IndiGo is the largest airline in the country by market share and operates flights to more than 80 domestic destinations and over 30 international destinations. Its fleet primarily comprises Airbus A320 and A321 family aircraft, along with ATR 72-600 turboprop planes used on regional routes.

A deep depression close to Sagar Island located in the delta region of West Bengal is expected to bring heavy rainfall to the southern parts of the state, an official from the met department said.

The depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal and the adjoining areas of the North Odisha-West Bengal coasts moved very slowly, intensifying into a deep depression on Monday. The system has come as close as 30 km to Sagar Island.

In addition, the monsoon trough over Bikaner, Gwalior, Varanasi, and Jamshedpur, passing through the centre of the deep depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal and the adjoining areas of the West Bengal-North Odisha coasts, triggered heavy rainfall in parts of South Bengal on Monday.

“The system is to come closer to land in the next few hours, affecting mostly parts of Odisha and the adjoining coastal belts in West Bengal,” a weather official at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata said.

“The system is to bring maximum rainfall in the next few hours today. It is expected to trigger light to moderate rain or thundershowers at most places across all the districts of South Bengal, while heavy rain of about 7-11 cm is very likely to occur at one or two places over West Midnapore, Jhargram, Bankura, and Purulia districts. Apart from this, thunderstorms with lightning and gusty surface winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph are very likely to occur at one or two places over East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, and South 24 Parganas districts. Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty surface winds reaching speeds of 30-40 kmph are also very likely to occur at one or two places over the remaining districts of South Bengal,” he added.

According to weather forecasters, from 29 July, the weather in Kolkata and other districts of South Bengal is expected to improve, and the intensity of rainfall is expected to reduce.

“The downpour is expected to occur in Kolkata and other districts until 29 July, but it is going to be largely light rainfall. For the next few days, rainfall intensity will continue to remain low in Kolkata and other parts of South Bengal,” he added.

A 26-year-old woman of Indian origin was shot dead in a suspected targeted attack in Toronto, Canada.

The victim has been identified as Navneet Kaur. She was alleged murdered by a 37-year-old man, named Sharnjeet Singh, also of Indian descent.

In a statement on Saturday, the Toronto Police Service informed that the shooting took place on Friday morning at the Humberwood Boulevard and Rexdale Boulevard intersection. The accused has been arrested by the Ontario Provincial Police.

As per officials, police responded to reports of a shooting incident at around 7:23 a.m. (local time) and later found the woman with a gunshot wound. Despite life-saving efforts, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigating officials said that the woman and the suspect had a brief interaction before he allegedly shot her and fled the scene. He was later traced and arrested by police officials.

The accused has been charged with first-degree murder and failure to comply with an undertaking.

Investigators believe that the incident was targeted and there are no outstanding suspects.

As per local media reports, a witness informed officials that Kaur was walking along Humberwood Boulevard when a man approached her, briefly spoke to her and then shot her once before fleeing on foot.

The witness later called emergency services after seeing the woman collapse.

India’s Murali Sreeshankar made a confident start to his Commonwealth Games campaign, qualifying for the men’s long jump final with a first-attempt leap of 8.01m on the opening day of athletics competition on Monday.

Competing in Qualifying Group A, Sreeshankar comfortably cleared the automatic qualification mark of 8.00m with his opening jump before opting not to take his remaining attempts, conserving energy for Wednesday’s final.

The 27-year-old topped Group A with his 8.01m effort, finishing ahead of Jamaica’s Jordan Turner, whose best jump was 7.80m.

Murali Sreeshankar wastes no time, sealing his place in the Long Jump Final with his very first jump of 8.01m.

Watch the Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026 LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on Sony Sports Network TV channels & Sony LIV.#SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV #GlasgowMeinTiranga #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/JvfeTimetr

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 27, 2026

Murali Sreeshankar eyes upgrade from Birmingham silver

Sreeshankar arrived in Glasgow as one of the favourites for the title, boasting the best season’s mark in the field at 8.38m.

His composed qualification performance reinforced his status as one of India’s strongest medal prospects, with the Kerala athlete needing just one jump to secure his place in the final.

The July 29 final offers Sreeshankar an opportunity to improve on the silver medal he won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Four years ago, he also topped the qualification round before finishing with 8.08m in the final, narrowly missing gold to the Bahamas’ LaQuan Nairn on countback after both athletes recorded the same best distance.

Having returned strongly from injury setbacks, Sreeshankar enters the medal round in excellent form and will be aiming to convert his impressive season into Commonwealth Games gold.

A government medical college in Haryana’s Nuh district has come under scrutiny after the family of a four-year-old boy alleged that doctors operated on his healthy leg instead of the infected one, prompting demands for an inquiry and action against those responsible.

The alleged incident took place at Shaheed Raja Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College, Nalhar, where the child’s father has submitted a written complaint to the institute’s Director, accusing the medical team of gross negligence during surgery.

According to the complaint, Arif, a resident of Mewli village, brought his four-year-old son Saad to the medical college on July 20 after the child developed swelling, infection, and pus formation in his left leg. Following medical examination, doctors advised an ultrasound and consultation with the Orthopaedics Department.

Based on the ultrasound findings, the child was admitted for surgery on July 23. Arif alleged that he had repeatedly informed Dr Pawan and the medical team that the infection was in his son’s left leg. However, he claimed that the doctors mistakenly operated on the child’s healthy right leg.

The family alleged that the error came to light only after the child was shifted back to the ward, where they noticed that the surgery had been performed on the unaffected leg. They said they immediately protested before the hospital authorities, following which the doctors allegedly acknowledged the mistake and took the child back into the operation theatre to perform surgery on the infected left leg.

Calling it a serious case of medical negligence, the family has sought registration of an FIR against the doctors concerned, a departmental inquiry and strict disciplinary action. They have also urged the medical college administration to fix accountability for the alleged lapse.

The incident triggered a political reaction, with Nuh Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed alleging that the episode had raised serious concerns over the functioning of the government medical college. Referring to previous controversies at the institution, including the reported discovery of a dead monkey in its drinking water tank, he alleged that the college had increasingly become a referral centre instead of providing quality treatment.

Aftab Ahmed demanded an impartial investigation into the alleged negligence and strict action against the doctors found responsible. He also urged the state government to provide adequate financial assistance and compensation to the child to ensure uninterrupted medical care and rehabilitation.

Responding to the controversy, Haryana Minister Vipul Goel said the matter had not yet come to his notice. He said that if a written complaint had been submitted, the government would have the allegations examined and take appropriate action based on the findings of the inquiry.

The allegations have put the spotlight on patient safety and medical protocols at the government-run institution. The medical college administration is yet to issue a detailed statement on the family’s allegations, while the outcome of the requested inquiry is awaited.

A video of CJP spokespersons Sourav Das and Ashutosh Ranka celebrating Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation after weeks of protest by students irked the ruling BJP, which questioned their conduct immediately after the Jantar Mantar movement.

Sharing a video of celebrations by CJP leaders and supporters, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya said that while everyone deserves to unwind and celebrate after a hard day’s work, there should be a time and place for it.

“When a movement is presented as a fight for justice for students, including those whose deaths by suicide are invoked as its moral foundation, scenes of dancing and what appears to be a celebratory party immediately afterwards strike a jarring contrast,” he said.

Calling CJP leaders’ celebrations after Pradhan’sresignation “deeply insensitive”, Malviya said it was like “dancing at someone’s funeral while claiming to mourn their loss.”

Earlier, a video of Vijeta Dahiya (sacked CJP spokesperson) dancing on stage had gone viral. Dahiya was sacked by the CJP after another video of himself having a burger during the Parliament march went viral.

Malviya said that after Vijeta Dahiya, visuals showing CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke’s group, including Sourav, Ranka and others, celebrating raise uncomfortable questions.

“What message does this send to the thousands of young people who came to Jantar Mantar believing they were part of a solemn movement for educational reform?” the BJP leader asked.

Malviya stated that the celebration video appears to show that the protest ended in celebration rather than reflection.

“Those who joined in good faith deserve to ask whether their emotions were used for a political campaign rather than a genuine student movement,” he said, adding, “the youth of this country deserve sincerity, not spectacle.”

India’s men’s 100m campaign suffered an early blow at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after national record-holder Gurindervir Singh failed to progress beyond the heats on the opening day of the athletics competition.

Competing in his maiden Commonwealth Games, the 25-year-old clocked 10.39 seconds to finish second behind Jamaica’s Rohan Watson (10.13s) in Heat 4. However, the time was not enough to secure one of the 17 semi-final spots.

Gurindervir Singh clocks 10.39s to finish second in his Men’s 100m heat. 👏

Watch the Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026 LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on Sony Sports Network TV channels & Sony LIV.#SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV #GlasgowMeinTiranga #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/pyThpwuoWF

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 27, 2026

Across the 11 heats, Gurindervir finished 28th among 73 athletes. A time of 10.24 seconds was required to qualify, leaving the Indian sprinter 0.15 seconds short of extending his campaign.

Running from lane five, Gurindervir matched Watson through the opening stages before the Jamaican, who owns a personal best of 9.91 seconds, pulled away over the closing metres. The race was run with a legal tailwind of 1.9 m/s.

National record not enough on CWG debut

The result came as a surprise given Gurindervir’s form heading into Glasgow.

In May, the Punjab sprinter became the first Indian man to run below 10.10 seconds when he clocked a national record 10.09 seconds at the Federation Cup in Ranchi. He had earlier broken the national record with 10.17 seconds in the semi-finals before lowering it further in the final, eclipsing Animesh Kujur’s previous mark of 10.18 seconds.

Those performances had established Gurindervir as one of India’s brightest medal hopes in the men’s 100m. However, he was unable to reproduce that form on the biggest stage, bringing his Commonwealth Games debut to an early end.

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Rao Narender Singh on Monday accused the BJP government of failing to improve the state’s school education system, alleging that the Union government’s own education data had exposed serious shortcomings in infrastructure, teacher availability and recruitment despite years of official claims of reform.

Referring to the latest UDISE+ report released by the Union Ministry of Education, Rao claimed the findings contradicted the Haryana government’s repeated assertions of transforming the education sector. He said the report highlighted deteriorating school infrastructure, inadequate facilities and persistent gaps in the education system, raising questions over the outcomes of nearly 12 years of BJP rule in the state.

“The Centre’s own report reflects the ground reality of Haryana’s government schools. If school buildings are in poor condition and basic educational infrastructure remains inadequate, the government must explain what happened to its promises of educational reforms,” Rao said.

He alleged that thousands of teaching positions continue to remain vacant across government schools, leaving many institutions without subject-specific teachers. According to him, the failure to recruit regular teachers on time and strengthen school infrastructure has directly affected students’ learning outcomes and future opportunities.

Rao also linked the condition of the education system with rising concerns over youth employment, arguing that weak schooling inevitably affects candidates’ performance in competitive recruitment examinations.

“When quality education is not available in government schools, its impact is bound to be reflected in employment. Haryana’s youth are already battling unemployment, while a large number of candidates are being declared ineligible during government recruitment processes,” he said.

Questioning the government’s accountability, the Congress leader said the administration should examine whether shortcomings in school education, acute teacher shortages and policy failures were contributing to the poor performance of candidates in recruitment examinations rather than placing the blame on young job aspirants.

He called for an immediate statewide drive to renovate dilapidated government school buildings, fill all vacant teaching posts, ensure basic facilities in every government school and implement a transparent, time-bound recruitment process.

Warning that continued neglect could have lasting consequences, Rao said education should be treated as a priority before an entire generation of Haryana’s youth is forced to bear the social and economic costs of policy failures.

“The government still has an opportunity to correct the situation. Delaying action on education and employment will have serious long-term consequences,” he added.