The Birla Effect
The logjam in Parliament over the student protests was expected to ease once former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. But the I.N.D.I.A. bloc insisted a statement on the alleged use of pellet guns and coercive action be placed before the two Houses. As has been the case on previous occasions, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s intervention provided the breakthrough on the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
Despite having faced a no-confidence motion moved by the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, it is Birla who usually mediates between the government and the opposition. On July 28, just ahead of Lok Sabha taking up the Bill, Birla issued a statement saying, “The entire nation expects all Hon’ble Members to engage in a meaningful and constructive debate…They should share their experience, insights and suggestions.” Barring the usual sparring, MPs accepted the speaker’s advice to debate the merits of the legislation.
SP Eyes Ayodhya
While Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the government in the NEET paper leak case, it seemed he was keeping the powder dry for the theft of donations at the Ram Mandir. Though leaks affected students, the SP chief views the Ayodhya controversy as a potent issue to target BJP ahead of the UP polls.
House Disruptor
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee’s first speech in Lok Sabha after losing the West Bengal polls was progressing smoothly when his colleague Mahua Moitra claimed he was being interrupted. Funnily enough, it seemed Moitra, rather than the treasury benches, was more intent in interjecting during Banerjee’s speech.
Bansuri Notes
BJP made an interesting choice by nominating New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj as its opening speaker on the legislation to toughen provisions of the law on use of unfair means in public examinations. The idea was to field a younger MP more aligned with the youthful nature of the protests at Jantar Mantar. Swaraj has inherited the ability to make her points firmly from her mother Sushma Swaraj who was a very effective leader of opposition when UPA was in office.
CPM’s Secular Dilemma
The Left’s post-debacle analysis in Keralam underlines the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s failure to confront Hindutva ‘communalism’, which in a manner of speaking, is an admission that LDF lost support of Muslim voters. While the Pinarayi government was very indulgent of pro-Hamas protests in keeping with the Left’s political stance on Palestine, it attacked Congress over its alliance with IUML. The strategy did not work and the post-poll analysis appears to acknowledge this.
Left Is Back
Despite electoral reverses, most recently in Keralam, the student agitation gave the Left an opportunity to get back into the thick of things with student outfits AISA, SFI and AISF mobilising for the agitation. While the Cockroach Janta Party provided a platform to attract agitators, the Left delivered the organisational muscle and its SOPs to confront the police proved effective. The demonstrations in Bihar and Kolkata were almost entirely the work of Left student organisations, and also led to violent showdowns with the cops.
Goyal’s Masterclass
Even as Parliament witnessed heated politics over the ‘cockroach’ agitation, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal gave a presentation to NDA MPs on the safeguards built into India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) that cover more than 40 nations. The exercise reflects the Modi government’s desire to ensure NDA MPs are able to counter allegations that the FTAs compromise the rights of farmers and Indian businesses. Goyal was at pains to emphasise that FTAs negotiated during Congress’ tenure were lopsided, and are being revised as is the case with the India-ASEAN treaty.