India news Live Updates, 20 August 2026: Even ministers’ dogs get better facilities than government schools, says Abhijeet Dipke

Express investigation: Noida protesters jailed 53 days on average before courts stepped in. Amit Shah chairs Southern Zonal Council in Kovalam. BJP ministers handed social media performance envelopes after Cabinet.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra School Education Minister Dada Bhuse, alleging that government schools were in a poor condition. Dipke made the remarks after visiting a Zilla Parishad school in Ujani village in Latur’s Ausa tehsil. He alleged that several government schools lacked basic facilities, including proper classrooms, benches, toilets and safe access roads.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired meeting with 4 CMs

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting at a seaside resort in Kovalam on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, bringing together the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala — Chandrababu Naidu, DK Shivakumar and VD Satheesan respectively — along with Telangana’s Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. The Southern Zonal Council comprises Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana and the Union Territories of Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

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Express investigation: Noida workers jailed 53 days on average before courts stepped in

An Indian Express investigation has found that workers arrested during the April protests in Noida were jailed for an average of 53 days before courts intervened, granting bail in 84 per cent of cases involving substantive allegations. Judges held that “mere presence is not enough to deny bail” and that workers could not be equated with instigators. However, bail has offered cold comfort to many families who face debt and fear of re-arrest, while some protesters had bail denied after the NSA was invoked and books and articles cited as evidence of dangerous intent.

Ministers handed social media report cards after Cabinet meeting

Each Union minister was handed a sealed envelope after the Cabinet meeting containing a detailed assessment of their social media performance from May 1 to August 15 — covering X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn — with the government asking them to step up engagement with Gen Z, in what amounts to one of the most formal internal digital accountability exercises the BJP has run.

NTA to cut experts’ tenures to prevent compromise, stagger information spread

The NTA is overhauling its system by shortening the tenures of subject experts, staggering the spread of question paper information and introducing air-gapped systems — steps the agency says are necessitated by the existence of “a big mafia that tries to get experts compromised,” according to an NTA official, in a candid admission of the scale of the threat to examination security.

How India plans to count caste — and what went wrong before

India’s plan for a caste census involves open-ended enumeration — a method that has historically produced messy, contested and politically charged data, with problems ranging from self-reporting inconsistencies to the challenge of mapping thousands of sub-castes onto a usable administrative framework. An explainer lays out the method and its risks.

Structures outside Pakistan High Commission demolished in Delhi

Unauthorised structures outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi have been demolished — a routine administrative action, but one whose timing, in the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic environment, has not gone unnoticed.

Live Updates
Aug 20, 2026 02:13 PM IST
52 arrested in 12 cases linked to alleged Shahzad Bhatti network

Uttar Pradesh Police have registered 12 cases and arrested 52 people in connection with an alleged Shahzad Bhatti network, officials said on Thursday. The network is accused of radicalising youths through social media and encouraging attacks on religious and political leaders and sensitive establishments. According to police, the network allegedly operated on the directions of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti. Police said the network recruited Indian youths through social media by offering money and work before allegedly radicalising them. The ATS and STF, along with central agencies, examined around 175 suspects during coordinated operations on May 26. Police said pistols, live cartridges, knives, inflammable liquid and objectionable posters were recovered during the investigation.

Aug 20, 2026 02:02 PM IST
Daylight shooting in posh Lucknow area: Man kills wife, sister, himself

A man shot his wife, a private bank official, dead in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar area in a daylight shooting on Thursday, before allegedly shooting his sister and himself minutes later, police said.

Aug 20, 2026 01:56 PM IST
Amit Shah calls Congress decision to sing 2 stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’ anti-national

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday criticised the Congress for deciding to sing only two stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’, calling the move “anti-national” and an “open defiance of law”. Shah alleged that Congress had fragmented ‘Vande Mataram’ into two parts in 1937 for “appeasement”. He accused the party, under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, of following the same path for vote-bank politics. Shah said the country had suffered the consequences of the earlier decision and urged people to oppose what he described as Congress's “appeasement” politics.

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Aug 20, 2026 12:59 PM IST
CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke demands Maharashtra minister's resignation over govt school conditions

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra School Education Minister Dada Bhuse, alleging that government schools were in a poor condition. Dipke made the remarks after visiting a Zilla Parishad school in Ujani village in Latur's Ausa tehsil. He alleged that several government schools lacked basic facilities, including proper classrooms, benches, toilets and safe access roads. Dipke said elected representatives and ministers should be held accountable for the condition of government schools. He also urged ministers and MLAs to send their own children to government schools to understand the problems faced by students.

Aug 20, 2026 12:36 PM IST
17 alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators stopped from entering Assam

Assam Police prevented 17 alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators from entering the state in the early hours of Thursday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Sarma said those entering Assam legally were welcome, but people attempting to enter without valid documents would be sent back. The chief minister did not specify where the 17 people were intercepted. Assam has maintained a high alert along the India-Bangladesh border to prevent illegal entry. The BSF has also intensified surveillance along the 1,885-km India-Bangladesh border in the Northeast.

Aug 20, 2026 12:00 PM IST
Prayagraj rains: Train operations shifted from Rambagh to Jhunsi

Train operations originating and terminating at North Eastern Railway's Rambagh station in Prayagraj have been temporarily shifted to Jhunsi due to waterlogging after heavy rains. Four passenger trains that normally operate from Rambagh are currently being run from Jhunsi, officials said. North Eastern Railway said Rambagh is located in a low-lying area and water has accumulated in its yard. Efforts are underway to drain the water, but officials said it was flowing back. There was no waterlogging reported at Prayagraj Junction, Naini or Prayagraj Chheoki stations, where trains were running as scheduled.

Aug 20, 2026 11:14 AM IST
Bhubaneswar drivers' protest: 113 arrested, 354 vehicles seized over violence

Odisha Police have arrested 113 people for their alleged involvement in violence during a protest by app-based cab and auto-rickshaw drivers and motorcycle riders in Bhubaneswar. Another 60 detained protesters were released on bonds of good behaviour, police said. A total of 354 vehicles were also seized for alleged violations. Seven FIRs have been registered at Kharvel Nagar police station in connection with the violence. The protesters had begun a cease-work on August 17, demanding fare hikes, lower app fees, social security and other benefits. The agitation turned violent after protesters allegedly pelted police with stones and vandalised three police vans and several buses. At least 13 police personnel were injured in the clashes, including the inspector-in-charge of Capital police station in Bhubaneswar.

Aug 20, 2026 11:02 AM IST
Kerala Governor reacts to Kerala University VC's ‘cockroaches’ and ‘lions’ remarks

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday reacted to remarks by Kerala University Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohanan Kunnummal, who had used the terms "cockroaches" and "lions" while addressing students. Arlekar said he was unaware of the context in which Kunnummal had made the remarks. The Governor also used the analogy while speaking about what people should aspire to become, saying he did not want to be like "other cockroaches". Arlekar clarified that his remarks were not related to the ongoing student protests at Jantar Mantar. Kunnummal had earlier urged students to reject the description of young people as "cockroaches" and instead see themselves as "lions" representing the strength of the country.

Aug 20, 2026 10:55 AM IST
Amit Shah chairs 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka attended the meeting. The meeting brought together senior leaders from the southern states to discuss key regional issues.

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Aug 20, 2026 10:47 AM IST
India urges UN Security Council to avoid politicising terror sanctions

India has urged the UN Security Council not to allow its membership by nation states to pursue narrow political interests or "legitimise" terrorists through the sanctions process. Speaking at a Security Council open debate on working methods, India's Charge d'Affaires at the UN, Ambassador Yojna Patel, called for greater transparency and objectivity in the listing and de-listing of terrorists and terror groups. Patel said terrorists should not be removed from sanctions lists, or other entities added to them, solely on political considerations and without objective criteria or supporting evidence. India has repeatedly raised concerns over the opaque decision-making process of UNSC sanctions committees.

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