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Snapshot of the day
August 24, 2026
Sidharth Bhatia
Over the last financial year the Central government spent Rs 92.35 crore to repair the bungalows of Union ministers in the heart of New Delhi – the highest amount since its tenure began, according to an RTI filed by PTI. In 2014-15 the expenditure under this head was Rs 27.47 crore. Though the news agency had asked how much the government had spent to repair the bungalows of MPs as well as the offices of our Union ministers, that information was not shared with it.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced a fresh youth mobilisation, a peaceful protest march from India Gate to the Delhi Police Headquarters on September 5 with the parents of deceased NEET victims and victims of police brutality would lead the march, accusing the Modi government of failing to honour commitments made to protesters on July 25. The CJP said the march would be joined by students and young citizens from across the country.
Meanwhile on Monday, CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke also wrote to education ministers of all states seeking details about the number of schools in need of repair, teacher vacancies, school shortages, details of non-teaching duties assigned to schoolteachers, allocations made towards schooling in recent budgets and the availability of computer, sporting and other facilities in government schools. In several states including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, FIRs have been registered against YouTubers and others who have highlighted the derelict condition of school buildings.
Feeling the aftershocks of the Gen Z-led student protests, the BJP was meanwhile forced to do what political parties do when confronted with an accountability problem: constituted a committee for outreach. Its dedicated Gen Z outreach group includes “BJP National President Nitin Nabin, National General Secretaries Smriti Irani and Vinod Tawde, Gujarat Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Chhattisgarh Minister OP Choudhary, along with several other leaders.”
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das was unsparing about this distinctly Gen Z-looking line-up: “Three claps to the BJP for a marvellous set of ‘Gen Z faces’.”
Elsewhere, students at
