State of the Opposition

Recent political developments — reports of some Trinamool Congress MPs being in touch with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the dramatic collapse of the Congress–Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance in Tamil Nadu, and the earlier defection of some Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs to the BJP — point to a troubling weakening of the Opposition and, by extension, the system of checks and balances. This has come as a political boon for the ruling BJP, which fell short of a simple majority in Parliament. Having a strong Opposition remains essential to the health of any democracy.

Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,

Hyderabad

In lockdown

It is not only shocking but also a shame that all experts involved in setting, moderating and translating the NEET- UG 2026 retest question papers have been moved to a secure, undisclosed location and placed under strict isolation protocols till the end of the examination.

The move is unprecedented in the history of the Indian educational system and undoubtedly an insult to all the experts involved in the process of preparing the NEET-UG question papers. The stringent measures envisaged have made it abundantly clear how the national testing agency has become rotten under the government of the day.

Tharcius S. Fernando,

Chennai