It would not be surprising if the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) captures power in one or two States, according to former Union Minister for Finance and Home Affairs, P. Chidambaram.

“But I do not know and cannot say whether it [the CJP] will be able to emerge as a third force at the all-India level,” Mr. Chidambaram told The Hindu 360, the Tamil YouTube channel of The Hindu, at his residence in Chennai on Wednesday (August 26, 2026).

Answering a question about whether the CJP would become a third force at the national level, the former Union Minister referred to the fledgling party’s campaign under the banner ‘School Thik Karo’, focusing on the condition of government schools, and acknowledged the impact of the organisation’s drive on the powers that be. The campaign had made those in power “awake.” Announcements were being made about allocating funds to set right government schools. “Why should Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers go to university campuses every day? [In the past,] when they visited colleges and universities for convocations, did they go around them?” he wondered. He added that “when a stone is thrown, it causes a ripple effect, doesn’t it?”

Giving the example of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Mr. Chidambaram pointed out that it was the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) that led to the birth of the AGP, which captured power in Assam for the first time in 1985. Besides, in Nepal, leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Balendra Shah, popularly called Balen, had become Prime Minister thanks to an agitation by Gen Z.

To another question on whether irregularities in public examinations were the only factor responsible for the recent youth agitation, the former Union Minister, who would turn 81 on September 16, referred to an editorial by The Hindu [’Root causes: On India’s youth crisis’] and said: “I wholly accept it.” The irregularities were only “a consequence.” But unemployment and lack of income were the reasons. “When I was a student, people believed that graduates would receive a four-digit salary – ₹1,000 – which was a huge sum in those days. Those who took public examinations then would get government jobs. But today, even if you write the examinations, you do not get jobs,” Mr. Chidambaram observed. The unemployed included those who had finished engineering and medical courses and students of the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management.

‘Paper leak was waiting to happen’

On the paper leak in this year’s National Entrance cum Eligibility Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) held by the National Testing Agency (NTA), he said that “it was waiting to happen,” considering the small number of permanent employees in the NTA and the fact that the test had to be held throughout the country, covering thousands of centres.

Asked whether the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which had been rendered virtually friendless after the 2026 Assembly election, would inch closer towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr. Chidambaram answered that “there is no chance of that. If they [the DMK] did so, they would be causing a self-inflicted injury.” He also pointed out that on the issue of delimitation, the party had supported a resolution in the Assembly [urging the Centre to freeze the number of Lok Sabha seats at the existing 543 and retain the current proportion of seats among the States], despite “conflicting voices” being heard earlier.

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 27, 2026) said it will see what the Nandan Nilekani-led high-powered task force formed by the government suggests on the online conduct of the NEET examination.

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said some out-of-the-box suggestions are needed especially when transition is made from the physical mode to the online conduct of the NEET examination.

“We need some additional safeguards with respect to cyber security, database protection,” it said.

The Bench was hearing a plea filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh following the cancellation of the NEET-UG held on May 3 over alleged paper leak and the announcement of re-NEET

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, informed the Bench that the Union Government has taken a very serious view and a high-level committee has been constituted.

He said an announcement was made by the Prime Minister himself and the high-level committee is headed by Nandan Nilekani, who is an expert in the field of technology.

Mr. Mehta said besides Mr. Nilekani, other members of the task force are former Chairman of ISRO S. Somanath, former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Tapan Deka, director of IIT Chennai, V. Kamakoti, former Education Secretary Anita Karwal, and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena.

The Bench said it is listing the plea filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh on next Monday, August 3.

On June 1, the top court refused to accept for urgent hearing the plea filed by Mr. Singh for conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 re-test on June 21 in computer-based test mode.

On May 12, the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the NEET-UG held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak.

The CBI is currently investigating the matter and the retest was held on June 21.

Accusing Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of holding Parliament to ransom, Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MP for Dakshina Kannada, said on Thursday that it amounted to deliberate obstruction at the cost of the people who elected Members of Parliament.

In a post on X, Capt. Chowta said: “Protest is constitutional. Dissent and debate are constitutional. Deliberately disrupting Parliament is not.”

The MP said the Union government had repeatedly expressed its readiness to debate the NEET-UG paper leak on the floor of the House. The government had also urged the Opposition, time and again, to participate in the discussion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured fast-track courts and swift, stringent punishment for those behind paper leaks. The Prime Minister had also made it clear that those who play with the future of the youth would not be spared.

“Yet Rahul Gandhi continues to hold Parliament to ransom instead of joining the debate. As Members of Parliament, we owe it to our constituents, our democracy, and the institution of Parliament to attend the House, raise issues, debate them vigorously and ensure its functioning. That is our constitutional responsibility. What the Rahul Gandhi-led Opposition is doing is not responsible opposition. It is deliberate obstruction at the cost of the people who elected us to serve,” Capt. Chowta posted on X.