Parliament on Wednesday cleared the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, making insult to national song Vande Mataram a criminal offence. Lok Sabha passed it by voice vote after Rajya Sabha cleared it on July 29.

Police cases were lodged after clashes between protesters and security forces erupted during a march towards the Parliament earlier this month. Nationwide student protests had rocked the country for weeks, leading to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday demanded Amit Shah’s resignation over July 20 police action during the Parliament march against exam irregularities. Dipke alleged the crackdown was on Shah’s orders and that police staged stone-throwing.