Joint Parliamentary Committee cancels July 20 meeting on Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill

On July 18, 2026, the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill cancelled its July 20 meeting after the committee on the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill deferred its session. Opposition leaders like Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh called this a "big victory." The delay follows April's defeat of delimitation-related Bills in Lok Sabha, seen as a humiliation for the Modi government. The VBSA panel agreed to changes from Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya over centralization concerns, while Trinamool Congress submitted a dissent note calling it a constitutional Trojan Horse. The Constitution Amendment Bill committee recommended "suspension" instead of "removal" for detained officials and defined serious criminal offences as those with five years or more prison terms.