New Delhi/Mumbai, July 20: A tweet by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has sparked widespread political discussion after he publicly thanked Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, for the ongoing agitation over the NEET paper leak case.

In a post on the social media platform X, the Rajya Sabha MP credited the Chief Justice for giving fresh momentum to public protests across the country. He remarked that the credit for the massive protest goes to “just one person, Hon’ble Surya Kant Ji,” thanking him for breathing new life into the country’s social and political movements.

Raut’s statement comes amidst rising political temperatures in the national capital, where thousands of protesters gathered for a ‘Parliament March’ despite police restrictions. His remarks highlighting the judiciary’s role have drawn sharp reactions across political lines, further fuelling the nationwide debate surrounding the paper leak controversy.

Earlier, Raut launched a scathing attack on the Central government against the backdrop of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s ongoing hunger strike, accusing the administration of being “scared of the youth” and suppressing democratic protests through force.

Reflecting on the crackdown on protesters, Raut told the youth gathered at Jantar Mantar that the government initially dismissed prominent voices such as Sonam Wangchuk and Abhijit Dipke as minor distractions.

He said the government thought they could crush these activists like tiny insects, but the so-called “cockroaches” had proven resilient, with people across the nation stepping out to support them.

Raut criticised the government’s refusal to grant permission for peaceful rallies, stating that a truly democratic leadership would engage with protesters rather than ban their marches or forcibly hospitalise activists like Sonam Wangchuk under police pressure.

He said the government should have addressed the youth’s grievances directly and sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to satisfy the younger generation.

Meanwhile, reacting strongly to the protests at Jantar Mantar and the opposition’s demands for the Education Minister’s resignation, BJP Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule launched a sharp attack on the organisers.

He alleged that the so-called “cockroach” protest was nothing but a staged political drama designed to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Bawankule said the ongoing protest was sheer drama, with some youths joining out of frustration. He asked whether he or Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had leaked the exam paper, adding that constructive suggestions for reform were welcome, but demanding the minister’s resignation was purely politically motivated.

Mumbai: Police has claimed to have registered a case against Shiv Sena UBT for holding an unauthorized protest at Shivaji Park in Mumbai demanding the resignation of Sonam Wangchuck and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Mumbai Police has registered three separate FIRs in this matter, including gathering a crowd at Shivaji Park without permission and ignoring the police appeal by camping in the ground even after the protest. In this case, the police has registered an FIR against the organizers. The second FIR is for creating a traffic problem by gathering students and protesters at Shivaji Park without any permission and the third FIR is for gathering students in Dadar and jamming the traffic. No one has been arrested in this case so far.

A protest demonstration was held at Shivaji Park under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, during which a flood of protesters had gathered. In such a situation, the police also gave the protesters a message of a peaceful march after the protest demonstration. At the same time, arguments were made with the police, but the protesters were not ready to leave the ground, so the anti-riot squad was also deployed here. While Uddhav Thackeray, while addressing the student protest demonstration, criticized the government and said that the government has time to discuss Pakistan but cannot discuss Sonam Wangchuck.

Mumbai Police has registered three FIRs in the case of illegal morcha and rally, this has been confirmed by the Mumbai Police. Meanwhile, in view of the protest demonstration by the Kakroj Janata Party in Delhi, an alert has also been issued in Mumbai. A prohibitory order has been imposed in Mumbai from July 23 to August 6, in which the gathering of more than five people has been banned, while cremation grounds, funerals and weddings, including official and non-official ceremonies, have been exempted from it. This order has been issued by DCP Operation Akbar Pathan.

Tehran, July 20: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that its forces earlier in the day launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against US assets and facilities in Jordan and Kuwait.

In statements published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said it struck with ballistic missiles the US Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft at an airport in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba, and heavily damaged a number of them.

It added that its forces attacked with drones and destroyed an American early warning radar system in Kuwait, and targeted a warehouse of equipment and aircraft parts as well as a hangar of MQ-9 Reaper drones at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, setting on fire a number of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The IRGC said the attacks were in retaliation to the US’ frequent “aggressions” against Iran’s territory, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In a post on social media platform X early Monday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had “successfully completed the ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran.”

It added, “CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centres, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”

In another statement released early Monday, the IRGC reiterated its warning that as long as the United States continues its “malicious actions” in the West Asia region, the Strait of Hormuz will not be safe for the shipment of oil, gas and chemical fertilisers.

Earlier in the day, the IRGC also said that it had attacked a US early-warning radar system and several military facilities in Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC said that the US early-warning radar system was “completely destroyed” in a drone strike. It said that a warehouse sheltering aviation equipment, spare parts and a drone hangar at Ali Al Salem Air Base was struck in a separate attack, setting several drones ablaze, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.