Jaya Bachchan’s ‘undeclared emergency’ jibe at centre in parliament
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan on Thursday launched a sharp attack at the centre during a debate on pollution in parliament. The senior leader, while demanding that an "environmental emergency" be imposed to tackle a sharp rise in pollution levels in north India, remarked that there was already an "undeclared emergency" in the country.
"Environmental emergency...sir please do that...there is an undeclared emergency already, but we need to do this very seriously. Please declare this, and please penalise people and don't just blame farmers," she said in the Rajya Sabha or upper house.
Jaya Bachchan also took potshots at MPs who gave the debate a miss.
"The attendance in the House shows how seriously we are taking this issue. The participation is fantastic...for such a serious cause," she said sarcastically, pointing at the empty benches in Rajya Sabha.
In the debate, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said a comprehensive air plan for Delhi and surrounding areas has been developed to tackle pollution.
"In order to abate and control air pollution in Delhi NCR, we have undertaken several initiatives. A high-level task force was constituted under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Regular review meetings have been held," he said.
A comprehensive air plan for Delhi-NCR has been developed identifying the timelines and implementing agencies for actions delineated. Centre has notified a graded response action plan for Delhi-NCR for different levels of pollution," added the minister.
Since the Diwali festival last month, pollution in Delhi has regularly hit hazardous levels, triggering health concerns among people. The burning of stubble by farmers in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab have exacerbated pollution. On Thursday, air quality in many places of the national capital remained in the severe zone.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
