WFI elections on August 12, Maharashtra declared ineligible for participation
New Delhi, Jul 21: The much-delayed elections of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will be conducted on August 12, it was announced on Friday, but the state of Maharashtra will not be part of the poll process as Returning Officer Justice MM Kumar declared that both rival factions were ineligible for participation.
The ad-hoc panel had scheduled the elections for July 6 but it was forced to reschedule the polls to July 11 after disaffiliated state bodies from Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh approached it for a hearing, claiming that their dismissal was not appropriate.
Panel heard the aggrieved representatives of the state bodies but the polls could not go ahead even on July 11 with Gauhati High Court staying the elections after Assam Wrestling Association (AWA) sought right to participate in the poll process.
The Supreme Court then paved the way for elections on Tuesday after staying the Gauhati High Court order.
The electoral college will now have 48 members with voting rights from 24 state bodies and the nominations for posts will be filed on August 1.
The scrutiny of the nominations will be conducted on August and a final list of the candidates will be published on August 7. If election is required, voting will be conducted on August 12.
The sports ministry had ordered the WFI to suspend all its activities with immediate effect after appointing an oversight committee to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment of women wrestlers by national body president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has received a bail in the case.
Brij Bhushan, who has completed 12 years as president, is ineligible to contest elections as per Sports Code guidelines.
It will be interesting to see if his son Karan, who heads the UP Wrestling Association, contests the elections.
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Karnataka urges Centre to scrap NEET-UG from 2026, restore state powers to conduct CET
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Saturday reiterated its demand before the Centre to scrap the NEET-UG examination from the academic year 2026 onwards and restore the powers of states to conduct their own transparent and merit-based Common Entrance Tests.
State Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, in a statement, emphasised that Karnataka has a long-standing legacy of administering fair, transparent, student-friendly and merit-oriented entrance examinations through the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).
He noted that the CET system in Karnataka has for decades enabled lakhs of deserving students, especially from rural, middle-class and economically weaker sections, to secure professional education opportunities based on merit, hard work and academic consistency.
The minister said the Karnataka CET model has been widely appreciated for its transparency, accountability and efficient conduct, helping meritorious students shape their future with confidence and instilling faith among the younger generation in the integrity of the education system.
He said the NEET experience over the past several years has raised serious concerns across the country.
According to him, repeated allegations and incidents of question paper leaks, impersonation, organised cheating rackets, manipulation, technical irregularities and lack of adequate accountability have severely damaged the credibility of the examination process conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Pointing to recent controversies surrounding NEET examinations, the Minister said these issues have caused stress, uncertainty and mental trauma among students and parents. Repeated reports of malpractice expose the inability of central agencies to ensure a completely fair and foolproof examination system at the national level.
He added that confidence among students in the integrity of the examination process has been deeply shaken.
Stressing that medical education is a critical sector that determines the future healthcare strength of the country, Patil said admissions must be based on a system that is transparent, corruption-free and sensitive to regional and educational diversity.
He said a centralised examination model that repeatedly faces allegations of irregularities cannot be imposed on states that have demonstrated efficient and credible examination mechanisms.
The minister also highlighted that Karnataka’s CET system has successfully balanced merit with accessibility and ensured fair opportunities for students from all sections of society.
Patil said the state government has already written to the Government of India seeking the abolition of NEET and permission to conduct admissions through the Karnataka CET system.
He urged the Union government to respect the federal structure of the Constitution and allow states to conduct entrance examinations through credible agencies such as KEA.
Restoring the CET system would protect students’ interests and rebuild public confidence in the admission process, Patil said.
The minister reiterated that the state government will continue to pursue the matter in the interest of students, parents and the future of medical education in Karnataka.
