NEET Protests Shake Mumbai as Thackeray Cousins Unite and Monsoon Batters the City
Mass protests over the NEET examination paper leak engulfed Mumbai on July 24 and 25, with thousands rallying in Dadar under Shiv Sena (UBT) leadership and estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray setting aside years of political rivalry to announce a rare joint march from Shivaji Park to the Siddhivinayak temple. Mumbai Police came under sharp public scrutiny after a viral video showed a plainclothes officer mishandling a female protester at Shivaji Park. While the city debated accountability in education and policing, the monsoon delivered up to 380 mm of rainfall in 48 hours and the BMC rolled out a ward-level food safety inspection drive after suspending 56 food business licences.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Leads Dadar March Demanding Education Minister's Resignation
Thousands of Mumbaikars converged on Dadar on July 24 under the banner of Shiv Sena (UBT) to demand that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over the NEET examination paper leak, a scandal that has shaken confidence in India's medical admission process across the country. Party president Aaditya Thackeray led the procession through the politically charged neighbourhood, framing the protest as a fight for fair access to medical education rather than a narrow partisan campaign. Thackeray cited the example of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who had publicly pledged not to return home until the minister's resignation was secured, holding him up as a symbol of the resolve animating the broader movement. Speakers at the rally insisted that the leak had robbed deserving candidates of their rightful place in the country's medical colleges and demanded both the minister's removal and a fresh examination held under independent oversight. Protest leaders warned that if the government failed to respond, further and larger demonstrations would follow in coming days, signalling that the agitation was gaining momentum rather than losing steam across Maharashtra. [1]
Viral Video Puts Mumbai Police Under Fire Over Treatment of Female Protester
Mumbai Police faced an intense wave of public criticism after a video circulating on social media showed a plainclothes officer behaving inappropriately toward a female protester during demonstrations against the NEET paper leak at Shivaji Park in Dadar. The footage spread rapidly across platforms and drew immediate condemnation from opposition leaders, civil rights advocates, and ordinary citizens, all demanding that the officer be identified and held accountable without delay. Protesters had gathered at the iconic ground to join the national chorus demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the compromised entrance examination. Eyewitnesses described plainclothes police mingling with the crowd before officers moved in to disperse demonstrators by force, raising serious questions about whether the tactics used were lawful and proportionate for what organisers maintained was a peaceful, student-led gathering. The incident broadened the movement's focus beyond educational policy and into civil liberties territory, with calls for an independent inquiry into police conduct growing louder as the footage continued to circulate nationally and drew comment from politicians across party lines. [2]
🗳️ Uddhav and Raj Thackeray Announce Joint NEET March from Shivaji Park to Siddhivinayak
In a striking act of political realignment, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray announced they would jointly lead a protest march through Mumbai on July 26, directed against the NEET paper leak and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's broader education policies. The two cousins, whose acrimonious political split in the mid-2000s defined a full generation of Maharashtra politics, agreed to set aside their differences in what both described as a response to a genuine crisis of credibility in the country's examination system. The march was planned to begin at Shivaji Park in Dadar and proceed through to the Siddhivinayak temple at Prabhadevi, giving the demonstration a symbolic civic and religious character that resonated well beyond the student community. The involvement of both Thackeray factions was widely seen as a significant escalation, capable of drawing much larger crowds and amplifying media attention for the student-led grievances. Meanwhile, thousands of additional protesters also marched in Pune amid heavy monsoon rains to show solidarity, confirming that the NEET agitation had expanded into a genuinely statewide political force. [3]
🍛 BMC Launches Ward-Level Food Safety Drive After 56 Licences Suspended City-Wide
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's health department to begin granular ward-level inspections of food establishments across the city, escalating an enforcement drive that had already yielded substantial results under the state Food and Drug Administration's ongoing 'Safe Food, Safe Maharashtra' campaign. Between May 25 and July 14, inspectors visited 443 hotels, restaurants, and dhabas, issuing 161 improvement notices to establishments found to be in breach of hygiene and food safety standards. A total of 56 food business licences were suspended for serious or repeated violations, and operators of non-compliant premises face the further penalty of having their municipal health licences cancelled entirely. The Mayor's directive to move toward ward-level operations is designed to ensure that smaller neighbourhood eateries, which might escape broader city-wide sweeps, are also brought within the scope of enforcement. The timing carries particular public health significance during the monsoon season, when elevated humidity, standing water, and disrupted supply chains combine to heighten the risk of food contamination and waterborne illness across a city of Mumbai's enormous population and density. [4]
🗳️ Yellow Alert as Mumbai Logs 380 mm Rain in 48 Hours; 13 Gujarat Trains Cancelled
The Indian Meteorological Department placed Mumbai under a yellow alert on July 25 after relentless monsoon rains soaked the city and its suburbs over the preceding 48 hours, with the city division recording roughly 300 mm of rainfall, eastern suburbs reaching 380 mm, and western suburbs logging 345 mm. The sustained downpour strained drainage and transport infrastructure across the metropolis, leading to the cancellation of 13 train services connecting Mumbai to Gujarat due to waterlogged tracks, disrupting a large number of daily commuters and outstation travellers. The Modak Sagar reservoir, one of Mumbai's principal sources of drinking water, was reported to be overflowing, while the city's lake systems collectively reached 70 per cent of their combined storage capacity — a positive indicator for long-term water supply, even as it coincided with immediate flooding disruptions to roads and rail. The BMC placed emergency response teams on standby and urged residents in low-lying localities to exercise caution as forecasters predicted continued heavy rainfall through the weekend of July 26 and 27, with further alerts to be issued depending on conditions overnight. [5]
Sources: [1] India Today · [2] The Indian Express · [3] The Times of India · [4] newindianexpress.com · [5] News18