‘Did we do the right thing’, some within are asking as the BJP turns the screws over the Vande Mataram row. One member of the Congress Working Committee – its highest decision-making body – told The Indian Express, “It was a wide ball. The party could have left it…” The disquiet comes as the BJP sharpens its attacks; Home Minister Amit Shah and party boss Nitin Nabin have both targeted the Congress.Meanwhile, the government has told the Supreme Court it is reconsidering University Grants Commission regulations meant to stop caste discrimination in higher education institutions. Notified in January but stayed a fortnight later, the rules have been roiled in a political storm and the ruling BJP’s decision has been seen as a calibrated step to buy time to wiggle out of a Catch-22 situation.There’s more, much more, in store for you this morning, so scroll downfor your daily dose of Expresso. The Big StorySome in the Congress are now asking if not singing the full Vande Mataram is really the ‘line in the sand’ moment the party wants, particularly with the young people’s protests against corrupt exam systems and students’ crying out over appalling school facilities still an issue. ‘We shouldn’t have played to the BJP’s strength‘, is the thought.This comes as the Congress has made it clear – ‘we will only sing the first two stanzas’ – even as the BJP launches attack after attack, accusing the opposition party of ‘extreme appeasement’ and calling it the ‘new Muslim League’.So why does the Congress want to sing the first two stanzas only?Story continues below this adTo answer that we go back in time – to 1937 and the CWC meeting in Kolkata. There was already a discussion within the party about the song. By the end of that session the party had passed a resolution – that when it is sung at national gatherings, only the first two should be sung. The others, it reasoned, ‘contain certain allusions and a religious ideology which may not be in keeping with the ideology of other religious groups in India”.⚡ Only in ExpressSajjan Kumar died at a Delhi hospital yesterday evening. Who was he? Kumar was a former Congress MP convicted in February 2025 for the murders of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep in November 1984 – during the horrific anti-Sikh riots.And in this detailed analysis, the Express recalls what was said about Kumar by the Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry – which examined the riots and the failure of the authorities to investigate them.For decades, the 1984 riots remained associated with the gap between the scale of violence and limited convictions. The Nanavati Commission’s account of Kumar’s role was central to that history – it preserved allegations that had not initially been properly investigated and formally recommended that some of those cases be reopened.Story continues below this adAnd Sajjan Kumar was eventually found guilty of criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity, and acts against communal harmony. Over 2,700 Sikhs were killed in bloody violence that consumed Delhi for four days. This was after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi – by Sikh bodyguards – on October 31, 1984. From the Front PageThe huddle in the south: Down in Tamil Nadu there was a meeting between Amit Shah and the chief ministers of the five southern states. In his remarks, the Union Home Minister lavished praise on Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, pointing to the high levels of literacy and economic development across the region and declaring them ‘the biggest contributor to the country’s development’.The relation between the BJP and these states is tenuous. It has never really cracked the TN or Kerala politics/electoral bubble. And while it has ruled in Karnataka, and is allied with Andhra’s ruling Telugu Desam Party, there are still flashpoints to navigate, including the question of how delimitation might affect their voices in parliament. And at the Chengalpattu meeting, TN’s Vijay, Karnataka’s DK Shivakumar, Kerala’s VD Satheesan, Andhra’s N Chandrababu Naidu, and Telangana’s Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka – all laid out their concerns, including those about delimitation and central funding.The exam row: We return to Jharkhand now and pick up the High Court’s decision to stay the state government’s cancellation of some competitive exams. Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s administration had acted on its promise to young people protesting alleged irregularities in the conduct of this, and similar, examinations.Story continues below this adHowever, the court didn’t see it quite the same way. Justice Deepak Roshan also stayed the firing of 342 government officials and ordered their reinstatement. His reasoning – ‘a regular appointment cannot be disturbed/terminated without following principles of natural justice’.The court ruled that ’till now, there is no material with respondents to show as to which candidates are involved in corruption’, and directed the state to file an affidavit explaining its actions. So what happens next? Read this Express report for more. Must ReadThe West Asia crisisIndia’s net oil and gas imports have surged – by 43.4 per cent in value from year-ago levels – in the first four months of this financial year. Why? That’s easy enough to answer. Because of supply tightness and elevated prices linked to the war in West Asia and the resulting stifled flow of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz.The country’s net oil and gas imports – arrived at deducting petroleum product exports from oil, natural gas, and petroleum product imports – in April-July stood at $57.8 billion against $40.3 billion a year ago.Story continues below this adNormally, around 40 per cent of India’s crude oil imports, 60 per cent of its LNG imports, and 90 per cent of its LPG imports come through the Hormuz. Iran and US’ stand-off in the region means tankers aren’t getting through, and that’s a double whammy. Because apart from grappling with physical supply tightness, the consequent surge in international prices forced India to import oil and gas at extremely high rates, particularly since the priority is supply-side security over price considerations.Delhi’s parking spot rouletteIt is not an unfamiliar story for our readers in Delhi. Parking in residential colonies is a nightmarish task, particularly if you have more than one vehicle. In such cases (and if your house has no parking within its compound) the unspoken rule – we are led to believe – is that the space directly opposite the house ‘belongs’ to you. But is that true?As Delhi Police prep a fresh congestion-management plan, the Express explains that there is no rule, really, that the road outside a house ‘belongs’ to a resident of that house. But then again, parking a vehicle on a public road is not illegal either. So how does this debate end?Hyderabad horrorDeath came for 26-year-old Bharati Mukhi last week. The young woman – who worked at a shop in the city’s Inorbit Mall – was run over by a speeding Aston Martin sportscar while trying to cross the street.Story continues below this adThe police have named Rajya Sabha MP Lingamaneni Ramesh’s son – Lingamaneni Sanjush – as an accused amid reports he was driving. No arrests have been made as yet.Mukhi suffered a head injury and was rushed to hospital – in the same car that ran her over – but was declared ‘dead on arrival’.⏳ And Finally…Tony. Remember him?he world of food – and writing about food – was upended in 1999, when The New Yorker published a 2,600-word essay titled ‘Don’t Eat Before Reading This’ by a then little-known chef, Anthony Bourdain.Bourdain took readers through the swinging doors of the professional kitchen, explaining why Tuesday was a better night to order fish than Monday, confessing that diners who ordered meat well done might find chefs reserving their least desirable cuts for them.Story continues below this adWhat followed was a remarkable expansion of Bourdain’s canvas. Over two decades of television, he went from writing about professional kitchens as an insider to travelling through places where he was very much an outsider. Food remained his way in, but increasingly became a means to talk about class, migration, politics, religion, war and place. But in June 2018 that world came crashing down. Bourdain, that most handsome and charming of men, died by suicide; he was found in his hotel room in France, where he was filming an episode of his show.Today ‘Tony’, a biopic based on Anthony Bourdain’s early years, comes to all of us. The film stars Dominic Sessa in the main role alongside Antonio Banderas. And in today’s 3 Things podcast, we focus on the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on India’s non-suburban railway stations, the Dharavi re-development project, and the government note to the Supreme Court about the UGC rules to prevent caste-based discrimination.That’s all for today. Have a great day!And see you tomorrow, Chandrashekar Srinivasan