Goa cabinet reshuffle leaves party cadres frustrated, angry
Panaji, Sep 28: The Goa cabinet reshuffle has led to anger and frustration not just among MLAs but also their supporters, some of whom have threatened to block water supply to half of the state, while a taxi drivers' body plans to go against the BJP.
Supporters of Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar, who is with the ruling dispensation, have threatened to stop water supply from a dam that caters to half of Goa, if Gaonkar was not included in the cabinet.
While 20,000 taxi operators plan to reject BJP if Michael Lobo is not given a ministry.
Once considered unthinkable under the iron command of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, a number of Goa BJP leaders have publicly dissented against the cabinet reshuffle of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition.
Two ailing ministers were dropped in favour of two other party MLAs earlier this week.
Urban Development Minister Francis D'Souza, who is being treated for cancer in New York, and Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar, who suffered a brain stroke earlier in 2018 were replaced by BJP MLAs Milind Naik and Nilesh Cabral, respectively
Kin and associates of D'Souza and Madkaikar have criticised the BJP leadership for the sudden axe.
BJP MLAs and other ruling legislators, who failed to make the cabinet cut have also publicly slammed the party leadership for ignoring their claims.
BJP MLA from Bicholim Rajesh Patnekar said: "Bicholim (sub district) did not get a ministry, so the BJP workers here have expressed anger and concern.
"I was hoping that Bicholim would get one ministry and I would get it. I am sure that the state party president Vinay Tendulkar will come here and quell the anger among the party workers."
Aldona BJP MLA Glenn Ticlo said he deserved to be part of the cabinet on account of his "dynamism" and said that people from his constituency wanted him to be a minister in order "to get their work done".
But with a cabinet berth remaining elusive, there was frustration among his workers. "People are absolutely unhappy. I am getting calls and messages. I told them it is a party decision and when the Chief Minister is back, he will take a call...," Ticlo said.
The sudden reshuffle by Parrikar, who was being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, came at a time, when the opposition, as well as the civil society, was taking potshots at the ruling combine.
They alleged that there was lack of leadership in the Goa government with ailing lawmakers holding on to ministerial posts like Parrikar himself, besides D'Souza and Madkaikar.
The decision, however, have riled the kin of sacked ministers. "It comes as a shock, that he (D'Souza) wasn't even informed prior to the decision being taken. It would have been good, if he had been taken into confidence," says D'Souza's son Joshua.
D'Souza, the only popular Catholic BJP legislator, himself has warned that he would resign from the party once he returns from the US.
Madkaikar's wife Janita said the BJP leaders should have at least shown the courtesy of informing them before sacking the minister, who was recuperating in a Mumbai hospital.
Supporters of Independent MLA from Sanguem Prasad Gaonkar have threatened to start an agitation which would block the flow of water from the Selaulim dam, located in the Sanguem assembly constituency, which provides water to nearly half of Goa.
"The dam is in our panchayat. All industries and people in South Goa get water from the dam. We will start an agitation to stop water from the dam for at least eight days, if Prasad is not given representation in the cabinet," Sanjay Shirodkar, the Uguem Panchayat sarpanch said.
Even Goa's notorious taxi lobby has taken a leap into the controversy, backing the candidature of Calangute MLA Michael Lobo for a cabinet berth, failing which they said taxi operators would work against the BJP.
"There are 20,000 taxi operators in Goa. In the coming elections, we will reject BJP if Michael Lobo is not given a ministry.
"Today, if a taxi meets with an accident, we have to give fitness certificate from RTO to resume. Why does the Chief Minister not need a fitness certificate to operate when he is sick for several months now?" North Goa Taxi Driver's Association president Laxman Korgaonkar said.
While BJP leaders were unwilling to formally comment on questions about the dissent, a party official said that there were only 12 cabinet berths and the Bharatiya Janata Party had to accommodate both, their own MLAs as well as allies.
"We cannot accommodate everyone. The decision on whom to induct and whom to drop was taken by the Chief Minister, in consultation with the party high command. The cadre and MLAs will have to accept it," the party official said on condition of anonymity.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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