Bill making CM chancellor of RDPR varsity replacing Guv passed in Council by one vote
Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 18: The bill that proposes to replace the Karnataka Governor as chancellor of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) University with the Chief Minister, was passed in the Karnataka Legislative Council on Wednesday, by one vote.
Having passed by both houses of the legislature, the bill will now have to go before the Governor for his assent to become a law.
Leader of Opposition in the council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy opposed the bill and demanded for a division of votes during the voting on the bill. Hence, Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti arranged for row wise headcount of members both in favour of and against the bill.
The division of votes showed 26 votes in favor of the bill, and 25 against it.
The Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (Amendment) Bill, 2024 passed by the Assembly on Tuesday, seeks to amend the 2016 Act to make provisions for the Chief Minister to be the Chancellor, and for appointment of the vice chancellor by the chancellor from the panel of three persons suggested by search committee.
The Opposition BJP-JD(S) legislators walked out of the Assembly on Tuesday after clashing with the Congress, during the passage of the Bill.
Several opposition members questioned the intention of the government in replacing the Governor as the Chancellor of the university and insisted that the field of education should not be politicised.
JD(S) MLC T A Sharavana said the move seems to be out of hate towards the Governor, and suggested that there should always be a cordial relationship between the government and the Raj Bhavan.
"What the government is going to achieve by keeping the Governor away. CM is always busy politically and administratively. Can he give enough time towards the affairs of the University?" he asked.
BJP MLC C T Ravi questioned whether the Governor was not "cooperative" towards the University's functioning? "What is the intention behind bringing this amendment that was not there when the actual bill was brought a few years ago? Why is the constitutional authority being removed from the Chancellor's post?"
Congress MLC Ivan D'Souza, while defending the bill, said, "In what way the Governor can help the university? If the CM is the chancellor, he can organise funds for the development of the university. Nowhere law stipulates that only the Governor should be the chancellor. States like Gujarat have withdrawn the Governor from Chancellorship of various universities in their state."
Replying to the discussion, RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge said, the bill was not brought with any political malintention or out of any political hatred or to have any confrontation with the Governor.
The bill has been brought in to make the university function more efficiently, to make it coordinate with the government better and, to provide better quality of education and training for youths, he added.
"I have nowhere said that the Governor was not cooperating. As we felt that this is one of the better ways to manage the university, we have brought these amendments. Show me any guidelines including the UGC guidelines which says that only the Governor should be the Chancellor. No such guideline anywhere," Kharge said, pointing out that in various states like Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh, the Governor has no role in several Universities.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
