BJP leaders have made futile attempt to kidnap me: MLA TD Rajegowda
Sringeri, May 28: MLA TD Raje Gowda alleged that because of the BJP’s conspiracy, he had to stay in the resort for ten days despite he has been opposing the resort politics culture.
Raje Gowda who was in a resort in Bengaluru for almost ten days because of the political high drama, has come to his constituency for the first time after his election, on Monday and held a press conference.
As no party has got clear mandate to form the government, the BJP leaders have tried to induce all Congress MLAs and put pressure on them. At one stage, the BJP leaders have made a futile attempt to kidnap him. In order to protect them from poaching and democracy, the party has taken them to the resort. But he was pained because of this reason and such incident would not happen again, he said.
After his defeat in the last election, he has close contact with the voters and travelled the entire constituency extensively and this has ensured his victory. Though party workers and people wanted to celebrate his victory, as of the code of conduct of MLC election is in force, they could not do it. After June 10, he would personally meet the people of Sringeri, Koppa and NR Pura and thank them, he said.
Block Congress president MH Nataraj said that the party was lagging behind since many years. But this time, the situation is improved and the party has maintained lead in 24 booths. The difference of votes between Congress and BJP was also decreased considerably, for which he would thank all voters and party workers, he said.
Party spokesperson Umesh Puduval, Venkatesh of campaign committee, Vidyaranyapura gram panchayat president Rajesh Shetty and others were present.
“During the period of previous MLA, we have staged protests for several times to solve the problems. Now, I would give priority to solve them. Distribution of Akrama-Sakrama title deeds, filling vacant posts of doctors in hospitals, dissolving all inactive committees and forming new ones, college building, road repairs and other works are before me. People of the constituency should cooperate with me now. I will receive all suggestions, criticisms and praises equally”, said TD Raje Gowda.
Visited Sringeri Peetham
Newly elected MLA TD Rajegowda on Monday visited Sri Sharada Peetham and offered pooja to Goddess Sharade. Later, he met the seer and got his blessings. Later, he has been to Sri Adichunchanagiri Shakha Mutt and got blessings from Gunanatha Swamiji.
After his press conference, he participated in the party workers meeting and paid his homage to Jamkhandi MLA Siddu Nyamagouda who was killed in an accident.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.”
_vb_22.jpeg)
