Bengaluru (PTI): Opposition BJP on Friday condemned the government's move to make the chief minister the chancellor of the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) University replacing the governor, terming it as an attempt to pollute the higher education system.

State BJP president B Y Vijayendra said this attempt to cut down on the powers of the governor is a conspiracy to upset the constitutional system.

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved a bill, according to which the chief minister will be appointed as the chancellor, replacing the governor at the RDPR University in Gadag.

The governor is the chancellor for all public universities in Karnataka.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot currently holds the post.

"With a good intention that politics should not mix in education and as per the intent of the constitution, the Governor who is also the constitutional head of the state is the chancellor of the universities. But the government led by Siddaramaiah (CM), which is engaged in a series of corruption, by abusing its existing powers, is trying to pollute the higher education system," Vijayendra posted on 'X'.

He said the government's move will allow "unnecessary political interference" in the field of rural development studies.

"The Congress government, which has been impatient towards the governor since the beginning, sees him as an enemy to cut down on the powers, and it is a conspiracy to upset the constitutional system. This move of the state government is highly condemnable," he added.

Earlier in September, the cabinet, at a meeting held in Kalaburagi, decided to divest the governor of the power to appoint the vice-chancellor of RDPR University.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on Thursday defended the government's move and said, "It will make the university more active and quick decisions will be taken...this system is there in many states, including Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh."

 

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Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.

In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”

He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.

Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.

He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.

“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”

Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.

He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.

“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.