CM Bommai defends NEP, says nothing wrong if it's RSS agenda
Bengaluru, Sep 24: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly witnessed pandemonium on Friday, the last day of the monsoon session, regarding the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) in the State with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accepting the Congress's charge calling it RSS or Nagpur Education Policy.
The House saw chaotic scenes with Congress members trooping into the well of the House about an hour before its adjournment, first demanding extending the session and then targeting the government for implementation of NEP without discussion and calling it an RSS agenda.
The ruling BJP, defending the NEP, hit back at the Congress by stating that the NEP was not Italy's or Rome's education policy or Macaulay's education policy which the Grand Old Party wants. This resulted in a heated exchange between the Opposition and Treasury benches following which Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri adjourned the House sine die.
Making his case for extending the session, Siddaramaiah said, "NEP is a matter of the future of this country, it has to be discussed....our president (State Congress chief D K Shivakumar) has called it Nagpur Education Policy."
Then, Shivakumar, too, who was in the House, said, the "Nagpur" Education Policy has to be discussed.
Agitated by this, some BJP MLAs, including C T Ravi, retorted by shouting: "Yes....but it is not Rome or Italy education policy."
Continuing his attack on the NEP, Siddaramaiah further said it was an RSS agenda, so it should not be implemented for any reason. It is being implemented in the State without proper discussion with stakeholders.
The Speaker, intervening, sought to know what's wrong with RSS or Nagpur agenda, if it is good for students and the country.
Responding to this, Siddaramaiah said, "RSS may be your background." To this, Kageri replied "I'm still RSS..."
Intervening, Chief Minister said, "Nation, Nationalism and RSS is nothing but one. RSS means nationalism. There is nothing wrong if National Education Policy is an RSS agenda, what is good for the country, its children are important. The NEP is to prepare our children for the 21 st century, and to the global standards."
Stating that the country doesn't want Macaulay's education policy brought in by the English, he said,"It has been detrimental to our country and has not given enough opportunity for our children, especially from rural areas, to compete at the global-level."
An enraged Siddaramaiah then said, "This is nothing but authoritarianism, Hitler (rule), it is RSS education policy."
Hitting back, Bommai said, "Let them (Congress) call it RSS Education Policy, we are not bothered by it, we, in fact, accept it. Yes, it is the RSS education policy....nationalism and RSS are the same."
He said the NEP has been discussed and deliberated for three years under the leadership of eminent personalities like Dr K Kasturirangan and it is to bring in change for the good of the children of this country.
"NEP is a policy prepared by Indians, for Indians and for the children of India. Their (Congress) party people are foreigners, so theirs is Macaulay's education policy, they want foreign education policy. The Congress's education policy is slavery, our stand is for the country's self-esteem," the Chief Minister added.
Amid chaos in the Assembly with members of both sides shouting slogans against each other, the Speaker asked heads of various committees to lay the reports before the House.
After this, he asked the Health Minister K Sudhakar to reply to the discussion on COVID-19 second wave initiated by the Siddaramaiah on Thursday.
However, slogans like "Modi sarkar chor hai", "Chowkidaar chor hai", "RSS's puppet government" "Don't want NEP" reverberated in the House, which saw slogans like "Italy Congress" "Slave Congress" from BJP members.
As sloganeering continued, Sudhakar, after trying to present his reply, said he was tabling it and should be considered as read, as he blamed Congress for not wanting to listen to the reply after raising the issue and said the party was indulging in a hit and run.
Blaming the Congress for the poor state of health infrastructure, which has seen remarkable progress only after BJP came to power, he said, "We have managed COVID efficiently, so they (Congress) don't have the courage to listen to the answer."
As the chaos continued, the Speaker read out the summary of the 10-day-long session that had begun on September 13 and said 19 Bills were passed during the session during which more than 90 per cent of the business has been transacted.
Thanking members for smooth conduct of the Assembly other than protests and chaos at the fag end of the session today, the Speaker adjournd the House sine die.
Noting that Congress had decided not to go to the well of the House and protest during the session, Siddaramaiah had earlier said the problem that has emerged now is many MLAs are not getting a reply to the issues they have raised.
"I have requested the Chief Minister and the Speaker to extend the session by a week because the Assembly has met after a gap of six months and there are a lot of issues to be discussed. You have finished all your government business, but the issues faced by the people have not been discussed yet," he said.
Further stating that he wants to have a discussion on issues like NEP as colleges are re-opening from October 1, and the State government has decided to implement the policy here before any other State without proper consultation, he asked where is the time to discuss all issues?
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EC role, Hindu vote consolidation among factors for BJP win in Bengal polls: J-K CM Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday attributed the BJP's West Bengal win to a "significant role" played by the Election Commission (EC), alongside a consolidation of Hindu votes and a fractured minority mandate.
Abdullah also said the INDIA bloc needs to define its role in the political landscape of the country and make it clear whether the opposition alliance was limited to the parliamentary elections or extended to the state elections as well.
Talking to PTI Videos, Abdullah hinted that the EC has compromised its neutrality by conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and linked it to the BJP's gains in the state, claiming large-scale deletion of legitimate voters.
On the performance of the BJP in the just concluded assembly elections, Abdullah said the saffron party has almost nothing to show in southern states.
"So then you look at West Bengal and Assam. Yes, the BJP improved its tally in Assam. There are various reasons for that. You know as well as I do, what those are. West Bengal, I think we need to look at the results very carefully," he said.
"The easiest explanation for the West Bengal result is the serious curtailing of voter list," Abdullah said.
"Voters found their names deleted. People who served in uniform and fought for this country on the borders, who were considered Indian citizens all their lives, were suddenly held to a higher standard and not allowed to vote. Something is not right," he said.
While alleging that the EC played a "significant part" in the results, the chief minister admitted the outcome was multifaceted and noted a consolidation of over 60 per cent of the Hindu vote towards the BJP and a "significant fracture" in the minority vote, particularly in seats where Muslims constitute over 50 per cent of the population.
"There is no doubt that the role of the Election Commission played a significant part in the results but we will also have to look at the other factors," he said.
He said the results of West Bengal cannot be compared to those in other states. "The situation was unique to West Bengal. The SIR that was done, the way in which the voter lists were changed, the sort of minute scrutiny that the Election Commission subjected West Bengal to, the role of the central investigative agencies.
"All of these are situations that at least in recent electoral history of India are unique to West Bengal. So to suggest that we can learn lessons from West Bengal and implement them in other parts of the country, I think would not be correct," he said.
Abdullah had recently said that if the West Bengal results throw a surprise, the role of EC will come under scrutiny.
However, during Tuesday's interview, the chief minister said he still maintains that electronic voting machines (EVMs) do not lead to vote theft.
"What we saw in West Bengal...I know there are a lot of people who believe that the EVMs themselves are flawed. I am not a proponent of that conspiracy theory.
"But I do believe that the Election Commission has done itself no favours in the way in which it has gone about both the process of delimitation and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls," he said and cited the example of delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir or Assam.
"These are clear examples of how the process was done to benefit one party or in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, one party and its allies. And the results speak for themselves. You created seven new seats in Jammu and Kashmir and out of those six seats were won by the BJP. You redrew assembly constituencies to benefit one particular party or its allies. And the same is true for West Bengal as well," he said.
Referring to the INIDA bloc, he said the election results were no new message for the alliance.
"We need to decide what the INDIA bloc is for. Is it only for Parliament or for state elections as well?" he asked.
"What happened in West Bengal is unfortunate. The Congress and TMC fought against each other. Now the Congress agrees with Mamata Banerjee that 100 seats were stolen, but the fact is they fought each other," he said.
Despite the friction, Abdullah reaffirmed the "pre-eminent position" of the Congress within the opposition alliance, dismissing the idea of any other party assuming the mantle.
"The Congress is the only party other than the BJP with a pan-India presence. All of us acknowledge this," he stated.
"To suggest someone else can assume a leadership role would be incorrect. Kharge Sahib is the president of the Congress, and by virtue of that, he assumes leadership of the INDIA bloc meetings. That is the way it should be," the chief minister said.
Abdullah said any 'Common Minimum Programme' would depend on whether the opposition alliance decides to fight state assembly elections collectively, noting that he would share his specific views with the bloc internally rather than through the media.
