Cong-JD(S) leaders engage in "daily street fight", people need relief: Yeddyurappa
Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa Monday dismissed Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's 'Grama Vastavya' (overnight stay in villages) programme as a "drama" and said people need relief from the "daily street fight" between Congress and JD(S) leaders.
The chief minister is wasting crores of rupees in the name of 'Grama Vastavya', he alleged and claimed that the government spent Rs 1 crore on Kumaraswamy's stay at Chandaraki village in Yadgir district last week as part of the programme.
'Grama Vastavya' is aimed at taking administration to the people.
Internal squabble in the ruling Congress-JD(S)coalition has created an atmosphere that the government may collapse any time, Yeddyurappa claimed, asking Kumaraswamy as to when people would get relief from his administration that has lost direction.
"During his stay at Chandaraki village in Yadgir district last week- just imagine- he (CM) claims to be a simple man and boasted that state's exchequer will be burdened if he travels by a helicopter, Rs 1.22 crore was spent for luxury, food and other things- you (CM) should be ashamed," the BJP leader said
"Preparations are on for the chief minister's Grama Vastavya at Karegudda in Raichur on June 26, here also he will be spending a minimum of Rs 1 crore," Yeddyurappa told reporters, as he hit out at Kumaraswamy for boasting about his simplicity, while "running the administration from a five star hotel."
Kumaraswamy did the first 'Grama Vastavya' at Chandaraki village on Friday, while his stay at Herurvillage in Kalaburagi rural taluk on Saturday was postponed due to heavy rain.
The state BJP Monday released a book "Grama Vastavya - Zero Performance" that lists out the current status of about 42 villages that Kumaraswamy had visited during his first stint as chief minister in 2006-07.
The leader of the opposition also alleged that 'Grama Vastavya' showed that the chief minister is unable to implement the decisions that are taken in the state capital at the local level.
He has lost control over bureaucracy and does not have faith in his district in-charge ministers, Yeddyurappa said.
"At the time when science and technology in the country has progressed, why are you playing the 'Grama-Drama' of solving the issues through Grama Vastavya? Isn't this a publicity gimmick? Will you come out with a white paper about your achievements in previous Grama Vastavya," he asked.
Yeddyurappa hit out at Kumaraswamy for allegedly running the administration from a five-star hotel.
"Mr chief minister, when will people get relief from your administration that has lost direction and from daily street fight of your coalition parties?" he asked.
"Watching and reading about street fighting between Congress-JD(S) leaders, people are cursing. There is loot taking place every day at government departments, still CM is making speeches about developing the state- when is the relief from such illusion?" he said.
To a question, Yeddyurappa said, "Very soon there will be relief (from this government), we will have to wait a bit. Elected representatives have to get that relief. Elected representatives have to respond to concerns of the people, they have to give, who else can give?"
Yeddyurappa after releasing the book, posed questions to the chief minister on a host of issues including farmer suicides, IMA Jewels fraud, government's decision to sell 3,667 acres of land to JSW Steel in Ballari, among others.
"Do you have any answer for 1,500 farmer suicides, when you are running a luxury administration from 5-star hotel? You had promised to waive farmers loan worth Rs 48,000 crore within 24 hours after coming to power, but despite 13 months no loan waiver, also new loans are not available... do people have to believe in you?" he asked.
Yeddyurappa said while there was a situation of drought in the state and scarcity of water and fodder for animals, the chief minister was indulging in the "drama" of Grama Vastavya.
Claiming that the chief minister ate biriyani with Mohammed Mansoor Khan who was behind the alleged IMA Jewels scam in which thousands of people belonging to the minority community were duped, he questioned Kumaraswamy's silence over the demand by those affected and the opposition for a CBI inquiry.
Yeddyurappa also asked Kumaraswamy as to how much "kick-back" he has received, as he pointed at the state cabinet's decision to sell 3,667 acres of land in Ballari to JSW Steel at the "low price" of Rs 1.22 lakh per acre.
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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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