I'm being punished for speaking truth: Suspended Congress MLA R Roshan Baig
Bengaluru, Jun 19: Senior Karnataka legislator R Roshan Baig, who was suspended by the Congress on Tuesday for attacking its state leadership, on Wednesday said he was a "disciplined soldier of the party" and was being punished for speaking the truth.
Asserting that his comments against state Congress leaders were the opinion of the party workers, he said he was in the Indian National Congress headed by Rahul Gandhi and "not in the Siddu (Siddaramaiah) Congress".
"Last night, I got the information that I have been suspended from the party...Is it a crime to speak the truth? What I have said is the truth," Baig said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said he had not criticised Gandhi and that he continued to be a "disciplined soldier of the party".
"My criticism of state leaders is true. Is speaking the truth a crime? They have taken action against me. There are some senior leaders and friends in the party like Ramalinga Reddy, H K Patil, Mallikarjun Kharge and K H Muniyappa. I will meet them and discuss with the party workers on whether to go to Delhi and speak there," he added.
The Congress suspended Baig, a rebel MLA, on Tuesday night with immediate effect, citing his "anti-party" activities.
Hitting out at Karnataka Congress leaders for the party's dismal show in the Lok Sabha polls, Baig had recently held Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah's "arrogance" and KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao's "immaturity" responsible for the "flop show".
He had also called Congress general secretary K C Venugopal a "buffoon".
Baig had dropped hints of quitting the party and appealed to Muslims to "compromise" with the situation on the BJP-led NDA returning to power at the Centre.
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had issued a show-cause notice to the MLA for his conduct, to which he had not responded.
Noting that Gandhi had offered to resign as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president, taking responsibility for the poll defeat, Baig said, "When we criticise here in the state for the party winning only one seat in the Lok Sabha polls, action is being taken."
"Muniyappa, who is a senior Dalit leader in the party, was defeated (in Kolar) openly by those within...no action is being taken against them.
"At Mandya, our party leaders openly met and campaigned for (Independent candidate) Sumalatha...no action against them," he pointed out, claiming that he was being selectively targeted.
Baig said he had ensured a lead for the Congress from his Shivajinagar constituency in the city, while the BJP got ahead in the poll race from the constituencies represented by the KPCC president and the CLP leader respectively.
"What I have said about a few of our state leaders is the opinion of thousands of our karyakartas," he said.
Baig, a seven-time MLA and a former Karnataka minister, has been unhappy with the state Congress leadership over not being included in the coalition cabinet headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
The senior leader said he felt "sorry" for Gandhi and alleged that the Lok Sabha poll campaign in Karnataka was run in such a way that "we were not involved and there was no political management".
"...I have not criticised Rahul Gandhi. He is the Indian National Congress president. I am in the Indian National Congress, not in the Siddu Congress.
"I am a disciplined soldier of the Indian National Congress and was upset about the state of the party in Karnataka. I had said those things after seeing the exit polls, even before the results," he said.
Gundu Rao had Tuesday said Baig's alleged links with IMA Jewels, which is involved in an alleged financial fraud that duped thousands of investors, would also be brought to the notice of the party's central leadership.
State Revenue Minister R V Deshpande had Monday said Baig had introduced the firm's owner, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, to him about two months ago, but denied doing any undue favour to him.
Not willing to comment on the IMA Jewels case, Baig said the matter was before a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
"I will tell the SIT whatever I need to," he said.
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)
