Bengaluru, Jan 14: The Karnataka government on Friday announced doubling the salary of guest lecturers in state-run colleges.

The decision was taken on the basis of a report submitted by the government-constituted three-member committee, and it will benefit thousands of guest lecturers working in government first-grade colleges.

Praising Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for personally taking interest in addressing the demands of guest lecturers, Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayanan said four types of classifications have been formulated to fix the salaries.

Earlier, the guest lecturers were paid a salary of Rs 13,000 per month for those with UGC-prescribed eligibility and Rs 11,000 per month for those who did not meet it. Now, the salaries have been increased to a minimum of Rs 26,000 per month and a maximum of Rs 32,000 per month.

It has been decided to pay the salaries before the 10th of every month, and to appoint them on an academic year basis (10 months duration) instead of semester basis as had prevailed earlier.

"As UGC-prescribed eligibility conditions will be made mandatory for recruiting guest faculty in the coming years, a three-year time has been set for guest lecturers to clear the required tests/examinations, Narayanan said.

It has been also decided to give weightage to seniority of service while appointing the guest lecturers. To ensure this, a selection list will be prepared based on the existing parameters of the department, it was stated.

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Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.

In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.

Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.

Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.

According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.

He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.

He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.

Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.

He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.

Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.

He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.