Yeddyurappa hits back at Kumaraswamy over toppling bid charge
Bengaluru, June 19: Hitting back at Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy for accusing the BJP of attempting to bribe one of his party MLAs, the saffron party's state chief B S Yeddyurappa Wednesday asked him to name those involved.
If the Chief Minister did not give out the names before levelling such allegations, it would be seen as though he was suspecting his own party MLAs, Yeddyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the Chief Minister was making allegations against the BJP "out of desperation."
"We have said we are not involved in such things...18-20 Congress-JD(S) MLAs are disgruntled, take them into confidence and work unitedly towards the development of the state...
Still 70 per cent of the state has not received any rains, there is severe drought, let's work together, as opposition we will also cooperate, is what we have said," he added.
"Unnecessarily by saying that someone from BJP offered Rs 10 crore to someone in JD(S), why are you bringing down the respect of your own members. What is the benefit from it?" Yeddyurappa asked.
Addressing a public meeting at a village in Ramanagara on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy had said relentless efforts have been made to pull down the government and he knew who have been behind it.
To back his claim,the chief minister said one of the JD(S) MLAs had received a call from a BJP leader on Monday,who said the government's fall was imminent and if he agreed (to switch sides), he would dispatch Rs 10 crore at his location.
Kumaraswamy, who did not reveal any names, said the BJP leader had also claimed that 10 MLAs from the ruling coalition were with them, and the government was going to fall.
After the rout in the Lok Sabha polls, the ruling coalition fears an onslaught by the BJP to destabilise the government by taking advantage of the simmering discontent.
The BJP and Yeddyurappa had earlier predicted the collapse of the coalition after the LS poll results, claiming that 20 odd Congress MLAs were unhappy and may take "a decision" anytime.
However, subsequently allaying fears that BJP was trying to weaken the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka, Yeddyurappa had said central leaders have asked the state unit not to indulge in any activity to "destabilise" the H D Kumaraswamy ministry.
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)
