Congress says PM should talk to farmers; Rahul Gandhi hits out at govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that a soldier was pitted against an old farmer due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "arrogance".
The Congress also said it would have been better if the prime minister talked to the protesting farmers instead of getting "himself photographed in corporate offices".
"This is a very sad photo. Our slogan was 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan', but today a soldier is standing against the farmer due to PM Modi's arrogance. This is very dangerous," he said in a tweet in Hindi along with the picture of a soldier showing a baton to an old farmer.
The former Congress chief justified the farmer agitation saying raising voice against injustice is a duty and not a crime.
He said by booking the farmers in fake FIRs, the Modi government cannot deter their strong resolve against the new farm laws.
"Raising voice against injustice is a duty, not a crime. The Modi government cannot change the strong resolve of farmers by booking them in fake FIRs with the help of the police. This fight will continue till the anti-agriculture black laws are withdrawn. For us, 'Jai Kisan' was, is and will continue to remain," he said in another tweet in Hindi.
Farmers from Punjab and Haryana continued their protests against the new farm laws, with many of them blocking traffic on the national highway after the police stopped them from their 'Chalo Delhi' march.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused Modi of getting pictures clicked in corporate offices while farmers are protesting on Delhi roads.
"Wish the PM talks to farmers on the road instead of flying in the aircraft," he said in a tweet, after Modi visited a company in Ahmedabad which is engaged in the COVID-19 vaccine research.
Another spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi claimed whoever protests against the Modi government is "deemed a terrorist".
"Poor farmers from Punjab pointing out genuine grievances have been labelled khalistani. Why doesn't Modi come out and address the Annadata however, only demands of them during elections," he tweeted.
Party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also tweeted similar pictures of farmers being prevented by the police from marching towards Delhi, where they wish to hold a protest against the new farm laws.
She said it is right if the government frames laws against farmers, but it is wrong when farmers wish to make their voice heard in Delhi.
"Look at the state of affairs in the BJP government. When super rich friends of the BJP come to Delhi, a red carpet is laid to welcome them, but the roads are being dug up when farmers wish to enter Delhi," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
Thousands of farmers protesting the Centre's new agri laws stayed put at the Singhu and Tikri border points for the third consecutive day on Saturday amid heavy police presence even after being offered a north Delhi ground to hold peaceful demonstrations.
Numbers swelled at the Singhu border point as farmers gathered there were joined by more counterparts from Punjab and Haryana and they refused to move towards the Sant Nirankari Ground, one of the biggest in the national capital.
बड़ी ही दुखद फ़ोटो है। हमारा नारा तो ‘जय जवान जय किसान’ का था लेकिन आज PM मोदी के अहंकार ने जवान को किसान के ख़िलाफ़ खड़ा कर दिया।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 28, 2020
यह बहुत ख़तरनाक है। pic.twitter.com/1pArTEECsU
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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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