I am not afraid, will continue speaking the truth: Tejashwi on FIR lodged in Maharashtra
Katihar (PTI): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday asserted that he was "not afraid" of an FIR lodged in BJP-ruled Maharashtra, over his social media post about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and he will "continue to speak the truth".
Yadav has been booked in Gadchiroli district for a post on his X handle, ahead of the PM's tour of Bihar on Friday, in which he had alleged that Modi's promises to the people were a "jumla" (rhetoric).
When approached by PTI video for comments, the young leader shot back, "Who is afraid of an FIR? Is jumla an objectionable word? I was simply telling the truth. And I will continue to do so. They may lodge as many cases against me as they please."
The former Bihar deputy CM spoke while touring fish markets and makhana fields in the north Bihar district of Katihar, along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is touring the state as part of the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'.
Gandhi was seen chatting with fishermen and cultivators of makhana (fox nuts) and listening to their problems, in the presence of a number of leaders, including Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, whose Purnea Lok Sabha constituency covers a part of Katihar.
A popular snack which is also used in religious functions and to prepare desserts, makhana has been in the spotlight ever since the Union budget presented earlier this year announced the setting up of a 'makhana board' to give a boost to its production.
The PM has also been giving a push to the north Bihar produce by claiming that he loves to snack on the "super food".
In his address during the inauguration function of the Khelo India tournament, held in Bihar earlier this year, Modi had asked athletes from across the country to make sure that they enjoyed makhana during their stay.
The day's Yatra is scheduled to conclude at Purnea town, around 30 km away.
Yadav's close aide and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Yadav fulminated against the BJP over the FIR against the leader of the opposition in the assembly.
He said, "What is the point in lodging FIRs in far-off states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Assam? The BJP shares power in Bihar, too. If they have the guts, let them lodge an FIR here. I also challenge all BJP MLAs across the country to lodge FIRs against our leader."
Notably, the FIR at Gadchiroli is said to have been filed following a complaint by local BJP MLA Milind Narote.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Yadav, who is also taking part in the Yatra, dubbed the FIR as an instance of "political vendetta".
The former Bihar Congress president added, "The BJP should know that we belong to a political lineage which fought the British without getting cowed down. We are not the ones to be intimidated by the likes of Modi and Amit Shah."
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)
