Jaitley targets Congress over Kumaraswamy breaking down
New Delhi, July 16 : Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday targeted the Congress over Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy breaking down at a public event, saying the party believed that "only members of one family can rule India" and that others should be pushed to weeping publicly.
Jaitley's remark came in a facebook post: "Is the Karnataka a preview of what the Congress and the Federal Front promise for the future?" Jaitley said the country is keenly watching Karnataka where the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular joined hands post-elections to form a government in May.
"It is a repeat of what the Congress did to Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandra Shekhar, H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. It is the obvious consequence of a non-ideological opportunistic alliance (working) with no positive agenda. The basis of the negative agenda is 'keep Modi out'," Jaitley said.
He said people had, in the last few days, seen Kumaraswamy pouring out his emotions with tears, declining to accept bouquets and garlands.
Kumaraswamy broke down at a public event on Saturday stating that he was "not happy" holding the top post and that he was swallowing the pain like 'Vishakantha' (Lord Shiva), who drank poison.
Jailtley said non-ideological opportunistic coalitions always get trapped within their own contradictions and their only objective remains survival and not service of the nation.
"Their longevity is suspect. If a Prime Minister of such a coalition has to weep before cameras with a wish to exit from office, it will be a scenario worse than the policy paralysis of UPA II. The Congress firmly believes that only members of one family can rule India. If anybody else gets a chance, he should be pushed to the desperation of throwing his hands up and weeping publicly," he said.
Jaitley said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly demonstrated the advantages of a decisive leadership.
"India's Prime Minister and his government have to overcome the challenges that India faces today. He cannot be seen like the Chief Minister of Karnataka as a tragedy king. If such a coalition is a cup of poison, why even dream of inflicting it on the nation?" he said.
Jaitley cited parts of Kumarswamy's speech and said it reminded him of tragedy-era Hindi films.
He said India needs a sustained high-trajectory growth, cohesive government and a decisive political leadership to face global challenges, including terrorism.
The minister said the country needs a government which is able to resist unfair pressures of allies and regions.
"If fighting terror has to be compromised because of vote-bank pressures of allies, then such a government would be a liability. Can a leadership unsure of itself meet the challenge of eliminating poverty and transforming the world's fastest growing economy into a developed nation?" he asked.
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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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