Nayab Singh Saini govt in 'minority', Haryana Cong tells governor; seeks dissolution of Assembly
Chandigarh, Jun 21: A delegation of the Haryana Congress met Governor Bandaru Dattatreya here on Thursday, claiming the Nayab Singh Saini's BJP government is in the "minority" and demanding dissolution of the Assembly as well as holding fresh polls.
A party delegation headed by Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda met the governor at the Raj Bhavan here in the evening and submitted a memorandum to him.
Later interacting with reporters, Hooda said, "The government does not have the moral right to stay in power... We have demanded that the House should be dissolved and fresh elections should be held."
In the memorandum to Dattatreya, the opposition party claimed the present government lacks a majority in the House "unless it indulges in horse-trading or use of unconstitutional means".
"Therefore, as the protector of the Constitution, His Excellency the Governor should immediately dismiss the minority government and impose President's rule in the state," the memorandum stated.
"To stop horse trading, which will bring a bad name to the state, the assembly should be dissolved. This is what we have urged (the governor)," Hooda told reporters.
He said in the 90-member Assembly, which currently has an effective strength of 87, BJP has 41 MLAs and has the support of the lone legislator of the Haryana Lokhit Party and Independent member Nayan Pal Rawat.
The total number of MLAs supporting the government is only 43. Whereas at present the number of MLAs in the House is 87 and the majority figure is 44, Hooda said.
Replying to a question, Hooda also stated that Kiran Choudhry, the MLA from Tosham, who switched over to BJP from the Congress, has not resigned as assembly member. So the current strength of the Assembly as of now is 87, he said.
"This makes it amply clear that the present government is in the minority. According to the Constitution and democratic norms, the BJP has no right to continue in the government. To avoid horse trading and ensure the survival of democracy, this minority government of the BJP should be dismissed immediately," the memorandum stated.
"We earnestly request you to discharge your constitutional obligation and dismiss this minority government immediately and impose President's rule in the state to maintain the sanctity and purity of democracy in the state.
"Fresh elections to the assembly should be held to enable people to elect a popular government in the state in accordance with law," the memorandum to the Haryana governor read.
The governor has assured the delegation that he would consider the memorandum, the former Haryana chief minister said.
"We are adopting constitutional means. The governor is the constitutional head and we will wait for his decision," Hooda said in reply to a reporter's question.
On May 10, the Congress submitted a memorandum to the governor demanding the dismissal of the "minority" BJP government in the state and order fresh elections under the President's rule.
Last month, three Independent MLAs -- Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Singh Gollen and Dharampal Gonder -- withdrew support to the ruling BJP in Haryana and announced that they would back the Congress. After that, the Congress delegation met the governor last month claiming that the government was in the "minority".
When asked that state BJP leaders have countered that the Saini government was not in the minority as it had won the trust vote in March and the opposition should parade its MLAs before the governor if they think they have the numbers, Hooda quipped, "It is the government which has to make clear that numbers are on their side."
To another question, Hooda said, "Till the time Kiran Choudhry does not resign or the Speaker does not take any decision (on Haryana Congress' plea seeking her disqualification after she joined the BJP), the strength of Assembly will remain 87."
Hooda was also asked if the Congress would field a candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat held by Deepender Singh Hooda that fell vacant after his election to the Lok Sabha seat from Rohtak.
To this, he said the Congress does not have adequate numbers. If there is a consensus in the opposition, then it might be thought of, Hooda said, adding it was too early to comment on the matter.
Asked if Kiran Choudhry quitting the party would have an impact, the leader of the opposition said the Congress is strong and if anyone sees their future somewhere else, it is up to them.
About Kiran Choudhry and senior Congress leader Kumari Selja having raised questions on ticket distribution on some Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, the former chief minister said, "Ticket distribution is the party's decision. I did not distribute the tickets. Moreover, if anything has to be said, these things should be said before the high command."
As far as Kiran Choudhry's joining the BJP is concerned, State Congress chief Udai Bhan quipped, "Former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar himself has made a big disclosure about it. At her joining event (in Delhi), he said that for a long time, Kiran Choudhry's heart was in the BJP, only her body was in the Congress."
आज चंडीगढ़ में कांग्रेस के प्रतिनिधिमंडल ने हरियाणा के महामहिम राज्यपाल को ज्ञापन सौंपकर विधान सभा भंग करके राष्ट्रपति शासन लागू करने और जल्द चुनाव के निर्देश देने की मांग दोहराई।
— Bhupinder S Hooda (@BhupinderShooda) June 20, 2024
हरियाणा विधान सभा में बीजेपी सरकार के पास बहुमत नहीं है। इसलिए अल्पमत सरकार को नैतिकता के आधार पर… pic.twitter.com/YjzgoWVv0D
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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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