NIA books Khalistani terrorist over reward to stop PM Modi from hoisting tricolour on I-Day
New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a new case against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US-based Khalistani terrorist, for offering a reward to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from hoisting the national flag on this year's Independence Day and "spreading disaffection among Sikhs against India", besides other charges.
According to the NIA's FIR, Pannun, who is the general counsel for the banned "Sikhs For Justice" (SFJ) outfit, made the announcement during a "Meet the Press" event at the Lahore Press Club in Pakistan on August 10.
In a video address from Washington, he declared a reward of Rs 11 crore to "Sikh soldiers" who would stop Modi from unfurling the tricolour at the Red Fort in Delhi.
The FIR also notes that at the event, Pannun unveiled a map for a new Khalistan, which he said would include Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and claimed that the SFJ had formed a "Shaheed Jatha" to fight against India.
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"By doing so, he has indulged in activities for disrupting sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India and spreading disaffection among Sikhs against India," the FIR says.
Citing "credible information" and video retrieved from the SFJ's channel on X, it says Pannun announced a reward to prevent Modi from hoisting the tricolour at the Red Fort on August 15.
The FIR, filed recently under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), has named "Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and other unknown persons".
The case was registered following a directive from the Union home ministry.
In its order directing the NIA to probe the issue, the ministry said "Pannun, a designated terrorist and general counsel" of the SFJ, hosted a "Meet the Press" event at the Lahore Press Club on August 10, where he addressed journalists through a video link from Washington, "primarily focussing on the rejection of India's sovereignty over Punjab and the promotion of Khalistan".
In his address, Pannun offered Rs 11 crore to the "Sikh soldiers" who will stop Modi from hoisting the tricolour at the Red Fort on August 15, reads the order part of the agency's FIR.
During the press meet, Pannun also unveiled the SFJ's new "Delhi Banayga Khalistan" referendum map, which incorporates Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi into the "envisioned Khalistan", the FIR says.
The home ministry said "having regard to the gravity of the offence, its national and international ramifications and the need to unearth the larger conspiracy, it is required to be investigated by the National Investigation Agency".
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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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