Out of power, Rahul forced to remember soldiers: BJP
New Delhi, Oct 27: Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi after he attacked the government over the OROP issue, the BJP said Saturday the Congress chief has been forced to remember soldiers after being out of power for four and half years.
Bharatiya Janata Party media head and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni said Gandhi was seen "standing with the corrupt" when the Congress-led government was in power between 2004 and 2014, but he did nothing for soldiers.
"It is shameful that Gandhi is criticising the Modi government which implemented the 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) scheme for soldiers while he himself did nothing for them. It is the new kind of low-level politics he has started," he said.
Baluni said though Gandhi was the most powerful man in the 10 years of the UPA rule, he had never uttered a word for soldiers.
The Gandhi family was in power for more than 40 years but executed no welfare measures for soldiers, he alleged.
Rahul Gandhi told a group of ex-servicemen Saturday that a Congress-led government would fulfil all the commitments the party had made on the 'one rank, one pension' issue.
Raking up the Rafale fighter jet deal, he told the group of retired defence personnel that the government handed out Rs 30,000 crore to industrialist Anil Ambani, but refused to meet the demands of the soldiers on OROP.
Taking a dig at the Congress chief, Baluni said,"After being our of power for four and half years and getting no closer to it, Gandhi has begun remembering soldiers."
By executing the OROP, the government has given soldiers their due respect, the BJP leader said.
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Bill to set up single higher education regulator likely to be tabled in Parliament next week
New Delhi (PTI): A Bill which seeks to set up a single regulator for institutions of higher education is required to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing, officials said.
The Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week after it got the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday.
The proposed legislation, which was earlier christened the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
A single higher education regulator, which was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP), looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
"The Bill proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy. It is likely to be introduced (in Parliament) in the coming week," an official said.
While the UGC presently oversees non-technical higher education in the country, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.
The Commission is proposed to be set up as a single higher education regulator, but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit.
It is proposed to have three major roles -- regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards, officials said.
Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, is not proposed to be under the regulator so far. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, they said.
