'Shobha yatra': Security stepped up in Nuh, drones deployed for surveillance
Nuh (Haryana) (PTI): Heavy security arrangements are in place here and in adjoining areas with anti-riot vehicles and drones deployed in view of the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat's call for a 'shobha yatra' on Monday, officials said.
Authorities have denied permission for the yatra.
As a precautionary measure, the Nuh district administration has already ordered the closure of educational institutions and banks on Monday, suspended mobile Internet and bulk SMS services, and imposed prohibitory orders in the communally-sensitive district.
Outsiders have been barred from entering Nuh with security personnel being deployed at all the entry points of the district.
Haryana Police personnel and paramilitary forces have been deployed to keep a strict vigil.
Security has been tightened at inter-state and inter-district borders, they said.
Multiple layers of barricades have been erected by police at various points and all vehicles entering Nuh were thoroughly checked by security personnel. Anti-riot vehicles and drones have also been deployed.
Communal clashes had erupted in Nuh and its adjoining areas after a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession was attacked by a mob on July 31, leading to the death of six people, including two home guards and a cleric.
On August 13, the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat gave a call to resume the Brij Mandal Shobha Yatra in Nuh on August 28 which was disrupted by the communal clashes in July.
The VHP has said the procession will be taken out and asserted that there is no need to obtain permission for such religious events. However, the authorities have denied permission for the yatra.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday had asked devotees to offer prayers at temples in their neighbourhood instead of holding any 'yatra'. Permission has not been granted for the 'yatra', he had also said.
August 28 is the last Monday of the holy month of Shravan.
According to police, 1,900 Haryana Police personnel and 24 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed.
All entry points to Nuh have been sealed and the road leading to the Nalhar temple has also been closed.
Deputy Commissioner of Nuh, Dhirendra Khadgata, has deputed 57 duty magistrates at designated places in the wake of the call for the 'shobha yatra'.
He also appealed to the locals to cooperate with the district administration in maintaining law and order.
Haryana Police chief Shatrujeet Kapur on Saturday had said the administration has denied permission for the yatra due to a meeting of the G20 Sherpa Group, scheduled to be held in Nuh from September 3 to 7, and to maintain law and order in the aftermath of the July 31 violence.
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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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