There were issues between Sena and BJP, but resolved now: Uddhav Thackeray
Ahmedabad: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Saturday said although there were differences between his party and the BJP earlier, all the issues have been resolved now.
He also said the two parties had similar goals and their ideologies and hearts were woven together.
Thackeray also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the opposition had no leader that matches his stature.
He was speaking at a rally here ahead of filing of nomination by BJP chief Amit Shah for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.
Apart from Thackeray, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) founder Ram Vilas Paswan were present on the stage.
Thackeray said he took part in the rally to give his best wishes to Shah.
"Many people will raise eyebrows why I am here, many people are happy that I am here, but some have stomach pain due to it," Thackeray said.
"Some people were rejoicing that the two parties with the same ideology are fighting with each other. We had some manmutav (bad feeling) and matbhinnata (difference of opinion). But when Amit Shah came to my house and we sat and held talks, all the issues were resolved," he said.
"We have similar goals. Our ideologies and hearts are woven together. We have come together because Hindutva is what binds us," he added.
"My father (Bal Thackeray) taught us that whatever we do, we should not do it from behind. We had raised people's issues. We have never back-stabbed and never will," he said.
"Shiv Sena and BJP have the same ideology of Hindutva. My father used to say Hindutva is our breath. But if our breath stops how can we survive?" he asked.
Thackeray said whatever happened in the last five years between the Sena and the BJP was past now.
"We should not forget our history of partnership of 25 years that preceded these five years. We were just two parties carrying the saffron flag, nobody was ready to align with us except Badal sahib.
"We were nowhere, but started walking, taking the saffron flag with us. Twenty-five years passed and our dream of hoisting the saffron flag in Delhi was realised. Today, our thinking is one, our ideology is one and our leader is also one," he said.
The Shiv Sena and the BJP were engaged in a bitter war of words in Maharashtra for the last five years of the NDA rule, though they were sharing power both at the Centre and state levels.
Before the 2019 election, there were doubts whether the two parties would join hands or not. However, finally both the saffron parties decided to patch up and fight the elections together.
He said the opposition parties might have joined hands, but the Shiv Sena and the BJP are joined by hearts.
"They have 56 leaders in a rally joining hands. It's good...they should join hands, even if they do not get along well. But Shiv Sena and BJP we are joined by hearts," he said.
"They (opposition) have started pulling each others' legs even before the polls as everyone wants to become the prime minister and I am not sure how long it will go," he said.
He said the opposition has no leader that matches the stature of Modi.
"I would like to ask who their leader is. If they organise a rally, will their supporters shout one name like you people shout," Thackeray said, following which people started shouting 'Modi, Modi'.
"Who is against us (in opposition)?...Nobody in this election. You will only see saffron saffron and saffron," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.”
_vb_22.jpeg)
