Yeddyurappa suffers setback in home turf in urban local body poll
Bengaluru: In a setback to state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, the Congress has won majority of wards in his constituency of Shikaripura in Shivamogga district, in the town municipal council poll there for which results were declared Monday.
Of 23 wards in Shikaripura that went to polls Saturday, the Congress has won in 12, the BJP 8 and independents in 3.
The BJP's performance has not been that good in other Uurban Local Bodies (ULB)s of Shivamogga district, considered as its bastion.
In Shiralakoppa town panchayat, the Congress has won in 7 out of 17 wards that went to polls, while the BJP managed 2, the JD(S) 3 and Independents 5.
In Hosanagara town panchayat, of 11 wards, the Congress and BJP managed to win 4 each, the JD(S) 3. In the district's Soraba town panchayat and Sagara municipal council, BJP's performance is somewhat better.
While the BJP won 6 of 12 wards in Soraba, the Congress has won 4, JD(S) and independents have won in one each. In Sagara of 31 wards, the BJP bagged 16, Congress 9, JD(S) 1 andindependents 5.
The Congress and JD(S), which are in alliance in the state, had decided to go to polls separately and had asked its localleadership to decide on any understanding between the partieslocally depending on the prevailing situation there.
Results were declared on Monday for a total 140 wards in Shivamogga and Bengaluru Rural that went to polls Saturday.
Of 140 wards, the Congress is leading by winning 53 wards, the BJP 40, JD(S) 28, BSP 1 and independents 18.
After a rout in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Congressin Karnataka heaved a sigh of relief last week as the party had won the highest number of seats in the May 29 ULB polls, for which the results were declared Friday.
While the Congress won 509 out of total 1,221 wards in 56urban local bodies for which results were declared on Friday, the BJP was victorious in 366 wards; JD(S) that went alone won 174 wards, BSP in 3, CPI(M) 2, others 7 and independents in 160, the state election commission said.
Meanwhile, Pradesh Congress president Dineh Gundu Rao has asked the party's local leadership to go in for a post poll alliance with JD(S) and independents to gain power in local bodies.
Pointing out that the Congress and JD(S) have majority in many local bodies, in a message he has asked his party men to gain power in those local bodies with support of the regionalparty and independents.
"Wherever we have majority, take cooperation of JD(S), wherever JD(S) has majority cooperate with them and where both of us lack majority seek support of independents. At no cost, the BJP should be allowed to join hands with them.
If there are issues that cannot be resolved at local level bring it to to the notice of the KPCC," the message to local leaders read.
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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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