Zee News anchor Zeenat Siddiqui alleges harrasment, unlawful termination from management
Noida: In a shocking revelation on X platform, a Zee Media employee Zeenat Siddiqui, who was working as an anchor has come forward with allegations of unlawful termination and harassment. She has also written in detail about the disturbing events leading up to her dismissal.
Siddiqui, narrated the sequence of events that happened on the day of her termination. According to her X post, she arrived at the office on a usual Saturday, a day when a significant portion of the staff, including HR personnel, was absent. Upon her arrival, she described experiencing a sense of confinement, with her belongings inspected and her attempts to contact her mother restricted.
She further alleged that she was subjected to verbal abuse and intimidation, culminating in an attempt to coerce her into signing a resignation letter. Refusing to comply, she attempted to leave, only to be forcibly restrained and ultimately terminated from her position. Throughout the ordeal, she claims to have endured emotional distress and physical discomfort, exacerbated by the beginning of her menstrual cycle.
Despite her efforts to seek assistance from HR, she asserts that her pleas were ignored, and she was left to tackle the problems alone. Subsequently, she lodged a formal complaint with the police, detailing the events of the incident. However, as of the time of her post on X, no formal FIR has been filed, prompting concerns over the handling of the case.
Siddiqui's account has sparked outrage and calls for accountability, with demands for a thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct. The incident has reignited discussions surrounding workplace harassment and the efficacy of existing legal frameworks in addressing such grievances.
Siddiqui remains apprehensive about the outcome of her legal battle, citing concerns over potential external influences. In her post she has also requested for sustained support from the public.
ये मेरा UNLAWFUL TERMINATION ORDER जिसे मैं बिना किसी शर्म के आप लोगों के सामने रख रही हूं, अब ये जानिए ये मुझे दिया कैसे गया
— ZEENAT SIDDIQUI (@ZSiddiki) February 8, 2024
मैं रोज़ की तरह ऑफिस गई, दिन शनिवार , जिस दिन 70 प्रतिशत STAFF/HR DEPARTMENT OFFICE नहीं आता ।
((-1-वक्त सुबह 10.20 मिनट, मेरी घेरेबंदी कर ज़बरदस्ती एक… pic.twitter.com/6sEHM5GbOy
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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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