Let Billava candidate get opportunity in Lok Sabha elections: Vasantha Bangera
Interview : Shibi Dharmasthala
Former MLA of Belthangady, DK district’s senior Congress leader K.Vasantha Bangera shared his views with Varatha Bharti regarding various issues like the political developments taking place in the district, the party's defeat in the previous election and the party's preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
What is the reason for the Congress’ defeat in the previous election?
Bangera : The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had planned great pro-public programs, and even they have reached to people. A government with such good programmes has never come in the past.
But, the party ‘s MLAs and office bearers have failed in educating people that they implemented these all people friendly projects. Following which, people were forced to believe the BJP's propaganda. This is the most important reason for the Congress’ defeat.
Congress supporters from the backward classes seem to have gone far from the party in the last election. What do you say about this?
Bangera: The backward communities were always with the Congress Party in the DK district. The party made schemes on behalf of them. But the district in-charge minister and a few others have failed in effectively implementing such projects. The Congress government has been unable to aware people against the BJP’s misconduct it is doing in the name of safeguarding Hindus and by telling that the Congress is attracting Muslims. Even the communities which were supporting Congress earlier had been left out of the party. But this is not the permanent thing. People now know the truth. The people of the district will again turn towards the Congress.
Who could be the party candidate for upcoming election, you too a ticket aspirant?
Bangera: Neither I am an aspirant for Lok Sabha ticket, nor I have any intention to contest the election. I will work on behalf of the party candidate. Party has not decided its candidate yet. Already three to four aspirants are there in the party. Party will choose a candidate after surveying the district’s situations. Janardhan Poojary, who comes from Billava Community, has contested the Lok Sabha polls.
If the Billava community, which is the largest community in the district, is given opportunity in future too; it is possible that the voters of that community would again support Congress. Party has to consider this. It needs to keep track of the aspirations of the people in the district and continue.
Are you satisfied with the activities of the coalition government?
Bangera: The coalition government is continuing all the projects taken by the erstwhile Siddaramaiah government. Besides, special programmes like farmers’ loan waiver have been taken up. Such benefits reach people directly. The government will smoothly continue its journey as both the parties are moving further by cooperating with each other.
How is the preparation for the upcoming election?
Bangera: The previous election has taught many lessons to the party. By keeping these things in mind, preparations for the next election must be started. Significantly, we have to face the malicious campaigns of the BJP by giving befitting replies to them. People must be made aware of the achievements of the government. If the former MLAs and party functionaries work together, the Congress will have the opportunity to win the Lok Sabha constituency again. The preparations have already begun for that.
What programmes have been planned to bring back the communities which have maintained distance from the party?
Bangera: The backward and underprivileged communities in the district are not distant from the Congress. Due to the propaganda, it could have been a bit complicated in the last election. The Congress has always worked on behalf of these people. It is true that the injustice meted out to backward classes in the previous election. Congress must give more opportunities to them in the future.
Only then the party can get their confidence back. This can be done in the next election. For that, party leaders need to go to the people. All people must be taken into confidence and proceed.
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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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