'At least come for my funeral...,' Cong chief Kharge's emotional pitch at rally on home turf
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Apr 24: Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the people of his home district of Kalaburagi, Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday appealed to them to at least attend his funeral if they thought he worked for them even though they do not wish to vote for the party candidate here in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at a poll rally at Afzalpur in this district, the 81-year-old also said that if they (people) did not vote for the Congress candidate, he would think that he did not have "any place" in Kalaburagi anymore.
The Congress has fielded Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani from Kalaburagi, against BJP’s sitting MP Umesh Jadhav.
"If you miss your vote this time (if you don't vote for the Congress candidate), I will think that I don’t have any place here for me and I could not win your heart," said Kharge, who won the Lok Sabha elections here in 2009 and 2014, but lost in 2019.
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"Whether you vote for us (Congress) or not, but at least come to my funeral if you think that I have done for Kalaburagi," the Congress chief said.
He also said that he would continue in politics till his last breath to "defeat" the BJP and RSS ideology.
"I am born for politics. Whether or not I will contest the election, I will strive till my last breath to save the Constitution and democracy of this country. I will not retire from politics," Kharge asserted.
Explaining further, he said retirement happens from a position but one should not retire from his/her principles. "I am born to defeat the ideology of the BJP and RSS and not to surrender before them."
He also advised Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who shared the dais with him, to follow his principles. "I tell Siddaramaiah repeatedly that you may retire as CM or MLA, but you cannot retire from politics till you defeat the ideology of the BJP and RSS."
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Bill to set up single higher education regulator likely to be tabled in Parliament next week
New Delhi (PTI): A Bill which seeks to set up a single regulator for institutions of higher education is required to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing, officials said.
The Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week after it got the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday.
The proposed legislation, which was earlier christened the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
A single higher education regulator, which was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP), looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
"The Bill proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy. It is likely to be introduced (in Parliament) in the coming week," an official said.
While the UGC presently oversees non-technical higher education in the country, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.
The Commission is proposed to be set up as a single higher education regulator, but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit.
It is proposed to have three major roles -- regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards, officials said.
Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, is not proposed to be under the regulator so far. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, they said.
