CID begins probe into 'honeytrap' attempt on Minister Rajanna: MLC Rajendra
Bengaluru, Mar 27 (PTI): Karnataka Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna's son and Congress MLC K N Rajendra on Thursday said officials from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state police have begun a preliminary investigation into the alleged attempts to "honeytrap" his father and had visited his official residence.
He stated that he had met Karnataka DGP and IGP Alok Mohan today to share information regarding an alleged attempt to "murder" him.
"I believe the ('honeytrap' attempts) case has been handed over to the CID. The CID visited the government house (allocated to Rajanna) on Jayamahal Road here and questioned the staff. They have initiated a preliminary inquiry—this is the information I have," Rajendra said.
Speaking to reporters, he said since the DGP had assigned the case to the CID, they began their investigation today: "It is based on the petition submitted to the Home Minister."
On Tuesday, Rajanna had submitted a petition to State Home Minister G Parameshwara, seeking a probe and necessary action regarding the alleged attempts to "honeytrap" him.
Parameshwara stated that the government would examine Rajanna's petition judiciously within the framework of the law and take necessary action after consulting legal experts and discussing it with the Chief Minister.
Last Thursday, Rajanna informed the Assembly that "honeytrap" attempts had been made on him and that at least 48 politicians across parties had fallen victim to such schemes.
Asked whether he had filed a complaint regarding the "honeytrap" case with the DGP, Rajendra clarified that there was no such attempt against him.
He said he had only informed the media about certain phone calls.
"November 16 was my daughter's birthday. A day before, some individuals arrived to set up a 'shamiana'. Allegedly, they had come intending to assault or murder me on a supari (contract). Their attempt was unsuccessful. I learned about it in January after receiving a voice recording from my source," he claimed.
He mentioned that two names—Soma and Bharath—surfaced in the recording, which captured a conversation between two individuals discussing a Rs 5 lakh payment made to their account.
Rajendra said he had recently brought this matter to the attention of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who advised him to gather all relevant information and submit it to the DGP.
"I don't know the two people mentioned in the conversation nor their intentions. I have brought the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister and the Home Minister. I have also submitted the audio recording and all related information to the DG, who advised me to approach the SP (Tumakuru) and file a complaint there, which I will do tomorrow," he added.
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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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