"Coalition govt in coma; doubtful if CM Kumaraswamy will present budget": R. Ashok
Bengaluru, Feb 2: BJP in Karnataka today took a dig at the constant squabbling between ruling Congress-JD(S), saying it was in a 'coma' and expressed doubts whether Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy would even present the state's second budget on February 8.
Senior party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister claimed that 20 to 25 disgruntled MLAs of the alliance were out of the reach of their leaders and the coalition government was in a 'coma'.
He referred to Kumaraswamy's reported statement at a JD(S) legislature party meeting that he was not a chief minister for the last seven months, but 'just a clerk'.
"Whether he will present the budget or not, it is a doubt for us," he said.
He reiterated that the BJP would not make any attempts to topple the government and asked both parties not to blame the saffron party for not being able to control their MLAs.
"About 20-25 Congress-JD(S) MLAs not having trust in their party have been roaming around, away from the reach of their party leaders because of antagonism towards Congress, JD(S) and the Chief Minister- they are not in touch with them.
"Congress-JD(S) are trying to blame BJP for it, it is not right. If you don't have the mettle to control your MLAs, why do you blame BJP? you don't have the moral right to tell they (MLAs) have gone with BJP," he told reporters here.
Ashoka also said there was also 'confusion' within the coalition on contesting the polls together.
His statement gains significance in the backdrop of political turmoil in the state last month following alleged attempts by BJP to topple the H D Kumaraswamy led coalition government by poaching few Congress MLAs, who reportedly went incommunicado from the party leadership, and were camped at a hotel in Mumbai with plans to jump ship to the saffron party.
The developments had led to resort politics, with the Congress herding its MLAs to a resort outside the city, and BJP too camping its MLAs at a hotel in Gurugram fearing counter attempts by the ruling alliance to poach its members.
Four Congress MLAs had remained absent from the all important Legislature Party meeting that was seen as a show of strength amid alleged poaching attempts by the BJP.
All the four were served with notices, seeking an explanation on why action should not be taken against them as per anti-defection law.
On reports that some of these MLAs would resign ahead of the joint legislature session on February 6 and whether BJP would utilise the opportunity, he said the legislators would so if they wanted, but it only pointed to the 'confusion' in the ruling coalition.
Asked whether the BJP would approach the Governor, requesting him to ask the government to prove its majority, he said "We are not political sanyasis, we have also come to do politics."
Claiming that BJP's strength in the assembly has increased from 104 to 106 with the support of two independents, he said those without public support were now running the government.
"The person with 38 MLAs has become Chief Minister, this is anti-democratic, so we are not sanyasis... when the situation arises, we will utilise it hundred per cent."
On whether BJP would support Sumalatha Ambareesh,wife of late actor Ambareesh if she decided to contest as an independent from Mandya, Ashoka said the party would take a decision as and when the situation arises.
He said the BJP would talk to her if required, as the party too wanted to field right candidate in Mandya.
"Let's see....in politics nothing is stagnant, changes keep happening..whether this alliance will be there or not...
whether this government will be there or not, no one knows.
Even astrologers don't know, public also don't know, BJP also doesn't know," he added.
BJP's strength in Mandya is negligible, and there is no clarity yet among the alliance partners over which party will contest from the seat, which both consider their bastion.
According to sources, both parties want to field Sumalatha, banking on her late husband Ambareesh’s popularity in the region and sympathy wave following his death recently.
Sumalatha, herself a popular actress, has stated that she will need time to decide about entering politics. "I had no interest in politics earlier, but if I decide to enter politics it will only be from Mandya," she has declared.
Ambareesh had represented Mandya both in Assembly and Parliament from Congress. He had also served as Minister in both state and central government.
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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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