Congress hits back at BJP for questioning delay in deciding Karnataka CM
New Delhi, May 17: The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the BJP for criticising it over the delay in deciding the chief minister of Karnataka, and cited examples when the saffron party declared its chief ministers in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Assam several days after winning the polls.
AICC general secretary in-charge for Karnataka Randeep Surjewala said that a section of the media has fallen victim to the "fake news factory of BJP on formation of next Congress government in Karnataka", asking whether they had questioned the prime minister the same way when he took seven to 10 days in deciding on chief ministers in several states.
"We understand the frustration of BJP in being decisively rejected by the brother and sisters of Karnataka bringing an end to the #40PercentBJPSarkara.
"I hope same people had questioned PM Modi when he took 7 to 10 days in deciding chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Goa and many other States. No one then whispered a word on the High Command culture. But the same forces and a select news outlets have objections to the process of dialogue, discussion, consensus adopted by Sh. Mallikarjun Kharge ji, which is in true democratic traditions," Surjewala said on Twitter.
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He also said that he has advised all Congress leaders to not issue statements on the issue of leadership. "Any out of turn remarks made from here onwards will be treated as indiscipline and action taken accordingly," Surjewala said.
Earlier, AICC general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, "Just to refresh memories of PM's drum-beaters especially. 2017 UP Vidhan Sabha election results out on March 11th. Yogi appointed CM 8 days later on March 19th.
2021 Assam Vidhan Sabha election results out on May 3rd. Himanta Biswa Sarma became CM 7 days later on May 10th."
"There are many more such examples," he said.
Several BJP leaders are criticising the Congress for the delay in deciding on the chief minister's name in Karnataka amid hectic lobbying for the top post.
The results in Karnataka were declared on May 13 but the party has not finalised its chief ministerial face yet and the process of consultations is on.
Karnataka's two chief ministerial aspirants Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar held separate meetings with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday as the party held hectic consultations to decide on who would lead the government in the southern state.
BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said a sorry state of affairs prevails in the Congress where Kharge sees himself more as a "postman".
"Want to watch circus? Watch the Congress select their CM in Karnataka," he said on Twitter.
Referring to the lobbying by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the post of chief minister, Malviya said, "The BJP also holds discussions and deliberations to elect its CMs and has often ensured smooth transition of power, even between CMs. Despite elaborate consultations, you will never find BJP aspirants falling over each other, rallying supporters and issuing veiled threats to the party through the media."
"On the contrary, last evening, Lutyens journalists, who D K Shivakumar hosted at the Claridges, almost appointed Siddaramaiah as the Karnataka CM. Sorry state of affairs in the Congress, where President Kharge sees himself more as a postman, let alone being a decision maker or even part of the decision making team... He keeps referring to some High Command," he added.
A section of our dear friends of the media have fallen victim to the ‘fake news factory’ of BJP on formation of next Congress Government in Karnataka.
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 17, 2023
We understand the frustration of BJP in being decisively rejected by the brother and sisters of Karnataka bringing an end to…
Just to refresh memories of PM's drum-beaters especially.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 17, 2023
2017 UP Vidhan Sabha election results out on March 11th. Yogi appointed CM 8 days later on March 19th.
2021 Assam Vidhan Sabha election results out on May 3rd. Himanta Biswa Sarma became CM 7 days later on May 10th.…
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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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