Have received thousands of letters from people offering me houses, says Rahul Gandhi
Vijayapura, Apr 23: A day after vacating his official bungalow in New Delhi following the Lok Sabha disqualification, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a swipe at the ruling BJP saying it has done a good thing by taking back the house, as he has received thousands of letters from people inviting him to theirs.
The former AICC President said his house is in the hearts of the people and that he doesn't want any home.
Asserting that Congress is against BJP and RSS' ideology which "believes in spreading hate and violence", he said his party will fight it without any fear, and ensure its defeat.
"BJP has put several cases on me, they have removed me from the Parliament, they have taken away my house, but thousands of people wrote letters to me saying Rahul ji- come to our house. My house is in your (people's) hearts. I don't want any house. They have done good by taking the house," Gandhi said.
Stating that in the case he has been accused of using wrong words against OBCs, he said, "first of all I don't use wrong words against anyone. I respect every citizen of Hindustan. As I say, (I have) opened the shop of love in the market of hate."
Gandhi vacated his official bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi on Saturday and shifted to his mother Sonia Gandhi's residence, weeks after losing his Lok Sabha membership following his conviction in a defamation case.
Last month, he was sentenced to two years in jail by a court in Gujarat's Surat in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "why all thieves have the Modi surname" remark. A day later, he was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Gandhi was addressing a public meeting here after holding a massive road show, ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka.
Invoking 12th century social reformer Basavanna on his birth anniversary, Gandhi claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ruling BJP leaders only spoke about the Lingayat philosopher in their speeches but didn't follow his teachings.
Calling the BJP government in Karnataka the "most corrupt in the country", he said Congress would win 150 seats out of the total 224 in the polls in the state, while the "40 per cent BJP government" would get only 40 seats.
"Basavanna had said don't fear, speak out truth. If we see today, there is BJP and RSS' ideology which is creating an atmosphere of hatred and violence in the country. Prime Minister and BJP leaders speak about Basavanna, but don't follow his teachings," Gandhi said.
He said Basavanna had spoken about helping the weaker sections of society, he did not say "help the billionaires".
"I have read about Basavanna's teachings. He has nowhere written that get the country's wealth to Adani. I spoke in Parliament, I asked the Prime Minister as to what was his relationship with Adani. The country's entire wealth, ports and airports are being given to Adani; what's your relationship," he said.
Claiming that his microphone was first switched off in the Lok Sabha for asking those questions, Gandhi said his speech was then removed from the House records, and at the end he himself was removed from the Lok Sabha.
"They think that the truth can only be spoken in Lok Sabha, but it can be spoken anywhere, even here," he said.
AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, Karnataka Congress campaign committee chief M B Patil and KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi, were among those present.
Earlier on Sunday, Gandhi began his two-day visit to the poll-bound southern state from Kudala Sangama, where he offered obeisance to Basaveshwara, also known as Basavanna, on his birth anniversary which is celebrated as Basava Jayanti. Basavanna is the founder of the Lingayat sect.
This visit of Gandhi is seen as an attempt by the Congress to bolster the Lingayat outreach ahead of the polls in an attempt to woo the dominant community. Lingayats constitute about 17 per cent of the State's population and are largely seen as the ruling BJP's vote base.
Highlighting Congress' 'guarantees', including 200 units of free power to all households and Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family if voted to power, Gandhi said they are based on Basavanna's thinking.
"I have read Basavanna's thoughts, I searched whether there is any reference to 40 per cent commission, to find whether there is any reference to looting the people, but didn't find it anywhere. The BJP government in Karnataka is the most corrupt in the country, they take 40 percent commission in whatever they do," he claimed, as he hit out at PM Modi for his "inaction against corruption charges against his party leaders and government".
He said while the PM claims he was against corruption, he, however, does not look towards his left and right. Gandhi asked Modi to please look at "who is standing next to you--they are the ones who took 40 per cent commission, using the same money they ensured that the MLAs defected which led to the fall of the coalition government" in 2019.
Reminding people that they had not elected the BJP government to power, he alleged, "this is the government of thieveries, this is 40 per cent commission government, they had formed the government after stealing the MLAs."
"Prime Minister please tell the people, as to from where the money came to buy the MLAs. MLAs were brought in Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and North East, from where did the money come? The money looted from people through corruption is used to buy MLAs."
When Congress comes to power, they will not be able to buy MLAs, as it will get 150 seats, and the BJP which is used to the habit of 40 per cent commission will get only 40 seats, he added.
Gandhi also urged the Prime Minister to make the UPA government initiated caste census data public, and asked why it was not being released.
"It is because you (Modi) don't want to share India's money among OBCs...if you don't do it we will first put pressure on you, then we will do it (after coming to power)," he said.
Gandhi also demanded to provide reservation based on population, and removal of 50 per cent cap on reservation.
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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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