Karnataka govt approves purchase of new cars for 33 ministers for 10 crores; BJP reacts
Bengaluru: In a move that has drawn criticism, the Karnataka government has decided to purchase 33 hybrid vehicles of the Toyota Innova Hycross model for its ministers. Each of these multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) costs approximately Rs 30 lakh, resulting in an expenditure of around Rs 10 crore for the exchequer.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah approved the purchase of these hybrid vehicles, which are claimed to be the world's first fully ethanol-powered cars equipped with flex-fuel engines. The government placed the order shortly after the model's launch on August 29.
This decision has come under scrutiny from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has accused the Congress-led government of prioritizing the acquisition of high-end vehicles for ministers while the state grapples with severe drought conditions.
Notably, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had already been allotted a Toyota Fortuner about two months ago. To procure the new cars for ministers, the government has invoked the 4G exemption clause, as per an order issued on August 17.
The order states: "Toyota Kirloskar motor company, Bengaluru, will be approached directly with exemption under section 4G of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act of 1999 through the department of personnel and administrative reforms (DPAR). For good quality services under acceptable rates, DPAR is vested with the powers to procure them."
According to the KTPP Act, the 4G exemption can be sought by the government whenever there is a "natural calamity or emergency declared by the government...in respect of specific procurements, as may be notified by the government from time to time."
Government sources have indicated that the decision to purchase new vehicles is based on a norm stipulating that the vehicle should either have covered 1 lakh kilometers or completed three years on the road. "Since three years, no vehicle has been purchased for ministers. The last one was bought in 2020 during the tenure of former CM BS Yediyurappa," explained government officials.
Officials from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) noted that procuring new vehicles is a "convention" when a new government assumes power. "When we have new ministers, it is a convention that the CM authorizes the purchase of new vehicles for comfortable travel of ministers across the state," said a DPAR official.
BJP MLA CN Ashwath Narayan criticized the move, stating, "The government is facing problems related to funds and should be more responsible when it comes to such expenses. The government has completed 100 days but is still struggling to arrange funds to take up development works," he alleged.
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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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