Gadag, Apr 27: Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a poisonous snake, drawing the BJP's ire.

Addressing a public meeting at Ron in Gadag district, as part of the party's campaign for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka, he said, "don't make a mistake. Modi is like a poisonous snake. If you say, 'no, it's not poisonous. let's lick it and find out.' Don't go to lick it. If you lick, you die."

BJP IT department chief Amit Malviya, who also shared the video where Kharge made those comments, on Twitter, said: "Now Congress President Kharge calls Prime Minister Modi poisonous snake' What started with Sonia Gandhi's maut ka saudagar', and we know how it ended, the Congress continues to plummet to new depths. The desperation shows Congress is losing ground in Karnataka and knows it".

Kharge later told reporters he only said the BJP was like a snake, and that party's ideology is like a poison. "If you support that ideology and lick (try) it, death is certain."

"I did not speak against him (Modi) because I have already said that I never make personal comments," he said.

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New Delhi (PTI): A Bill which seeks to set up a single regulator for institutions of higher education is required to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing, officials said.

The Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week after it got the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday.

The proposed legislation, which was earlier christened the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.

A single higher education regulator, which was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP), looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

"The Bill proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy. It is likely to be introduced (in Parliament) in the coming week," an official said.

While the UGC presently oversees non-technical higher education in the country, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.

The Commission is proposed to be set up as a single higher education regulator, but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit.

It is proposed to have three major roles -- regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards, officials said.

Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, is not proposed to be under the regulator so far. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, they said.