Not afraid of politically malicious criticism, says CM as opposition attacks his govt. over 'scams'
Bengaluru, Jul 15: With opposition parties targeting his government over alleged financial irregularities in a state-run corporation in both Houses of Karnataka legislature and planning to raise the Mysuru Urban Development Authority 'scam' issue, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said he has answers to their "every word" and it is not in his nature to sit quietly, afraid of politically malicious criticism.
He also accused BJP and JD(S) of adopting "hit and run" tactics by lying before the media, and asserted that it will not be allowed in the House (Legislative Assembly/Council).
"How true are the allegations of the opposition parties? How much lies? We will bring it to light in this House. It is not in my nature to sit quietly, afraid of politically malicious criticism," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
"BJP and JD(S) leaders, I have an answer for every word of yours. It's not like lying before the media so far, standing somewhere far away and shooting a bullet in the air. This is the House, your hit and run has no place here," he added.
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The illegal money transfer issue, involving Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd, came to the fore, after its accounts superintendent, Chandrashekhar P, died by suicide on May 26, leaving behind a death note.
The note alleged unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the Corporation from its bank account, and from that, Rs 88.62 crore was illegally moved to various accounts allegedly belonging to "well-known" IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank among others.
Following allegations against him in connection with the scam, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra tendered his resignation on June 6. He is currently under Enforcement Directorate custody.
The MUDA case is linked to fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by the Authority, which involves plots given to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
The controversial scheme envisages allotting 50 per cent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts.
BJP and JD(S) have demanded for Siddaramaiah's resignation and CBI probe into both these cases.
Reacting to BJP demanding CM's resignation in connection with the MUDA case, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said: "let them raise their issue in the Assembly, we will respond to it, whether it is MUDA or any other case."
"All scams were done by them (BJP) and they are now blaming us. We are taking several measures to clean up things after coming to power," he told reporters here.
On BJP terming the government's move to constitute a Commission, headed by Justice P N Desai, a retired Karnataka High Court judge, to probe the MUDA alleged scam, an "eyewash" and demanding CBI probe, Shivakumar said: "Should we obey whatever they say? People have given us the mandate. We will do what is good for the state."
ವಿರೋಧ ಪಕ್ಷಗಳ ಆರೋಪಗಳು ಎಷ್ಟು ಸತ್ಯ? ಎಷ್ಟು ಸುಳ್ಳು? ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಈ ಸದನದಲ್ಲೇ ನಾವು ಬಯಲು ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇವೆ. ರಾಜಕೀಯ ದುರುದ್ದೇಶದ ಟೀಕೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೆದರಿ ಕೂರುವ ಜಾಯಮಾನ ನನ್ನದಲ್ಲ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 15, 2024
ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಮತ್ತು ಜೆಡಿಎಸ್ ನಾಯಕರೇ, ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರತಿ ಮಾತಿಗೂ ನನ್ನ ಬಳಿ ಉತ್ತರವಿದೆ. ಇಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳ ಎದುರು ಸುಳ್ಳು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾ, ದೂರದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ನಿಂತು… pic.twitter.com/iljISfqvYx
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Bill to set up single higher education regulator likely to be tabled in Parliament next week
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.
