Power outage in VIMS was pre-planned to remove me as its director: Dr Gangadhara Gouda
Bengaluru/Ballari, Sep 17: In a twist to the suspected deaths due to power outage in Karnataka, Ballari-based Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) director Dr T Gangadhara Gouda alleged that it was a pre-planned act to defame him.
Maula Hussein (35), suffering from kidney-related ailments, and Chettemma (30), a snake-bite victim, died at the state-run medical institution in the district headquarters town of Ballari on Wednesday at 9.30 am and 9.35 am respectively.
Some reports attributed the deaths to power cut and a defunct power generator at the government medical college hospital.
Speaking to reporters, Dr Gouda said: "I have heard certain audio clips related to the case. It (power outage) was pre-planned. I will collect all the details as to how they (the conspirators) contacted and connived with others and submit a report to the deputy commissioner of the district." He added that he will lodge a complaint as well.
"The power was disconnected, as I was appointed as the director (of VIMS) on August 19. I do not have a definite information as to who disconnected power. I will lodge a complaint after getting confirmation (about the conspirators)," the VIMS director said.
When asked whether it was an act to tarnish his reputation, he said, "Yes. Some people could not tolerate that I am continuing in this post. They made this attempt to remove me from here. You will get to know the details."
Dr Gangadhar refused to divulge the details of the audio clip but said he would let everyone know about the incident.
He also said he is prepared for a legal battle if such a situation arises and may also file a police complaint.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who was in Kalaburagi on Saturday, said the government will take action based on a report submitted by the team formed to probe the death of patients in VIMS.
"The team constituted by the state government to probe the death of patients visited VIMS yesterday. Action will be taken based on the investigation report," Bommai told reporters in Kalaburagi.
The Chief Minister expressed his sorrow over the incident saying that he was pained to learn about the incident.
To a query on former chief minister Siddaramaiah's displeasure over state Health Minister K Sudhakar not visiting the hospital yet, Bommai said the government is doing its job.
Meanwhile, Sudhakar and Siddaramaiah traded barbs on the issue with the latter claiming that five people died.
"It is said five people have died, the health minister or any other minister has not yet visited the hospital yet, Siddaramaiah said.
Charging that the government claimed that no one died due to power outage, Siddaramaiah sought to know why the government gave the next-of-kin of the victims an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh when the cause of death was not power failure. The government is lying, he alleged.
Sudhakar flayed Siddaramaiah saying that the latter's statement was unbecoming of a leader.
"When I learnt about the incident, the same day I constituted a committee. The same day they went there and investigated the matter, the health minister said.
He pointed out that both the patients who died had health issues and both were admitted in the Intensive Care Unit.
"Because there was a problem, those who died were in the ICU. If there was no health problem, why would they have been on ventilators. The investigation is on but I am not going to say authoritatively that the incident happened in a certain manner," Sudhakar said.
I have certain information but will not speak without the final report. After getting the report, I will table it in the Assembly. Let the Assembly decide, the minister said.
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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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