Will work towards bringing back BJP-JD(S) coalition govt in Karnataka: H D Kumaraswamy
Ramanagara (Karnataka) (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said he will work together with the leaders and workers of the BJP and JD(S) to bring back an NDA government in the state.
There is no question of his party joining hands with the Congress once again, the JD(S) state president said.
The JD(S) had been in power twice in the state, in coalition with both national parties, despite being a junior partner -- for 20 months with BJP from February 2006 and for 14 months with the Congress after the May 2018 assembly polls. Kumaraswamy was the chief minister on both occasions.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the JD(S) joined hands with the BJP and became a part of the NDA.
"I appeal to the BJP and JD(S) workers to work together. Who should become chief minister is not important to me. With your blessings I have been the chief minister of the state twice. Welfare and development of the state and its people are important for me," Kumaraswamy said.
Addressing workers of the BJP and JD(S), ahead of the second day of a week-long protest march from Bengaluru to Mysuru against the MUDA 'scam', he said, "I will work for your sake in the days ahead with the aim of bringing back the BJP-JD(S) coalition government."
"Our fight is ultimately to bring in a pro-people government in the state, which will look after the welfare of every family. We want to bring such a government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For that, myself, B Y Vijayendra (BJP state president) and all leaders and workers from both parties will work together," he added.
Speaking about his experience of running the government with the Congress party in the past for 14 months, the former CM said, "There is no question of going to Congress in my life."
"It was neither there then (2018), nor now. I had not come to you (Congress) with an application to make me the chief minister. You pleaded and made me the chief minister. But I did not utilise the opportunity (as CM) to loot money, I tried to save farmers by waiving Rs 25,000 crore of farmers' loan," he said.
Recalling the support given to him by the BJP and its leader B S Yediyurappa during his first stint as chief minister in 2006, Kumaraswamy said, he did not "betray" Yediyurappa, and that certain political developments and the deeds of some people led to the situation, where transfer of power to the BJP did not happen.
"If Kumaraswamy is known to the people of the state, it is because of the blessings of the people of Ramanagara district, and the good administration we gave by forming a government with the help of Yediyurappa. I cannot forget that the workers of BJP and JD(S) have nurtured me. The coalition between BJP and JD(S) has disturbed the sleep of Congress leaders; they are worried," he added.
In 2006, Kumaraswamy had rebelled and walked out of the JD(S)-Congress coalition with 42 MLAs, reportedly against the wishes of his father former PM and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, citing a threat to the party. He then formed the government with the BJP, becoming the chief minister during his very first term as MLA. Yediyurappa was the deputy chief minister.
Under an arrangement with the BJP for the two parties' chosen leaders to take turns as chief minister, Kumaraswamy helmed the state for 20 months.
But when the BJP's turn for chief ministership came, he reneged on the promise to transfer power and brought down the Yediyurappa government within seven days.
Kumaraswamy occupied the CM's post for the second time after the 2018 assembly polls by forging a coalition with the Congress, despite the JD(S) finishing a poor third in the polls.
But his tenure was short-lived as the wobbly coalition government that he headed collapsed after 14 months in power, because of internal differences.
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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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