Win in Karnataka will be 'super booster dose' for Congress: Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): A win in the Karnataka polls will be a "super booster dose" for the Congress electorally going forward after the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the party organisationally, senior leader Jairam Ramesh has said.
The Congress general secretary (in-charge communications) said that while the 2024 general elections are still some months away, the outcome in Karnataka would definitely impact the crucial assembly polls later this year in states such as Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
"A win (in Karnataka polls) will be a super booster dose for the Congress. It will strengthen the Congress as we go to the polls in Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram," Ramesh, who is on the campaign trail in Karnataka, told PTI.
"I don't want to look to 2024 but I would look at 2023 and for that it (win in Karnataka) would be a super booster dose for the Congress," the former Union minister said.
While the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the Congress ideologically and organisationally, a victory in Karnataka would revitalise it electorally, Ramesh said.
"Don't be surprised if we retain Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and come back to Madhya Pradesh as we had the mandate there before we were betrayed by Mr (Jyotiraditya) Scindia and his colleagues and the government was stolen from the Congress," he said.
In Telangana, Ramesh opined, the fight is between the Congress and the BRS, and the BJP is just creating a lot of hype.
"So electorally, for 2024 it is too early to say but I would say, for 2023, the elections that would come, this victory for the Congress in Karnataka will be a super booster dose," he asserted.
Ramesh claimed there was a "very strong current" in favour of the Congress in Karnataka.
"It is not just an undercurrent, there is an over current and I am in an area which is supposed to be a BJP bastion, which is the coastal area, and there is a widespread sentiment for a change," he told PTI over phone.
Ramesh said people have seen through the BJP propaganda about "good governance" over the last four years of its regime.
"So, I think we are headed for a clear majority in the assembly. I don't agree with the assessment that it is going to be a hung verdict. I think it is going to be a clear majority for the Congress," he said.
Noting that Karnataka is the only state in the South that the BJP has a government in, Ramesh said there is no prospect of the BJP coming to power in Kerala, Tamil Nadu or Telangana "and so it is banking on Karnataka".
"You see the type of high profile campaigning Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to be undertaking in the good part of next 12-13 days, along with Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath and several cabinet ministers. The entire government and the entire BJP is focusing on Karnataka," he said.
Ramesh said this time the Congress campaign has been very strategic on 'vocal for local'.
"People are seeing this. It is a positive and constructive campaign by the Congress. I can tell you having spent 22 days in October in seven districts in Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, it was very evident from October that the time for a change was there and Rahul Gandhi was able to capitalise on that mood or that sentiment," he said.
The entire Congress party and the organisation got a booster dose from the Bharat Jodo Yatra and we are seeing the consequences of that in this election, Ramesh said.
Asked about the prime minister's campaign blitz in Karnataka, Ramesh said the BJP can do whatever "carpet bombing" they want but there are enough local issues the Congress has raised and given guarantees to different sections of society, which will ensure its success.
Voting will take place in the state on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13.
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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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