Fresh student-led protests erupt across Nepal, demand PM Oli’s resignation
Kathmandu (PTI): Fresh anti-government protests, led by students, broke out in several parts of Nepal on Tuesday, defying curbs on public gatherings, as demonstrators demanded resignation of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.
Demonstrations were reported from Kalanki and Baneshwor in Kathmandu, as well as the Chapagaun-Thecho area of Lalitpur district.
Protesters, mostly students, chanted slogans such as “Don’t kill students”, defying the restrictions on public gatherings.
In Kalanki, demonstrators reportedly burnt tyres to block roads from the early hours of the morning, according to eyewitness accounts.
The protesters shouted slogans such as “KP Chor, Desh Chhod” (K P Sharma Oli is a thief, quit the country), “Take action against corrupt leaders”.
The agitating youths also pelted stones at the residence of Communication Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung in Sunakothi at Lalitpur district, eye witnesses said.
Gurung had ordered ban on the social media sites.
The protesters vandalised the residence of former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' at Khumaltar in Lalitpur.
They also demonstrated in front of former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba's house at Budhanilkantha in Kathmandu.
Authorities have enforced curfews across Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts.
The Kathmandu District Administration Office announced a curfew from 8:30 am until further notice in the capital city.
Bhaktapur district administration also imposed restrictions from 8:30 am until further notice in Madhyapur Thimi, Suryabinayak, Changunarayan and Bhaktapur municipalities.
Lalitpur’s curfew applies from 9 am to midnight in several areas, including Bhaisepati, Sanepa and Chyasal.
Violent protests by youths against a government ban on social media sites rocked Nepal on Monday, with police's use of force leaving at least 19 people dead and over 300 others injured.
The Nepali Army was deployed in the capital after the situation deteriorated. The army personnel took control of the roads surrounding the parliament complex in New Baneshwor.
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned later over the situation.
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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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