Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Friday warned the Congress government of large-scale protests if it goes ahead with its plans to close nine state-run universities in Karnataka. Terming the move “unscientific and foolish,” he said financial considerations should not be the basis for closing such universities.

A cabinet sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and constituted to study the functioning and financial position of public universities in Karnataka, had recently decided to recommend the closure of nine out of ten state-run universities established during the previous BJP regime, according to official sources. “The state government’s plan to close nine universities based on the report of the cabinet sub-committee—which stated that it would not be possible to allocate funds and that Rs 350 crore would be required over the next five years—is unscientific and a foolish decision,” Vijayendra said.

Speaking to reporters after participating in a roundtable conference organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which was attended by education experts, public representatives, and others, he said there should be a non-political fight on this issue. He added that the ABVP has taken the matter seriously, and the BJP fully supports it. “There is no question of allowing the Congress government to shut these universities, which shape the future of the poor and the youth. We will organise a large-scale protest,” he said. Noting that the universities were established under the “one district, one university” concept when the BJP was in power, Vijayendra reiterated that financial constraints should not be the reason for their closure.

“It is unfortunate.” “Financial constraints should not lead the government to make such an unwise decision. They will have to withdraw it. We are planning our fight in this regard,” he added. Criticising the government, BJP leader and MLC C T Ravi questioned whether universities were business centers and said, “Let them close, we will go to the people.” According to reports, there are plans to shut down nine of the ten newly established universities—Koppal, Bagalkot, Haveri, Kodagu, Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Nrupathunga, Mandya, and the Maharani Cluster—excluding Bidar.