BRS leaders to meet Union Min on UGC draft

Hyderabad: A BRS delegation, led by working president KT Rama Rao, will soon meet Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the issue of University Grants Commission draft in which it is proposed to make changes in recruitment in universities and also Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on national highways in the State.

Addressing a press conference at the party office here, senior leader B Vinod Kumar said many States were protesting the new UGC rules. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed a resolution against the UGC rules. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin lashed out at the Centre for burning the spirit of federalism. Kerala CM also opposed the UGC proposals. Despite being an NDA partner, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (JDU) also opposed the UGC proposals. AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu had not responded yet. Revanth Reddy is not responding to the UGC draft despite being the Congress CM, said Vinod Kumar, demanding a resolution against the UGC draft in the Assembly.

He said the BRS had sent its opinion to UGC chairman Jagadish Kumar on Friday. The UGC draft is in a way takes away the rights of the States. “We demand that the new proposals be withdrawn immediately. It is undemocratic to give power to appoint V-Cs to the Governor. This is against the spirit of federalism. The new rules will give the Centre power to appoint anyone they like, even if they have no teaching experience. We also oppose this,” said Vinod.

Another senior leader D Sravan Kumar asked why people like Kodandaram and Haragopal were silent on the attitude of the Centre which is dominating the States in the name of UGC rules.

Why is Revanth Reddy silent on this issue? Reddy seems to be in the habit of supporting whatever the Centre does. If Reddy approves the UGC regulations, we will join hands with student unions on a large scale. The BRS will not tolerate the Centre’s dominance over the States under any circumstances, he warned.