The Hindu : Karnataka / Mysore News : CPI(M) for law to regulate private colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mysore

CPI(M) for law to regulate private colleges

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, JULY 18. The State unit of Communist Part of India (Marxist) today urged the Centre to bring in legislation for regulation of private educational institutions, including professional colleges.

Addressing presspersons here today, the State secretary of CPI(M), G.N. Nagaraj, said legislation in Parliament was the only solution to tide over the present Common Entrance Test (CET) imbroglio. "Legislation should empower the State Governments to regulate the admission process, fix fees and stipulate service conditions of the staff in the private colleges," he said.

The State Government had no authority to intervene in the admission process as per the existing law. "Not only is the State Government under an illusion, but it is also fooling people that it can solve the CET imbroglio," Mr Nagaraj said and urged the Government to, instead, prevail upon the Centre to enact legislation empowering it to regulate the admission process.

He urged the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, to lead a delegation to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and apprise him of the magnitude of the problem.

There is an urgent need to protect the interests of deserving and meritorious students belonging to the middle class and lower rungs of the society, he said.

Mr. Nagaraj criticised the previous National Democratic Alliance Government for allowing the CET problem to persist by failing to properly represent the case before the Supreme Court's constitutional bench when the need arose. "It was in line with their policy to promote privatisation," he alleged.

He criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State for encouraging the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat to stage protests over the issue without any commitment to solving the problem.

CMP welcomed

Mr. Nagaraj welcomed the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) unveiled by the coalition Government of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) in the State for its pro-farmer policies.

He urged the State Government to roll back the World Bank-dictated agricultural policy and WTO-guided import policy, which were ruining the agrarian community. The policy of privatisation of power supply and withdrawal of subsidies should be reversed, he said.

Mr. Nagaraj urged the Government to formulate a suitable policy to remove regional imbalances.

The CPI(M) urged Mr. Dharam Singh to expand his long-over-due Cabinet at the earliest. Though more than two months had lapsed since the outcome of the elections, a full-fledged Government had not fallen in place, he said.

CBI probe sought

The party called for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation to bring to light whether money had been taken from the accused in the stamp paper racket, Abdul Karim Telgi, to pay the alleged ransom to the forest bandit, Veerappan, to secure the release of the matinee idol, Rajkumar.

Mr. Nagaraj's demand comes in the wake of the charges levelled by retired police officer Sangram Singh against the erstwhile Government headed by S.M. Krishna.

The CPM urged the Government not include in the Cabinet any politician whose role in the stamp paper scam and Dr. Rajkumar abduction episode had come under a cloud. Mr. Nagaraj demanded the sacking of the Minister for Water Resources, Mallikarjun Kharge, for his alleged role in the episode.

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