BENGALURU: Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has returned the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to the state government, suggesting that it should be withdrawn per se.
This alleged attempt to replace the governor as chancellor of the university has escalated the rift between the government and Raj Bhavan. The government wants the chief minister to be the chancellor of the university.
According to sources, the government is keen on bringing similar amendments to replace the governor as chancellor of state-run universities. The government passed the Bill during the winter session in Belagavi in December 2024.
“In the guise of bringing in changes, the attempt to take away powers, responsibilities and functions of the governor will lead to unnecessary conflict and friction. I advise the government to refrain from such ventures and take proactive and cordial steps to foster goodwill and gentlemanliness. Hope, the government will withdraw this Bill aimed to curtail the powers of the governor.
There should not be any doubt regarding the fact that the RDPR Act is there to act positively,” the governor said in a note sent to the government along with the Bill.
“The observations and justifications for the amendment in the submission note are summarily misleading and seem more like an attempt to usurp power,” the governor stated.
He cited Article 254 and Supreme Court judgments settling the matter regarding supremacy and constitutionally binding nature of the UGC regulations on the state legislation with regard to the University Acts and stated that the current proposal is unconstitutional.
He suggested to government to initiate the process of V-C’s appointment, which has been deliberately kept on hold.
“The state, by having specialised universities, has specific Acts for the same. But according to my observations of these specialised universities, they have become orphans and the state government has paid little attention to their development all these years,” the governor said, adding, the RDPR University has not had one permanent faculty since its inception.