Amid Samajwadi Party objections, UP Assembly passes Private University Bill, 2019

The bill, which replaced the earlier proposed ordinance over the issue and okayed by the state cabinet, was tabled in the house on Tuesday. 
A file photo of Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow . (File | PTI)
A file photo of Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow . (File | PTI)

LUCKNOW: The much-hyped Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Bill, 2019 aimed at bringing 27 private universities under a single umbrella act was passed by Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly here on Thursday.

The bill, which replaced the earlier proposed ordinance over the issue and okayed by the state cabinet, was tabled in the house on Tuesday. 

It was passed by the Assembly by a voice vote after Samajwadi Party (SP) raised objections to a few sections and pressed the government to refer it to the select committee of the House.

Raising the doubts over the bill, Ujjawal Raman Singh (SP) said that the section which demands the private universities to give an undertaking that their institution would not indulge in or permit anyone to cause or promote anti-national activities from their premises has created doubts that it (bill) was aimed at any particular university.

Citing few other sections in the bill, Singh said they needed to be looked into and stressed that there was no urgency to pass the bill on Thursday itself.

However, replying to the questions raised by the SP member, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna clarified said that the aim of the bill was to provide quality education while upholding the autonomy of the institutions.

Allaying the doubts of the Opposition members, Khanna said there was no ill intention behind bringing the bill. The bill sought an undertaking from private universities that they would not allow their campuses to be used for “anti-national activities”.

Once the bill becomes law, private universities will award honorary degrees to people in public life only with the state government's approval.

No ban on word 'Dalit' as it is not used in official communication: UP government

Lucknow: The UP government on Thursday said in state assembly that it was not mulling banning the word "Dalit" as it was not used in official communication.

Replying to a written question asked by BSP MLA Mohammad Aslam Raini, Social Welfare Minister Ramapati Shastri said: "The word ‘Dalit’ means those who are oppressed and it includes everyone who has been exploited or oppressed. ‘Dalit’ is a not 'parliamentary word' and is not used in official communication, so (the question of banning) it does not arise."

The BSP member had asked whether the government would consider banning the use of the word "Dalit", which was an "unparliamentary" word.

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