BENGALURU: The friction between the Ruling Congress government in Karnataka and Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot refuses to die down with the Cabinet that met in Kalaburagi on Tuesday deciding to curtail the powers of the latter in the appointment of the vice-chancellor of the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University in Gadag. The Cabinet has approved the draft of The Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill-2024.
The bill will be tabled in the next legislature session and is likely to be passed. But the bill has to go to the governor, who will either approve or reject it. The Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation has scrutinised the draft bill, which has been approved by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil.
At present, the search committee appointed by the State Government shortlists three names of eligible academicians and sends it to the governor, seeking his approval. But, once the proposed bill becomes a law, the State Government will finalise a single name from the three names the panel suggests and send it to the governor, who will have no choice but to give his approval.
Justifying the necessity for such a law, the State Government cited UGC regulations notified on June 18, 2015. It also said that in order to bring uniform provisions for the establishment, administration, and recruitment of teaching staff of universities, the law is required. “The UGC notification has prescribed the minimum qualification for the appointment of vice-chancellors of universities in Section 7.3 of the regulations.
Accordingly, the candidates for the post should have served at least 10 years in the post of professor in a university. In addition to this, the Supreme Court has held that any appointment as a V-C contrary to the provisions of UGC regulations can be said to be in violation of the statutory provisions. Hence, the government is proposing this amendment bill to bring this University Act in consonance with the UGC regulations,” the government justified.
“The Office of the Governor, and also the Chancellor of the University has requested the government, dated: 16.05.2024 to follow the procedures prescribed in the UGC regulations. Hence, the Government is proposing an amendment to Section15 (2) of Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University Act, 2016,” it added.
A minister told TNIE that the law won’t just be applicable to RDPR University, but would be replicated in other 32 state public universities too.
When PM Modi was the Gujarat CM in 2013, his government had made a similar move. But the then governor appointed when the UPA was at the power at the Centre, Kamla Beniwal, did not sign the bill. Eventually, when Modi became PM, Kamla was replaced by OP Kohli as the governor who approved the bill. In 2022, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a bill to transfer the powers of the Governor in appointing VCs to the government. Interestingly, when the Kerala cabinet decided to promulgate an ordinance to remove the governor as the head of state varsities, both the BJP and the Congress-led UDF had opposed the move.