Karnataka Assembly passes Bill replacing governor as chancellor of RDPR university

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the Bill would widen the divide between the state government and the governor. “You are taking away the only power the governor has,” the BJP MLA said, criticising the proposed legislation as a “bad Bill”.

Other Opposition members also hit out at the Congress government, with the BJP’s C N Ashwath Narayan accusing it of “reducing the freedom of universities”. He said removing the governor as the chancellor of universities was not a positive step, adding that the Bill was confrontational.

BJP legislator Araga Jnanendra said the Bill could not be accepted as it was difficult to understand why the governor cannot be the chancellor of all universities of the state. Another BJP MLA, Bharath Shetty, termed it “politically motivated” even as other Opposition legislators objected to the Bill aimed at “curtailing the powers of the governor”.

Kharge defended the Bill stating that the legislation was required for better administration and better functioning of the university in coordination with the state government. “There is no law in the country that states that the governor has to be the chancellor,” he said, asserting that the state government had the right to legislate in matters of higher education.

Prior to his defence, Congress MLA Sharath Bachegowda noted that such a move was not unprecedented, as all vice-chancellors of state-run universities were appointed by the chief minister in Gujarat.

Dissatisfied with the treasury benches’ defence of the Bill, the Opposition staged a walkout.

Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar had recently said the state government would soon enact legislation replacing the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of all state-run universities, thereby empowering him to appoint vice-chancellors.

Among other Bills passed by the Assembly during the day was the Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund Bill 2024, which increased the contribution of employee, employer and state government to the Labour Welfare Fund of the organised sector. As per the amendment, the annual contribution of employees and the state government to the fund is increased from Rs 20 to Rs 50, while employers’ contributions will increase from Rs 40 to Rs 100. Labour Minister Santosh Lad said the increased funds would help in providing scholarships to the employees’ children and in the construction of community halls.

The Assembly also passed The Karnataka (Mineral Rights and Mineral Bearing Land) Tax Bill 2024, which was tabled after the Supreme Court allowed the state government to levy taxes on mining land and minerals, as well as the Karnataka Land Revenue (Third Amendment) Bill 2024, which empowers assistant commissioners to decide land ownership claims and enables the Karnataka Revenue Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals regarding land allotments