Bills with Sonia, Pranab backing get HRD push

The Bill to convert Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) in Sibpur, West Bengal, into an institute of national importance was passed by Lok Sabha in December and was Wednesday passed by Rajya Sabha as well.

The other Bill the Pallam Raju-led ministry is pushing is the Indira Gandhi National University for Women Bill, 2013 that seeks to set up a women’s varsity in Sonia’s constituency. While this Bill was understandably high priority, what took the HRD Ministry by surprise was the BESU Bill.

This Bill was so low on priority that even the ministry was surprised when they were alerted on the night of December 17, 2013 of the government decision to bring it to Lok Sabha the next day. The ministry gave notice for introduction of the Bill in the Lower House on the morning of December 18, 2013.

Incidentally, the HRD Ministry’s much discussed reform agenda and its key Bills — the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical, Medical and Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, the Educational Tribunals Bill, National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill and the Bill to set up a National Council for Higher Education & Research — have been stuck in Parliament.

The move to pass the two Bills alone is in tune with its plan to set up over 50 new Kendriya Vidyalyas, the majority of them in constituencies of Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Kamal Nath, Naveen Jindal, Deepinder Hooda, Meira Kumar, Krishna Tirath, S K Jena, Jagdambika Pal, Bhakta Charan Das, Ashok Tanwar and Madhu Goud Yaskhi.