Raman is One

Till a year back, there were as many as 108 private universities in the State. Six months later, the BJP government dealt the first blow, enacting a new legislation that weeded out at least 70 of them for failing to fulfill the basic parameters — a minimum area of 15 acres, Rs 2 crore deposit and so on. The remaining universities were given state government recognition, of which only 17 were deemed eligible for UGC affiliation.

But before the UGC could act on the state government’s recommendations, came the recent Supreme Court ruling declaring all private universities ‘‘null and void’’. Meanwhile, over 15,000 students enrolled in these universities face an uncertain future.

Congress wars

After almost a decade, Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh visited Raipur earlier this month. The ostensible reason was a convocation at Guru Ghasi Dass University in Bilaspur. But Singh made no secret of his political agenda, as he went around addressing Congress meetings in Bilaspur and Raipur. However, none of the senior party leaders like Motilal Vora, PCC chief Shyama Charan Shukla or Ajit Jogi turned up for the meetings.

On the other hand, PCC working president Charan Dass Mahant was a key organiser of the meetings. According to Congress sources, Mahant is banking on Singh’s support to become PCC chief. But Shukla and Jogi are not in his favour. So any move to make Mahant PCC chief may divide, rather than unify the party under a single leader.

Governing privately

Governor Lt Gen K M Seth seems to be moving from one controversy to another. First it was the Trust, ‘‘Shiksha Deep’’, that he set up to fund the vocational studies of 11 meritorious students belonging to poor families. Questions were raised about the Raj Bhawans’ direct role in wooing leading industrialists and funding bodies to make contributions to the Trust. Now, his decision to inaugurate a free-service camp, organised jointly by Maruti and an automobile firm has raised many eyebrows. The debate in political circles: should the Governor associate himself with any private company?

Compiled by Ashwani Sharma