The Uttar Pradesh Assembly today passed the controversial Urdu University Bill through a voice vote, adding to the already strained realtions between the Raj Bhawan and the government.Governor T.V. Rajeswar Rao had struck down the Bill thrice before on the ground that no individual (read Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Azam Khan) can become the pro-chancellor for life of the proposed university .Last year, the Governor had even referred the Bill to the President, which made the Samajwadi Party-led coalition mount a scathing attack on him. The Samajwadi Party had alleged that the Governor was dancing to the tunes of the Opposition Congress. Yesterday, the Samajwadi Party presented the Bill again in the Assembly after a Cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. This time, it was introduced as a private member Bill, suggesting that the proposed University in Rampur would be a private one.Also, the new Bill made no mention of Md Azam Khan as the pro-chancellor. It said that the head of the Maulana Mohd Ali Jauhar Trust would become the chancellor of the university. The trust, at the moment, is headed by Khan.The word ‘‘Maulana’’ attached to the name of the university has been dropped. This has been done due to technical reasons as a Bill proposing the Maulana Mohd Ali Jauhar University is already pending with the Governor. However, the Samajwadi Party claimed that the word has been dropped as the Congress seemed ‘‘allergic’’ to it.The BJP today moved a resolution, demanding that the Bill be referred to the select committee, as it contained several discrepancies. BJP MLA and former education minister Narendra Kumar Singh Gaur said there was no need for another university for higher studies in Urdu, Persian and Arabic as these subjects were already being taught in various universities and had failed to attract a substantial number of students. ‘‘The Amity University Bill, passed by the state Assembly a week ago, has different provisions and the Mohd Ali Jauhar University Bill has another set of provisions. Does this mean that for every private university, the state legislature will have to pass a new bill,’’ Gaur asked.The BJP later walked out of the Assembly. The Congress, which has been vocal against the appointment of Khan as pro-chancellor, did not utter a word on the issue today.
