BJP cloud on Sibal Bills again

Also,I have spoken to senior leaders of your party, Sibal said,trying to counter Hegdes objections to the Bill,but only to get a stern reaction from the latter.

Terming the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill as Constitutionally invalid,the BJP on Thursday took a dig at Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal,describing his Bill as part of Kapil Sibal ke sapne.

To soften the stand taken by BJP member Anant Hegde,an alarmed Sibal,with several of his ministrys Bills stuck in Parliament over objections from Opposition ranks,said he had spoken to senior leaders of the saffron party on this issue. The Constitutional validity issue was discussed in the Standing Committee that has observed that the reservations on this count are not well placed. Also,I have spoken to senior leaders of your party, Sibal said,trying to counter Hegdes objections to the Bill,but only to get a stern reaction from the latter.

This is a matter of the House now. An agreement with one or two leaders is not going to be sufficient. It is for this House to decide whether to approve this Bill or not, Hegde said. Sibal was learnt to have reached out to the BJP leadership to solicit their support for his legislations in the education sector.

Initiating the debate on the Bill,Hegde asserted that it was constitutionally invalid,saying the Centre could not legislate on the issues related to universities under the existing Constitutional scheme of things without amending it. Hegde charged that the Bill would facilitate a backdoor entry to foreign educational institutes.

While Hegde did not clearly spell out whether BJP was for or against the Bill,he termed it part of Kapil Sibal ke sapne,before concluding his speech.

Opposition members teamed up to extract an assurance from Sibal to ensure mandatory representation of OBCs in the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority proposed in the Bill. I assure you that if the members so desire8230;I will do it. I will seek Prime Ministers approval to get it incorporated before the passage of the Bill, Sibal promised,adding that he would also reserve one position for a minority community.