‘Completely unwarranted comment’: Congress warns Zameer Ahmed Khan

News Network

July 26, 2022

Bengaluru, July 26: With the Congress warning him for his politically sensitive statements, party leader and MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan on Tuesday said he has only got to know about it through the media, as he is travelling, and will look into to it once back in Bengaluru.

Reminding about "Lakshman Rekha" of the party's discipline and ideology, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, in a letter to Khan, has said that his recent public remarks are completely unwarranted and in poor taste.

"I have not received any notice, I have seen it in the media, it is not a notice, it is a letter...I haven't received any so far, as I'm travelling. Without looking at it, I can't react. I'm in Davangere, will be travelling to Chitradurga later, once I go to Bengaluru, let me see," Khan told reporters.

To a question that KPCC President D K Shivakumar is not reacting to anything regarding him, he said, "He is the President, big man, what is there to react (about me)."

Khan's recent claims about Muslims outnumbering Vokkaligas in Karnataka has stirred a controversy, with it taking the shape of "community politics." Khan had made this claim, while reacting to party's state President D K Shivakumar's attempt to consolidate the Vokkaliga community. In fact a survey conducted when Siddaramaiah was the chief minister had revealed that Muslims outnumbered both Lingayats and Vokkaligas in Karnataka.

Shivakumar, who is a Vokkaliga, had recently called on the community, which forms a major vote bank in the old Mysuru or Southern Karnataka region, to support his Chief Ministerial bid. Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah, have been engaged in a political one-upmanship for months now, as both are Chief Ministerial aspirants.

Surjewala in his letter has said, "Unwarranted and uncharitable comments help no one except to create avoidable controversies and bitterness. Regrettably, your inessential public statements have ended up creating unnecessary fault lines." He said no Congress leader should make remarks that go against the party's "foundational ideology" of "inherent inclusiveness away from the divisions of caste and religion."

Reacting to the AICC letter to Khan, Shivakumar said, "I have seen about it through the media, I have got the information. He (Surjewala) will take whatever action has to be taken against whoever is concerned."

Khan has been openly making statements projecting Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister, in the event of the party coming to power after the 2023 Assembly polls. Though Siddaramaiah has been maintaining that the party's newly elected legislators and high command will decide on who will be the Chief Minister, Khan has been openly making statements in favour of his leader, ignoring warnings of disciplinary action, leaving the party virtually divided.

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Karnataka to scrap separate entrance exams for private universities from 2025

News Network

September 20,2024

Starting in the 2025-26 academic year, private universities in Karnataka offering professional courses will no longer conduct separate entrance exams. This decision follows a directive from the state’s Higher Education Department, prompting private universities to form an association and agree to this significant change.

In a recent meeting with Higher Education Minister Dr. M. C. Sudhakar, representatives from 17 private universities confirmed their decision to discontinue individual entrance tests. Of the 27 private universities in the state, 17 offer professional courses, and they have collectively agreed to accept scores from existing national or state-level entrance exams.

“Some universities will consider JEE scores, others will rely on KCET, and a few are inclined towards COMEDK,” Dr. Sudhakar stated, leaving the choice of examination to the universities themselves. However, the department has also suggested that the universities consider a unified entrance test for admissions.

Looking ahead, Dr. Sudhakar hinted that the government may introduce a common entrance test for general degree courses at private universities as well. "As government colleges and universities currently don’t require entrance exams for general degree courses, we haven’t made any decisions on this yet," he explained.

The meeting also addressed concerns over the high fees charged by private universities. To regulate this, the universities were instructed to establish fee fixation committees, headed by retired judges, as required by law. These committees will be responsible for determining tuition fees. Additionally, the government will continue to regulate fees for 40% of seats in professional courses that are filled through KCET.

In an effort to bring greater uniformity among private institutions, the government is considering enacting a common law for all private universities, which would replace the individual acts currently governing each university. This would place all private universities under a single regulatory framework.

This move is expected to streamline the admissions process and create a more standardized system for both professional and general degree programs across Karnataka's private universities.

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