The tussle between Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot and the state government intensified after the former returned three bills, including one that would make the Chief Minister the head of a state-run university replacing the Governor.
Governor Gehlot returned the Karnataka State Panchayat Raj and Rural Development University (Amendment) Bill on Friday, February 21 seeking more clarity. The bill seeks to make the Chief Minister the Chancellor of the RDPR University and also give the CM the power to appoint the Vice Chancellor (VC). The RDPR University started functioning in 2016.
This is the second time that the bill has been returned. The state cabinet drafted the bill in November and it was passed by the Assembly in December 2024 amid a walkout staged by the BJP and JD (Secular).
Ministers in the government have said that similar bills will follow for all universities run by the state.
While BJP and JD(S) legislators have demanded that the Governor’s powers should not be curtailed, RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge defended the bill saying that there was no law in the country which made it mandatory for the Governor to be the vice chancellor. Congress MLA Sharath Bachegowda had pointed out that it is the CM who appoints the VCs of all state-run universities in Gujarat.
Other bills that the Governor has returned include the Mysuru Authority Development Bill and the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
