Chhattisgarh ministers meet Governor to seek assent to bills

The ministers called on the Governor on Thursday with the request to give assent to the bills that were passed in March this year during the budget session of the assembly. However, Uikey said she has no intention of delaying the approval of bills, but will look into all legal provisions and seek "guidance" from the University Grants Commission (UGC) before taking further steps.

Four Chhattisgarh ministers met Governor Anusuiya Uikey and urged her to give assent to a bunch of amendment bills related to universities cleared by the state assembly as a delay in their approval appeared to cause unease in the Congress government. The ministers called on the Governor on Thursday with the request to give assent to the bills that were passed in March this year during the budget session of the assembly.

However, Uikey said she has no intention of delaying the approval of bills, but will look into all legal provisions and seek "guidance" from the University Grants Commission (UGC) before taking further steps. The Governor also said she was not convinced with the government's reply to certain questions raised by her over the bills.

The assembly had passed five amendment bills related to universities, including the Chhattisgarh University (Amendment) Bill, that gives additional power to the state government in appointment of vice-chancellors of universities, a government official here said. The Governor also functions as the chancellor of universities in the state.

We met the Governor and discussed various issues pertaining to the development of the state. However, the main aim of the meeting was to urge the Governor to give assent to some amendment bills related to universities which were passed during the last budget session of the assembly, agriculture minister Ravindra Choubey told reporters on Thursday. Classes of universities are not being held (now due to COVID-19 outbreak), but since these bills are pending with the Governor's office, there are certain issues, including appointment of vice-chancellors and (sanctioning) grants, that need to be addressed.

"Therefore, we have urged the Governor to give her consent to all these bills," said Choubey, who was part of the ministerial delegation. Commenting on the development, Governor Uikey told reporters she has no intention of not signing the bills but she has to understand the legal provisions related to them.

After the state government sent me the five amendment bills related to universities for approval, I had sent a letter to them on April 15 asking if such amendments have been made in other states too. "The amendments (approved by the assembly) have several provisions including those related to appointment of vice-chancellors and fixing their tenure, the Governor said.

Uikey had also posed certain questions to the government over the bills. I had asked the government about the need for bringing such amendments and whether UGC guidelines were followed during their formulation.

"Four-five days back, I got their reply stating that Gujarat had done such amendments in 2009," she said. There are guidelines of the UGC regarding the appointment of vice-chancellors and if these norms are violated, then there is a provision of denying grant to the university concerned, she said.

My intention is not to withhold the bills but I have to understand the legal provisions. It was not delayed from my side as I got answers for my queries from the government recently after four months. "But I am not completely satisfied with the reply.

Only after looking into all the legal aspects, I will decide on the issue," the Governor said. Uikey said she will consult the UGC over the matter as it concerns students and education.

The Governor asserted that there was no confrontation with the state government over the issue. Notably, the Congress government had brought amendment in relevant laws to reduce powers of the chancellor (Governor) after the appointment of Prof Baldev Bhai Sharma, reportedly having an RSS background, as vice-chancellor of a journalism and mass communication university in Raipur by Uikey in March this year.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)