Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP and RSS of “attacking” higher education in India
New Delhi: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has attacked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying they are “attacking” Indian higher education.
He made fun of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by saying that he was disappointed that the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) scholarship program, which had been in place since 1963, had been discontinued.
Kharge wrote on X that “BJP-RSS are continually undermining higher education in India.” He also said, “Narendra Modi, you blast your own trumpet with “Pariksha Par Charcha” and “Exam Warriors,” yet the press has disclosed that NTSE has been halted for three years. This program, which has been in place since 1963, should have cost Rs 40 crore, but Modi’s PR has cost Rs 62 crore.
The president of Congress criticized the “sweeping control” granted to the governor in selecting university vice chancellors (VCs) in the recently proposed draft regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC), calling it an assault on state government rights and federal structures.
“UGC’s Draft Regulations 2025 directly violate state sovereignty and federalism by granting governors broad authority over vice-chancellor nominations and permitting non-academics to occupy these positions. Only Sangh Parivar VCs should be recruited, according to the BJP-RSS, Kharge said.
He said that the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), a partnership between the Ministry of Education and Canara Bank, had surpassed the UGC in its responsibility to give financial help to institutions.
Kharge condemned the action, stating that because colleges would have to launch self-finance courses, students from marginalized areas may face financial difficulties.
“Previously, UGC received funding from the government and offered financial help to institutions. However, HEFA, a partnership between Canara Bank and the Ministry of Education, was established by the Modi administration to handle financial assistance. In addition to forcing schools and universities to provide more self-financed courses, this would make it harder for SC, ST, OBC, and EWS students to make ends meet,” the head of Congress said.
Kharge also said that the administration of Narendra Modi was “controlling universities, throttling autonomous institutions, imposing RSS’s Manuwadi ideology on public education, and betraying the youth.”
