Congress MP Manoj Kumar seeks PM and HM's clarification on new UGC rules

Amid uproar over the University Grants Commissions UGC new regulation Congress MP Manoj Kumar called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to come forward and make the new rules clear to the publicSpeaking to ANI Kumar raising the issue of caste discrimination said casteism has existed for centuries and questioned why it is being acknowledged only nowCalling for an early caste census the Congress MP said it would present a clear picture of social realities echoing Congress leader Rahul Gandhis repeated demand on the issueI think PM and HM should step forward and tell the country about the UGC Bill that has been brought They should make the Bill clear to the countrys people Casteism is being discussed right now I belong to the Dalit community Are people understanding casteism only now 3000 years ago when brooms were tied to the feet of the people of my community did you not understand casteism thenWhen students like Rohith Vemula die due to ragging did you not think of casteismYou speak of Sanatana Hindu Are SC ST OBC not part of thisIf you ask me I would like to say one thing that caste census should be done in India at the earliest Picture will be clear Rahul Gandhi has been raising this issue on every stage I too am saying the same he saidCongress leader Udit Raj also hit out at what he called a casteist narrative being built around the proposed equity committee in the new UGC regulation accusing the BJP of spreading misinformation to polarise voters along caste linesHe asked why SCs STs and OBCs are being portrayed as separate from Hindus and said legal processes function on evidence and judicial scrutiny not prejudiceI have read the gazette notification Its committee is being discussed It is being said that if the committee makes onesided decisions it can be against Savarna studentsLies are being spread that the equity committee will make onesided decisionsI believe that BJP is probably playing a game that 10037 of the Savarnas vote for them and it wants to appease SCs STs OBCs tooWhy is a narrative being built Secondly are SCs ST and OBCs not HindusIf a committee has been built to stop discrimination it is good But the controversy over it that onesided action will be taken against Savarnas and how can action be taken against evidence Be it a rape or sexual assault or dowry all laws function just like this Raise this question there too that how is a case being registered without evidence It is the court which does this This is a wrong and casteist mindset he saidThis came after new rules notified by the UGC on January 13 which update its 2012 regulations on the same subject have sparked widespread criticism from general category students who argue that the framework could lead to discrimination against themThe new regulations introduced to curb castebased discrimination in colleges and universities require institutions to establish special committees and helplines to address complaints especially from SC ST and OBC studentsUnion Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday sought to allay concerns over the new UGC regulations assuring that the law would not be misused and that there would be no discrimination in its implementationSpeaking to the reporters Pradhan said I assure everyone there will be no discrimination and no one can misuse the lawThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever