'Attempt to push RSS agenda': Rahul slams govt at protest against draft UGC regulations

Hitting out at the Centre over the draft regulations, the Congress on Wednesday said the justification that the rules had been updated for compliance with NEP, 2020, did not withstand scrutiny and must be rolled back.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on February 6 alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wants to impose its idea of "one history, one tradition, one language" on the country and therefore it is introducing UGC's draft regulations to enforce its agenda through the appointment of teachers and academic staff in universities and colleges.

"That is its starting point and that is what it wants to achieve. It attacks the Constitution because it wants to achieve one idea which is its idea -- one history, one tradition, one language -- on this country," the former Congress chief said while speaking at a protest against the draft University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations organised by DMK.

The opposition leader in the Lok Sabha added that RSS aim was the eradication of all other histories, cultures and traditions of the country.

"This attempt that it is doing with the education system of different states is just another attempt to push its agenda," Gandhi said.

"Each state has its traditions, history, language and that is why I keep saying that, in the Constitution, India is called a 'Union of States', that means all these histories, traditions, languages come together to make India the Union of States and so that is how we have to think about it," he said.

"We have to respect all the languages, all the cultures, all the traditions, all the histories and we have to understand where they are coming from," he said.

The Tamil people have their history, language, traditions, and they have had their struggles, he said.

"Doing this is an insult to the Tamil people and also to all other states where the RSS is trying to impose its hegemony," he said of the UGC's draft regulations.

VIDEO | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) joins protest organised by the DMK against the University Grants Commission (UGC) draft rules in Delhi."I have been saying this now for sometime that the aim of the RSS is the eradication of all other histories, all other cultures pic.twitter.com/SCsElglubx
Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 6, 2025

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also hit out at the BJP-RSS, alleging that they wanted to take over all the power of state governments.

"They want to make politicians servants of industrialists. We can never support the new education policy… I am supporting all the students here and the decision that you have taken. I am against the NEP (National Education Policy). I am against the BJP," he said.

The Congress has termed the draft UGC regulations on the appointment of teachers and academic staff in universities and colleges "draconian and anti-Constitution", and demanded that those be immediately withdrawn.

Hitting out at the Centre over the draft regulations, the Congress on Wednesday said the justification that the rules had been updated for compliance with NEP, 2020, did not withstand scrutiny and must be rolled back.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh had said the State Higher Education Ministers' Conclave was hosted in Bengaluru by Karnataka minister MC Sudhakar, with six ministers or their representatives from Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand (all-opposition ruled states) adopting a 15-point resolution on the UGC's "draconian" draft regulations.

"The constitutional principle of federalism is sacrosanct and the quality of higher education should be one of the ultimate endeavours of the Union Ministry of Education. NEP, 2020, does not prevail over either and the justification that the rules have been updated for compliance with NEP, 2020, does not withstand scrutiny," he had said.

Ramesh had asserted that these draft regulations must be rolled back immediately.

The conclave was organised by the Karnataka government's Department of Higher Education on Wednesday to discuss the various provisions of the draft University Grants Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education Regulations, 2025, and grading of higher education institutions based on the implementation of NEP, 2020.

With PTI inputs