Bengaluru: Coalition partners Congress and JD (S) almost came to a head-on collision over the introduction and passage of a bill seeking to divide the Visvesvaraya Technological University(VTU) which is located in Belagavi.
This development happened in the middle of the Audiogate debate. Sources in the government said that the JD (S)' attempt to divide VTU was opposed by the Congress party and as a result, the bill would now be given a quiet burial.
The Assembly passed three bills on Wednesday paving way for creation of three more private universities. These are the National Institute of Engineering at Mysuru with the NIE board to be headed by N.R. Narayana Murthy. the RV group of Institutions and Adichunchanagiri math run institutions. However, higher education minister, G.T. Deve Gowda did not present the VTU bifurcation bill.
In the last meeting, the cabinet had passed a proposal to divide VTU and create one more technological university with its headquarter at Hassan.
Sources said the Congress and JD (S) had serious differences which forced the JD (S) to drop the bill at the last minute. The sources added that the Congress had said that the division of VTU would send a wrong signal to people in north Karnataka because it would give an impression that Congress along with JD (S) would divide a university for the sake of the Deve Gowda family which planned to have the new university at Hassan.
