Mulayam gives Jauhar university minority status

Lucknow, May 9 (UNI) Amidst boycott by the entire Opposition, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government today -- the last day of the 14th Assembly -- amended the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Act 2005 by according it a minority status.

The BJP members who were to attend the farewell session of the 14 th assembly protested against the new bill stating it as ''illegal' when the new assembly will be constituted later this week.

With election process to elect the 15th legislative assembly completed yesterday, today's sitting of the house was dubbed as a farewell session in which Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav addressed the legislators.

But the BJP this morning decided to boycott the sitting terming it as 'illegal'. Party's chief whip Lakshmi Kant Bajpai said tabling of the bill should have been left to the next assembly. ''With elections over and counting due on May 11, what is the point in tabling a bill at this moment,'' he wondered.

The Bahujan Samaj Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and Congress are already boycotting the house proceedings. Congress legislature party members have submitted their resignations to AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

The tenure of the present 14th Assembly expires on May 14 and this is perhaps for the first time in the history of the state legislature that a bill would be passed a few days before the new Assembly is expected to be constitituted.

The new bill, to amend the Act, was piloted by state parliamentary affair minister and the life-time pro-chancellor of the said university, Mohd Azam Khan.

Under the new amended clause, now the university will be known as ' Mohammad Ali Jauhar University as a minority eductional insutution'. Now the government can only de-recognise the university only by a proposal supported by three-fourth majority of both the houses of the state legislature after an approval from the UGC.

Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in the year 2004 had tabled a bill to set up the university in Rampur under government sector. But Governor T V Rajeswar had sent it for Presidential Reference. The President wrote that instead of making arrangements for a life-time pro chancellor, the government should appoint a person for five years and make the policy more transparent.

In the year 2005, the university was set up under private sector.

Therefore, today the state government also sought the house's approval to withdraw the earlier bill setting up the university under government sector.

The government has sought the clearance of the Bill in the House to provide a minority status to Mohammad Ali Jauhar Private University, where state Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan is a life-time pro-chancellor.

UNI