The Hindu : Govt. can issue guidelines: Antony

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 21, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Govt. can issue guidelines: Antony

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM NOV. 20. The Kerala Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, said here Wednesday that the Cabinet would take decisions on norms for admission to self-financing professional colleges at its next meeting. The Chief Minister told presspersons after the Cabinet meeting that the Government had powers to issue guidelines for admissions to self-financing professional colleges under the Supreme Court order.

The Cabinet, he said, discussed the report of its sub-committee on the matter and heard the opinions of the Law Secretary and the Higher Education Secretary. After this, it decided on more deliberations on the matter.

He said that the verdict has specified several things to be done by the Government. The sub-committee had discussed the matter with the managements.

The Government, he said, would take care of the future of the students who had already been admitted. The delay in taking a decision was not significant as several of the colleges had received recognition only two weeks ago.

The Chief Minister said that the hunger strike by the Leader of the Opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan, before the Secretariat was unfortunate. The construction of a shamiana for the hunger strike in front of the Secretariat was unlawful. The shamiana was not removed by the police because of respect for the Opposition leader.Mr. Antony noted that there was mounting public opinion against disruption of traffic through the main road in Thiruvananthapuram owing to agitations. Ensuring smooth traffic was part of the plans for development of the city. The Opposition leader should have avoided his unlawful action, he said.

Mr Antony said the Cabinet had not taken a decision on the proposed Rs. 729-crore project for networking the panchayats. A committee was looking into the proposal.

Mr. Antony said that the proposed Urban Regulatory Authority would not have any functions that would curtail the powers of local self-Governments. The authority would be formed only after discussions with the local self-Governments.

The Chief Minister declined to comment on the meeting between him and the deputy leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, M. P. Gangadharan, against the background of the move by Congress MLAs belonging to the `I' group to meet him as a delegation. "The details of the talks between the leader of the Parliamentary Party and its deputy leader cannot be publicised,'' he said.

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