The united Opposition on Wednesday checkmated yet another promise given by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to set up a central agricultural university in the Bundelkhand region, spread across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Despite the Election Commission's code of conduct in force to prevent any new decisions regarding the poll-bound states, the government made an unsuccessful attempt in the Rajya Sabha to introduce a Bill for establishing the Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University.
The Bill was finally deferred as the government yielded lest the Lokpal Bill too gets bogged down, though this is yet another embarrassment for it just a day after defeat of a constitutional amendment to give statutory status to the Lokpal in the Lok Sabha.
As soon as Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar rose to pilot the Bill, Communist Paert of India-Marxist member P Rajeev made a constitutional objection that incorporation of a university is the state subject under the Constitution and hence the Bill is unconstitutional.
Senior lawyer-turned Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal came to Pawar's rescue, trashing the constitutional impropriety claim and Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan tried to overrule Rajeev's objection, but found the Opposition rising in protest.
He advised the House for 30 minutes and then Prof P J Kurien took the chair to adjourn the House first for 15 minutes and then for 10 minutes.
A compromise was, however, finally reached as Khan announced that the Bill's introduction has been deferred and that brought the House in order to discuss the next item on the agenda -- The Constitution 111th Amendment Bill on cooperatives that was passed after nearly four hours of discussion.
