Which committee, chaired by Digvijay Singh, recommended the UGC rules?

New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently issued a notification stating that all universities, colleges, and higher education institutions must establish an Equity Committee within their institutions. This committee will hear and resolve complaints related to discrimination against students, teachers, or non-teaching staff belonging to the SC/ST or OBC categories within the institution, within a stipulated timeframe. The upper-caste community across the country is protesting this UGC rule. Significantly, the parliamentary committee that recommended this law is chaired by senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh. The committee has a total of 30 members from both houses of Parliament, including several BJP MPs who belong to the upper-caste community.

In fact, this recommendation was made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh chairs this committee. The committee comprises 21 Lok Sabha and 9 Rajya Sabha MPs. Some of the names are surprising. In terms of party representation, the committee includes 16 members from the BJP, 4 from the Congress, 3 from the Samajwadi Party, 2 from the Trinamool Congress, 1 from the CPI(M), 1 from the DMK, 1 from the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), 1 from the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and 1 former member from the Aam Aadmi Party. In other words, the ruling BJP has more than 50 percent representation on this committee.

Who are the members of the committee? According to the names available on the Parliament’s website, this committee includes, from the Rajya Sabha, Digvijay Singh, along with Bhim Singh (BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar), Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya (CPM leader and Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal), Ghanshyam Tiwari (BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan), Rekha Sharma (BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana and former chairperson of the National Commission for Women), C. Sadanandan Master (Vice President of Kerala BJP and Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala), Sikandar Kumar (BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh), Sunetra Pawar (NCP leader and wife of Ajit Pawar, Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra), and Swati Maliwal (former AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi).

Who are the 21 faces from the Lok Sabha?
The Lok Sabha MPs on this committee include former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay (BJP leader and MP from West Bengal), former Union Minister and MP from Patna Sahib and prominent BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, and BJP leader, spokesperson and MP from Puri constituency in Odisha, Sambit Patra. Besides these, the names of Bansuri Swaraj (BJP leader and MP from New Delhi constituency), Amar Sharadrao Kale (NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader), Angomcha Bimol Akoijam (Congress party leader and MP from Manipur), Brijmohan Agrawal (BJP leader from Chhattisgarh and MP from Raipur Lok Sabha constituency), Daggubati Purandeswari (prominent BJP leader in Andhra Pradesh and MP from Rajahmundry constituency), and Darshan Singh Choudhary (BJP leader and MP from Hoshangabad constituency in Madhya Pradesh) are also included.

Other faces
Other MPs include D.N. Kuriakose (Congress leader and MP from Idukki constituency in Kerala), Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (Congress leader and MP from Mumbai North-Central constituency), Hemang Joshi (BJP leader and MP from Vadodara constituency in Gujarat), Jitendra Kumar Dohare (Samajwadi Party leader and MP from Etawah constituency in Uttar Pradesh), Ziaur Rahman Barq (Samajwadi Party leader and MP from Sambhal constituency in Uttar Pradesh), Rajiv Rai (Samajwadi Party leader, MP from Ghosi constituency in UP), Kalipada Saren Kherwal (Trinamool Congress leader and MP from Jhargram constituency in West Bengal), Kamakhya Prasad Tasa (BJP leader and MP from Kaziranga constituency in Assam), Karan Bhushan Singh (BJP leader and MP from Kaiserganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh), Rachana Banerjee (TMC leader and former actress, MP from Hooghly constituency in West Bengal), Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya (BJP leader, MP from Sabarkantha constituency in Gujarat), and Thamizhachi Thangapandian alias T. Sumathi (DMK leader in Tamil Nadu and MP from Chennai South constituency).