Pictures by Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency.
Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Rahul Gandhi's allegation that the Modi government is bringing a new law by repealing the Jawaharlal Nehru-era law governing ISI, because the RSS wants to control its curriculum and research with its ideology. Amidst intense political debate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday to change the name of the 'Indian Statistical Institute' (ISI). The Centre has said that the bill will be debated in Parliament next Wednesday.
Established in 1931, the headquarters of this one of the best research and educational institutions in the country is in Baranagar, Kolkata. But there is apprehension among ISI teachers, researchers and students about whether this headquarters will remain there in the future. Because, there is no mention of keeping the headquarters in Kolkata in the 'Indian Statistical Institute Bill' of the Union Statistics Ministry! ISI teachers and researchers fear that the Modi government is now trying to introduce an IIT and IIM-style management system in ISI. As a result, there is a question of whether the headquarters will be in Kolkata or not. Because, until now, the ISI academics used to run the organization. Until now, the directors and professors were in the majority in the ISI's governing council. In the bill brought by the central government, the dean has not been included in the ISI's governing body! Although he was included in the draft bill. ISI teachers feel that if the new bill is passed, the bureaucrats of the Joint Secretary level of the Education Ministry will control ISI. As a result, autonomy will be reduced. Trinamool MPs Saugata Roy and Pratima Mandal opposed the bill on Monday. On the other hand, CPI(M) (Liberation) MP Raja Ram Singh has requested that the bill be sent to a joint parliamentary committee.
At a press conference at the Press Club in Kolkata on Saturday, ISI teachers demanded that this bill should not be passed without consulting them. They claimed that no discussion was held with the director himself about this bill. Since last year, the ISI campus in Kolkata has been repeatedly agitated over the draft bill. Calls to boycott the ISI Bill of 2025 were also raised at the ISI convocation ceremony in February. There was also a call to stop the control and privatization of the center. Students were going up to the convocation stage to receive their PhD degrees wearing protest badges. This started a discussion in the education community. It was claimed that the center has taken the initiative to repeal the ISI Act of 1959. The ISI has published the draft of the ISI Bill, 2025 without consulting the society or the concerned stakeholders. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleged that the Modi government is bringing a new law by repealing the Jawaharlal Nehru-era law governing the ISI because the RSS wants to control its curriculum and research with its ideology.