Union Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge said that he would take up the issue of sanctioning one more Indian Institute of Information Technology to Karnataka (in Gulbarga) with Union Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Pallam Raju.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Kharge said that soon after his return to New Delhi he would talk to Mr. Raju on the need for sanctioning one more IIIT to Karnataka and establishing the same here. He said it would be wrong to seek the transfer of the IIIT promised to Gulbarga which was shifted to Dharwad.
The Union government had sanctioned IIIT to Karnataka three years back and asked the State government to find a suitable location for it. The Gulbarga University had volunteered for this honour, and provided space on its premises; however, the proposal was put in cold storage.
According to official sources, Gulbarga University did not pursue the matter further and Karnataka University seized the opportunity and pressured authorities to establish IIIT in Dharwad, and offered the required land for the purpose. The Cabinet gave its nod to the proposal, and in the State Budget Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it was decided to establish IIIT in Dharwad.
CUK’s new campus
Mr. Kharge said that the new campus of the Central University of Karnataka at Kadaganchi in Aland Taluk would be formally inaugurated by Mr. Raju in September.
On the State Budget, Mr. Kharge said it was a “growth-oriented budget which lays stress on core sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, health, education and power.”
Asked about the formation of the coordination committee headed by AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, Mr. Kharge said that it would facilitate a better understanding between the State and the party. The formation of the committee should not be construed as a rift between the party and the government. Similar committees have also been formed in other Congress-ruled States.
