Nitish seeks naming central universities after Budda, Gandhi

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today urged Vice President Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar for naming the new central universities in Gaya and Motihari after Gautam Buddha and Mahatama Gandhi with whom these places are associated with.

Kumar made the plea to them to use their good offices in telling the Central Government to do so at the First Convocation of the Central University of Bihar (CUB) here which was attended by the three of them.

He told them that bills related to the universities are expected soon hence it would be an honour for the people and the state if the two universities are nomenclatured after Buddha and Gandhi.

"Since Lord Budddha had attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and Gandhiji launched freedom movement from Motihari it will be apt to name the two new central universities after them," he said.

After tiff between the Bihar government and the Union HRD ministry over venue of opening a central university in the state, the then HRD minister Kapil Sibal had last year announced two central universities one at Gaya and another at Motihari.

Kumar said the state government has alloted Rs 200 crore for acquiring 300 acres of land at Motihari while in Gaya the land belongs to Defence hence there was no problem in availability for building campus of the two universities.

Addressing the convocation of the CUB which at present is functioning from campus of BIT here, Vice President Hamid Ansari pointed to poor implementation of human rights in the country and stressed on education as a solution.

"In a vibrant and robust democracy like ours, there is no shame in acknowledging that faults and the lacunae that exist in the policies and institutions pertaining to human rights," Ansari said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who is also Chancellor of the Central University of Bihar, in her address emphasised that education should not only be the source of livelihood, but should be a tool to stamp out rancid tradition fomenting social discrimination.