Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a jab at the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala, saying they “finally done the right thing” by allowing private universities to open.
The Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025, passed by the Kerala Assembly on March 25, is the result of a key policy change adopted by the CPI(M). The bill aimed at regulating the establishment and operation of private universities in the state was passed by a voice vote, but the process was marked by significant debate and opposition. The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), led by Congress, supported the bill in principle but raised key concerns about its provisions, such as fee structures and the impact on public institutions, and moved several amendments. K.K. Rema, Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMP) legislator representing Vadakara, was the only legislator to vote against the bill, criticizing it as an attempt to commercialise higher education.
The CPI(M) has traditionally held a strong opposition to the establishment of private universities in Kerala. Historically, the party has been against the privatisation of education, viewing it as a threat to public access and social equity. In 2016, when the UDF was in power, the Students' Federation of India (SFI) affiliated to CPI(M) even physically assaulted T.P. Sreenivasan, then Vice Chairman of the Higher Education Council, during a protest at the Global Education Summit in Kovalam.
However, in 2022, CPI(M) signalled policy shift. Higher Education Minister R. Bindu had said in the assembly that in 2022 itself an expert committee constituted to recommend reforms in the higher education sector had recommended to the government to allow private universities. The minister defended her party’s and government’s position to public universities by saying they waited till 2025 in order to ensure that all public universities are adequately strengthened.
Notably, Tharoor said in his post that CPI(M) is in fact late by 15 to 20 years late. “As usual, the decision comes about 15 to 20 years late, which is usually the case with those anchored in a 19th century ideology,” he wrote on X. “Never forget that when computers first came to India, Communist goons entered public sector offices to smash them. The only parties to object to the introduction of mobile telephones in India were also the communist ones. It took them years to realise that the real beneficiary of these changes was the common man, for whom they claimed to speak. I’m sure they will one day finally enter the 21st century, but it may only be in the 22nd!”