UGC Equity Rules Are Only A Draft, 'Will Not Become Law': RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

· Free Press Journal

Bhilwara / New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat has said the University Grants Commission’s contested equity regulations remain only a proposal and will not be enacted as law.

Bhagwat made the remarks on Monday during a closed-door meeting of about 40 minutes with Jain saint Acharya Pulak Sagar Maharaj at Suryamahal in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. The meeting covered social harmony, caste divisions and current conditions in the country.

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Bhagwat addresses UGC draft

Acharya Pulak Sagar raised the UGC draft and expressed concern that it could deepen divisions between general-category and backward-class students. Bhagwat replied that the rules were still only a draft, had not been passed, and would not become law. He added that no measure that broke social harmony would be implemented.

The statement comes months after nationwide protests and a Supreme Court stay on the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026. The Commission notified the rules in mid-January. They required every university and college to set up an Equal Opportunity Centre and an Equity Committee, with representation from OBC, SC, ST, persons with disabilities and women, to handle complaints of caste, religion or gender discrimination.

Court stay and objections

General-category student groups argued the framework was one-sided and open to misuse because it did not offer the same explicit protection to all students. Several states saw campus demonstrations.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant stayed the 2026 regulations in late January, describing them as “prima facie vague” and capable of “sweeping consequences” that could divide campuses. The court directed that the 2012 anti-discrimination regulations would continue until further orders and issued notice to the Centre and the UGC.

The Union government later indicated it would re-examine the draft. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier said no one would be allowed to misuse the rules and that there would be no discrimination.

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Earlier remarks by Bhagwat

Bhagwat had spoken on the same subject in February. He then said laws must be followed, that a wrong law can be changed, and that castes should not become a cause of conflict. Society needed a sense of belonging, he said, and those who had fallen must be lifted rather than suppressed.

The Bhilwara remarks are the RSS chief’s clearest public comment since the court stay that the 2026 regulations will not be given statutory force. The Commission and the Education Ministry have not issued a fresh statement after Monday’s meeting.

Further protests and legal proceedings

Campus protests against the draft have continued in several states, including demands for a merit-based and uniformly applicable anti-discrimination code. The Supreme Court is yet to hear the matter on the next listed date.

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