Taking lead to protect states’ rights, says CM Stalin

CHENNAI: Upping his ante against the BJP-led Union government on the State rights issue, Chief Minister MK Stalin emulated his father and announced a high-level committee to improve Centre-State relations and protect State rights on Tuesday.

The CM alleged that the Union government was taking away the rights of states one by one and the states were fighting for their basic rights.

Making the case in the State Assembly for the high-level committee to examine State rights’ issue, Stalin said, “I record here with pain that in today’s era, the rights of the states are being taken away one by one, and we are in a difficult situation where we have to fight for the basic rights of the people of the states from the Union government.”

Reiterating that the vast country was being protected by the states formed on the basis of linguistic rights, the CM said, “Only if the states formed in this way are endowed with all powers will the states develop; India will also become strong. Realising this, Tamil Nadu continues to loudly proclaim the broad policy slogan of autonomy in the states, federalism at the Centre.”

Recalling the Constitution of PV RajaMannar commission in 1969 when no state in India had taken any steps in this regard, Stalin referred to Sarkaria commission (1983) and M M Punchhi commission (2004), and said that despite the submission of thousands of pages of reports, there has been no change and disappointment continues to this day.

‘States nation’s chugging engine, but denied powers’

Accusing the current Union Government of rapidly transferring important powers in the State List like health, law and finance to the Concurrent List, the CM cited the ‘imposition’ of NEET and trilingual policy by the Union and said that the states have taken on the huge responsibility of taking the nation on the path of development. “The states are taking forward everything from education, healthcare, rural development and urban development. But the powers required to implement all of them are being taken away from the states and concentrated in the Centre,” he added.

Quoting Dr B R Ambedkar and James Madison, the architects of the Indian and US constitutions, respectively, on state autonomy and federal structures, the CM reiterated the victory achieved in the Governor case last week, and said, “Whenever the Union government acts against federalism, TN has consistently reacted against it. We have never hesitated to raise these issues in detail in the People’s Assembly and, if necessary, to enact laws in the Assembly to find a solution to them.”

Flagging issues like low tax share devolution, non-release of disaster relief funds, imposition of NEP to avail Samagra Shiksha scheme funds, rejection of NEET-exemption Bill and delimitation-threat, Stalin said, “Only the mother of the child knows what to feed her starving child. But if someone from Delhi decides the food that the child eats, the education that he receives, and the path that he takes, wouldn’t motherhood, born of compassion, be outraged?”