States Unite To Fight Overreach By The Centre
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-02-15 05:55:07
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The India Commentary view
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With Centre-State relations once again in focus due to the Centre's unilateral decisions regarding expanding the jurisdiction of the BSF, the change in IAS-IPS rules to force states to make more officers available for Central duty, sharing of PDS data, the problems over GST, the role of Central investigative agencies and the problems some states are having with governors, it was expected that opposition-ruled states, especially those ruled by regional parties, would come together to fight this jointly. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee once again took the lead and had discussions over telephone with her counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Both MK Stalin and K Chandrasekhar Rao immediately agreed to hold a conclave in Delhi sometime in March of thereafter.
Chief Ministers of opposition-ruled states have been protesting the Centre's attempts to chip away at the powers of the state. They are especially miffed that the Centre is taking these decisions unilaterally without any discussions with the states. For instance, when the jurisdiction of BSF was extended, some states pointed out the difficulties in implementing the order as large swathes of areas that were not under any threat would come under the BSF and would cause problems for civilians, including the administration and the police. They demanded that the Centre hold consultations.
Similarly, some states have pointed out that if the Centre takes away officers, they would face a shortage and district administration will suffer. In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, elected governments are facing problems due to the alleged overreach by the respective governors in the states. But the point is that Congress-ruled states are also facing the same problems and regional-party-only opposition front will represent only a part of the opposition.
Then there are other contradictions. AAP party should be a part of this front, but TMC and AAP party ware fighting in Goa. The Congress is an alliance partner of the DMK in Tamil Nadu and the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra. How will the regional front include the DMK, the Shiv Sena and the NCP and exclude the Congress? The Centre's overreach must be tackled by the opposition in a united manner and the Congress needs to be included in any such front.
