To Respected Chief Ministers Subject:-  Centre’s onslaught on federalism- Some Governors playing extra-Constitutional role Sir, I have addressed you time and again on the political executive at the Centre systematically infringing the lakshman rekha of federalism to diminish the political space of the opposition parties in power in the States. In particular, the Centre has progressively constricted the role of[Read More…]

To Respected Chief Ministers Sir, During the last few years, there has been a growing trend on the part of the Centre to diminish the role of the States under the Constitution in several ways, including by reducing the share of tax receipts to be devolved to the States on the basis of equitable allocations recommended by the Finance Commission[Read More…]

Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) funded under article 282 of the Constitution not only pose a threat to federalism but also lead to misapplication of scarce public resources To Shri G C Murmu Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) Dear Shri Murmu, Earlier, vide my letter dated 20-9-2022, I had requested your office to conduct a special audit of a[Read More…]

  Letter to the Chief Ministers Respected Chief Ministers, Subject:- Increasing threat to federalism from Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs)– Need to form a Federal Front of the States to persuade the Centre not to proliferate CSSs, instead transfer existing CSSs with the associated fund allocations to the States I invite your attention to my letter dated March 2, 2022 addressed to[Read More…]

To Shri Bhagwant Mann Chief Minister Punjab Dear Shri Mann, Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you on taking over as the Chief Minister of Punjab. I am sure that your government will help open a new chapter in the politics of the State for the good of the people. In the federal framework in which the Centre and[Read More…]

To Thiru M K Stalin Chief Minister Tamilnadu Dear Thiru Stalin, In your recently released book, Ungalil Oruvan (One Amongst You), you have highlighted, among others, the necessity for the States to come together to protect the equitable federal framework in which the Centre and the States should function.  On the occasion of the book release, as per news reports, you have[Read More…]

Congress Party vice president, Rahul Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha that this country is a union of states, not a nation. Rahul Gandhi raised this issue in his speech in Parliament. He also said that there is no concept of nation in the constitution. And he also said that the culture, language and history of each state is different.[Read More…]

To Shri K Chandrasekhar Rao Chief Minister Telangana Dear Shri Chandrasekhar Rao garu, I had earlier written to you on 8-2-2022 welcoming your opposition to the Centre’s unilateral proposal to privatise the Singareni Collieries. Considering it from the point of view of federalism, in that letter I had suggested that the States should come together to counter the growing threat[Read More…]

The importance of cooperative federalism has  been widely recognized in India in the interests of justice, democracy and national integration. Unfortunately, however, in recent times not all has been well in the context of the principles and the spirit of cooperative federalism being followed at the level of the union government, and it is certainly very much in the larger[Read More…]