Former secy appeals to Bhagwant Mann to form federal front to contain onslaught on federalism
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Er AS Sarma, former secretary to the government of India has appealed to the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to form a federal front to contain the onslaught on federalism. Sarma, in his letter to Bhagwant Mann ,has written that Punjab to come onto a common platform with other chief ministers to collectively act to protect the spirit of federalism that should prevail in the long-run. The states should realise that affront to federalism in the case of one state amounts to an affront to the concept of federalism in general.
He said in the federal framework in which the centre and the states are expected to function harmoniously in accordance with the constitution. Their relations are expected to be based on mutual respect and trust. The successive governments at the centre had consciously nurtured and promoted this concept.
He said in recent times, there has been a distressing tendency on the part of the Centre to intrude unduly in areas that legitimately belong to the States, which has the effect of eroding the political identity of the State.
As per letter the centre unilaterally enacted laws such as the three farm Laws and the Bill to amend the Electricity Act 2003 that tends to curtail the states’ authority, without casting matching accountability on the Centre. enacting such laws without consulting the stakeholders including the States is undemocratic and unsustainable.
He said that the Centre’s unilateral, sweeping orders on large-scale central public sector enterprises (CPSE )disinvestment and the monetisation of lands in which the states have a significant stake in several ways has evoked resistance from the states.
He said that there have been attempts to centralise all policies through slogans such as “one nation, one ration”, coupled with individual photos affixed to the identity cards , and direct cash transfers by the centre from the resources that should legitimately belong to the states,to the bank accounts of the people, tend to give undue political advantage to the Central leadership, at the cost of the states
He said that in the federal framework in which the centre and the states are expected to function harmoniously in accordance with the constitution, the states, which are nearer the people and more directly accountable to them, play a crucial role in promoting balanced socio-economic development of the communities relevant to their respective areas. The centre needs to strengthen the hands of the states in such matters.
Former secy appeals to Bhagwant Mann to form federal front to contain onslaught on federalism. He said that in a democratic set-up like ours, in which the Centre and the States should function as equal partners, but the Central leadership has systematically weakened the institutions that exist as independent entities meant for safeguarding the interests of the States and the people at large.
The like minded states should put up a collective front against any attempt on the part of the Centre to diminish their authority and prevent what appears to be an onslaught on federalism, he said..
March 30,2022
