Opposition CMs' proposed conclave to oppose Modi govt’s bid to lord over states a significant development

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stand for a ‘stronger’ Centre is well known by now, as is also the fact how this is undermining and weakening the very provision of federalism in the Constitution of India, both in letter and spirit.

We also have examples when the Modi government was not able to legally undermine the elected, opposition-led state government, it changed the very definition of the ‘government’, against the spirit of the Constitution of India.

The Chief Ministers meet proposed by the Chief Minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee to be held in Delhi soon is thus significant.

Modi’s attacks on federalism and usurping the powers of the state for a ‘stronger’ Centre means many things, the most important among them being systematically weakening the autonomy of the states in fulfilling their obligations as per the state list of the Constitution of India, as also those obligations that are to be shared with the Centre as per the concurrent list.

Apart from blatant misuse of power, the Modi government at the Centre has been interfering in the governance of the other two tiers – the state and the Panchayati Raj – through various schemes that are not on the Central list of the Constitution of India, but on the state or concurrent list, for the sole purpose of doing politics there directly from New Delhi in a highhanded manner.

While doing so, the Modi government has even placed nominated bodies or persons over elected bodies or persons, violating the fundamental principle of democracy.

Modi has been doing all this perhaps due to his fear psychosis and misunderstanding of federalism of India as envisaged by the Constitution.

A stronger federal structure does not mean a weak Centre. To understand this, one just needs simply to go through constitutional debates.

Modi’s fear or ideas simply do not stand the test of reason and the Constitution of the country; hence most of them are unreasonable and unconstitutional.

To have a clearer understanding, only one example should be sufficient here to know that these are not merely allegations by some opposition leaders for the sake of opposition.

Let us take the case of Delhi where there is a non-BJP government. When Modi government started interfering through its appointee Lieutenant Governor, the case went to the Supreme Court of India that in 2018 ruled that the Lieutenant Governor does not have independent decision-making powers and the real power must lie with the elected government.

Not only that, the SC ruled that “a balanced federal structure mandates that the Union does not usurp all powers and the states enjoy freedom without any unsolicited interference from the Centre … there is no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also.”

Against this SC ruling, Modi government brought a law last year and changed the definition for the “government” in Delhi to mean “Lieutenant Governor”, thereby making a nominated or appointed person hold power over an elected body, violating the very principle of democracy.

Such anti-democratic acts have numerous examples in Modi Raj in which nominated or appointed persons and bodies are lording over elected bodies through central schemes for states and Panchayati Raj.

The immediate provocation for the opposition chief ministers’ proposed meet was due to various rifts between Governors and Chief Ministers of opposition-ruled states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Delhi apart from grievances sounded by the governments of Telangana and Maharashtra.

Governors are appointees of the Centre while CMs are elected by the people of the state. It is a grave misunderstanding of the Constitution of India by the Modi government that its constitutional mandate permits it to lord over opposition-ruled states through its appointee Governors.

The Governors’ lording over an opposition-ruled, democratically elected government is simply an extension of this gross misunderstanding or anti-democratic approach of the Modi government.

As per the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India, Governors are simply to assist both the states and the Centre in good governance to prevent, warn, inform, or act against any Constitutional breakdown.

The institution of Governors was not meant for doing petty politics and lording over democratically elected state governments.

The proposed meet of the chief ministers would discuss the “Constitutional overstepping and brazen misuse of power by the Governors”, M K Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu said after the Mamata Banerjee suggested such a meeting.

Stalin reiterated DMK’s commitment to uphold state autonomy in a tweet that came soon after a heated exchange with West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who had prorogued the state Assembly.

Though this particular act of the Governor was defended on the ground that it was done following the recommendation of the cabinet, TMC’s declaration to bring a resolution against the Governor in the current budget session accusing him of transgressing constitutional limits tells a lot about the rift between the Governor and the Chief Minister.

It should also be noted that Dhankhar had recently said in a tweet that the state had become “a gas chamber for democracy” upon which CM Mamata had blocked him.

Mamata has also said that she had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi several times, requesting that Dhankar be removed, but no action has been taken.

As for Tamil Nadu, it is work recalling that its Governor R N Ravi has been accused of blocking the anti-NEET bill passed by the assembly which is against the Modi government’s national medical entrance examination.

The Central law, it is feared, was interfering with the interests of the state and it is believed that Modi government has brought it for doing politics of reservation in the country, though health and education both are state subjects.

Chief Minister Stalin and several other political parties have decided to send the bill again to the governor demanding that it be forwarded to President of India for his assent.

Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrashekhara Rao has said that he would be meeting Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai, and Mamata Banerjee is to meet him in Hyderabad soon. He is also in touch with several opposition parties in an attempt to forge a greater alliance in the fight to save federalism from Modi’s attack.

Congress-ruled states such as Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have also been facing trouble due to Centre’s interference.

(IPA Service)

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