By Mahitha Lingala A country with a magnitude as much as that of India thrives only when both levels of governments, in the States as well as the Centre, work in tandem towards prosperity. Cooperative federalism is a work in progress in India. Despite powers being divided asymmetrically in the Constitution, India is a Union […]
By Mahitha Lingala
A country with a magnitude as much as that of India thrives only when both levels of governments, in the States as well as the Centre, work in tandem towards prosperity. Cooperative federalism is a work in progress in India. Despite powers being divided asymmetrically in the Constitution, India is a Union of States wherein the States hold the federation together. While the onus of this power may largely lie with the Centre, it cannot usurp the powers of the State as that only translates into a direct assault on the constitutional framework.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, while moving his Objectives Resolution in 1946, reiterated that “the need for a measure of uniformity in regard to apparatus and machinery of government at the Central level was to be considered in cooperation and consultation with the states, and that all power and authority of Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of government, are derived from the people.”
Prime Minister Modi has also spoken of cooperative federalism on various occasions and forums, stressing its importance. He has often said that “synergy and a better understanding between the Centre and the States in their policy framework was very important for the country’s development”. One might think that a Prime Minister who had also been a Chief Minister would understand the nuances when it comes to the challenges an authoritative Central government can pose, but his government’s successive policies suggest otherwise.
Centralisation Push
The manifestation of centralisation under Modi’s government has been very clear since 2014. Their most recent push with regard to the three farm laws was met with extreme dissatisfaction and resistance, which eventually led to withdrawal of the Acts. They sought to abolish the AMPCs, which were established by the State governments in order to facilitate MSP for farmers and in turn earn fees and cess on such mandis. The abolition of AMPCs severely curtailed these rights of the State governments and also legally it infringed upon their rights as these topics come under the State list.
Another Bill that was passed in the same session was the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which takes away the power from the States to regulate cooperative banks. Cooperative banks are grassroots organisations meant to be in the State list and were until May under entry 32 of State list. The Union government has tried to bring them under entry 45 of Union list. In May 2020, in a judgement, the constitution bench headed by Arun Mishra affirmed the power of the Union government over operations of cooperative banks under entry 45. With the passage of the Bill, even grassroots-level institutions are being centralised ignoring the cultural and linguistic importance of having these institutions under the States’ control. The entire intent to create such institutions to safeguard the rights and diversity of the States is defeated.
Another very important example of how the government’s centralisation is manifesting is the Good and Services Tax (GST). Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has described this as “excessive centralisation of power”. The Centre routinely fails to pay the States its compensation as well as IGST and recently even compelled them to borrow to cover such dues while the CAG reports that the “Centre violated the GST Compensation Cess Act, 2017”. This Act makes sure that the GST cess is credited to the GST Compensation Cess Fund for providing compensation to the States. However, the CAG found that the Modi government retained Rs 47,272 crore of the GST cess in the Consolidated Fund of India during 2017-19. The finance ministry has denied it.
More recently, the Central government proposed changes to IAS Cadre rules. The proposal aims to give the Centre greater control over IAS deputations giving them the power to relieve officers even without the consent of the State government concerned. States under usual circumstances have the power to veto such a move, but the proposed amendment aims to take this power away. The main critique made by many former officers is that this move will make the state ‘vassals’ of the Centre. About ten Chief Ministers of various States have already written letters expressing their opposition to such a proposal and calling it an assault on cooperative federalism.
Even the Inter State council set up on the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission in 1990 to deal with Centre-State friction has failed and collapsed. It has only met 12 times since its inception with the last meeting being in 2017. The recently constituted committee on culture too finds no representation from the South despite so many issues in the recent years about Hindi imposition. The Centre’s centralisation trend is extremely worrying since dialogue has broken down as the Centre, which would initiate dialogue in the past, seems interested only in centralising power at present.
Electoral Democracy
The Prime Minister often talks about ‘One Nation, One Election’, an idea mooted by a section arguing for administrative efficiency and financial convenience. But State elections and the tenure of their respective legislative houses are a manifestation of our electoral democracy.Administrative or financial convenience will only serve as an excuse to weaken this democratic structure as constitutional and democratic norms are not contingent upon such conveniences.
In the opening session of the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stressed upon the importance of the Union of States and the voice of the States. Many from the BJP countered in retaliation by stressing India’s oneness, but India’s oneness always remains in recognising and empowering its diversity and empowering its States that make up the nation. That is why to preserve it, it’s essential for the States to find common ground on such issues as tensions are only set to rise between the Centre and the States if the BJP government continues its centralisation tirade leading up to the 2026 delimitation.
(The author is a lawyer and freelance policy analyst based in Hyderabad)