Chief Minister Of Tamil Nadu Is Opposed To The Proposed Revisions To The IAS Rules

M.K. Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, expressing his opposition to the proposed revisions to the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954. He claimed it went to the heart of the country's federal polity and state autonomy. He asked the Prime Minister to work with the States to promote the federal spirit of the country.

Mr. Stalin argued that civil servants must be permitted to work with an open mind and remain apolitical, and that the proposed amendments would have grave consequences, causing irreparable harm to the spirit of cooperative federalism that exists between the Union and the States and resulting in power concentration in the Union government.

He suggested that rther than enforcing restrictive provisions to usurp state power, the Union government favourably reshape the working circumstances for All India Service officers through such a transparent empanelment procedure and by establishing professional space and independence that officers could choose to deputise to the Union government willfully without any need for forcible rules.

He claimed that several States were desperately short of officers, due to the Union government's poor cadre management policies. He stated that although the Union government used the general pool of Group-I officers at the national level, the States relied on the State's limited pool of IAS officers.

The states were at the forefront of implementing many programmes, including those proposed by the Union government. Natural calamities struck frequently in the States, necessitating the assistance of IAS officers. Forcing state governments to delegate officials would exacerbate the governance crisis in many states. Furthermore, Mr. Stalin stated that the Union government's lateral entry recruitment has harmed the morale of officials seeking deputation on their initiative.