Centre slammed over biased terms

Amaravati: Upping the ante against the BJP which is struggling to enter South India through Karnataka, a conclave of Finance Ministers of non-BJP states held here on Monday drew the attention of the President of India to the terms of reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission which, it said, were heavily loaded against performing states.

The conclave, attended by seven states both South and North, described the terms of reference as violative of the Federal principles as enshrined in the Constitution. They would erode the autonomy of the states and bring significant financial hardship to all, the Finance Ministers felt and decided to hold a national-level meeting with participation of all the states in New Delhi to denounce the Centre’s imperious methods of imposing itself on the states.

The Finance Ministers felt that the terms of reference laid down that the commission should take into consideration the population statistics of 2011 and not those of 1971 while deciding Central devolutions to the states.

Those who attended the conference were Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayana Swamy, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Finance Ministers of Punjab, West Bengal, Kerala, AP and an IAS officer from poll-bound Karnataka.

The Finance Ministers’ conference had a broader canvas since the earlier one held in Thiruvananthapuram on April 10 was restricted to only southern states.

Amaravati conference raised serious concerns over the terms of reference and felt that they would restrict the states from fulfilling their Constitutional obligations and weaken cooperative federalism.

In his inaugural address, Chief Minister of host state N Chandrababu Naidu said the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission would result in penalising the states which were in the forefront of population control. He said: "We will not tolerate this injustice.

We will fight." He also voiced apprehension that if 2011 census becomes basis for taking all decisions, then the state faced the unsavory prospect of losing seats in legislatures when delimitation exercise is taken up. He said: "Southern States are under the threat of losing their eminence because they were successful in population control." he said.

Lashing out at the Centre for the terms of reference, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy wanted this unilateral decision be reversed. "The Centre should consult states while taking decisions of this nature. Do you call this Federal spirit?" he asked.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that there should be concerted effort to bring pressure on the Centre to protect the interests of the performing states. He alleged that the Central government was trying to take control over Delhi administration. He said the Centre should consider Delhi and Pondicherry as special cases in terms of reference.

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac said the Centre was trying to thrust decisions on the states. He said GST turned into a burden on the states.

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that the Centre was trying to dilute the spirit of federalism by trying to deny funds to the states violating the basics of federalism.

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh said that the states were losing tax share due to GST. He said industrial development was hit in Punjab due to concessions given to states for which special category status had been accorded. He said the Centre was imposing its agenda on the states.