Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday accused the Union government of attempting to “snatch away powers from the states”, The New Indian Express reported.
Speaking at Fort St George in Chennai on Independence Day, Stalin said: “The state governments are forced to depend on the Union government due to the discrimination in devolution of funds and in welfare programmes through central Acts and court judgements.”
He said that the powers of the state were being snatched in crucial sectors such as education and healthcare, The Hindu reported.
“The state governments are closer to the people, and hence they need greater powers,” he asserted.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief contended that constitutional measures are the only way to restore the rightful share of powers and finances to the states, which he alleged have been steadily diminished in recent years.
“The only way to protect our rights, powers and financial shares is through political and legal battles and that time has come,” The Times of India quoted the chief minister as saying.
Referring to the Constitution drafted by BR Ambedkar, Stalin emphasised that the original vision of shared governance between the Centre and state governments had been diluted, The New Indian Express reported.
“Only a truly federal India can shine as a strong and developed India,” Stalin said separately in a social media post.
Earlier in the day, Stalin said in an editorial in The Hindu: “In a true federal system, states should not have to protest, litigate or plead for their rightful share of revenues.”
“Such a situation affects not only the development of the state, but also the unity of India,” he added.
Stalin has for long accused the Union government of withholding funds as a tactic to coerce states to adopt centrally-mandated programmes.
Specifically, Tamil Nadu has repeatedly expressed opposition to the three-language formula in the 2020 National Education Policy. The state government said it will not change its decades-old two-language policy of teaching students Tamil and English.
The three-language formula refers to teaching students English, Hindi and the native language of a state. It was introduced in the first National Education Policy in 1968 and was retained in the new policy introduced in 2020.
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