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Stalin forms High level panel to protect States rights, improve Centre-State ties

Chennai, Apr 15 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday
announced formation of a High Level Committee to protect the legitimate
rights of the States as guaranteed by the Constitution and improve relations
between the Union and the State Governments.
Making a Statement under Rule 110 in the State Assembly, he said the
Committee will be Former Supreme Court Justice Kurian Joseph and it
is expected to submit its interim report by January2026.
Mr. Ashok Vardhan Shetty, Former Vice-Chancellor, Indian Maritime University
and a retired IAS officer, and Prof. M. Naganathan, Former Vice-Chairman,
Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, will be its members.
The High Level Committee will conduct examine and re-evaluate all provisions
of the Constitution of India and existing laws, orders, policies and arrangements
that may have an impact on the relationship between the Union and the States.
It would also examine and recommend measures to restore the provisions that
have been moved from the State List to the Concurrent List over time, recommend
measures needed to address the challenges faced by states in delivering good
governance, besides appropriate measures to ensure that the states have
maximum autonomy in the administrative departments, assemblies and judicial
branches, without compromising the unity and integrity of the country, he said.
"All the members of this Assembly know that those who created the political and
administrative system for our country, under the leadership of Ambedkar, did not
create a unitary country, but a union of states with federal ideology and principles,
in order to protect and promote the interests of the people of our country", he noted.
"But, I record here with pain that in today's era, the rights of the states are being taken
away one by one, and we are in a difficult situation where we have to fight for the basic
rights of the people of the states from the Union government", he said.
Noting that this vast country of India is being protected by the states formed on the
basis of linguistic rights, the Chief Minister said only if the states formed in this way
are endowed with all powers will the states develop; India will also become strong.
"Realizing this, Tamil Nadu continues to loudly proclaim the broad policy slogan of
‘Autonomy in the States, Federalism at the Centre’",he said amid thumping of desks
by the members of the Treasury Benches.
Mr Stalin said while no state in India had taken any steps in this regard, almost half
a century ago, in 1969, then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had constituted a high-level
committee headed by retired Chief Justice P.V. Raja Mannar to examine the relations
between the Union and the state Governments.
The Raja Mannar Committee, which was the first in the country to conduct a detailed
study of Union-State relations, submitted its report in 1971 and its recommendations
were passed by the Speaker and Mr Karunanidhi in the same Assembly 51 years ago,
on April 16, 1974, as a resolution, he recalled.
Following this, the Union Government set up a commission headed by Sarkaria in 1983
to improve relations between the Union and the State Governments, and a committee
headed by Supreme Court Justice Poonchi in 2004, and despite the submission of
thousands of pages of reports on their behalf, there has been no change and
disappointment continues to this day.
Taking a dig at the BJP government, Mr Stalin said the current Union Government is
rapidly transferring important powers in the State List, such as medicine, law and finance,
to the Concurrent List and referred to issues like NEET, Delimitation, imposition of three-
language policy under the guise of NEP, non-release of due share of funds, including GST
dues and for disaster relief.
The High Level Committee should consider the recommendations of the Raja Mannar
Committee and other commissions on Union-State relations formed in 1971, as well
as the various political, social, economic and legal developments that have occurred
in the country since 1971.
The is expected to submit its interim report to the government by the end of January
and its final report within two years, he said.
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