‘Place key bills before the Inter-state Council’
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate placing bills of national importance before the Inter-state Council ahead of its introduction in Parliament.
In a letter, Stalin requested the PM that at least three Inter-state Council meetings be held every year even as he expressed his happiness over the re-constitution of the council, last month.
“I strongly suggest that every Bill of national importance that is likely to affect one or more States should be placed before the Council before it is introduced into Parliament, and the views of the Council are also tabled before the Parliament at the time of introduction of such Bill,” Stalin said in his letter.
The agenda for the next meeting may include matters such as this for discussion to strengthen the spirit of co-operative federalism, he requested.
Without such a platform, there is no scope for effective and interactive communication between the Centre and states on issues of common interest. “We have seen instances where many Bills affecting the interest of the states, are passed in Parliament without proper opportunity being given to the opposition to debate its merits and voice the concern of the states.”
The views, concerns and constructive suggestions of states are not properly heard by the Centre during the decision making process for the nation.
A permanent Inter-state Council was established in 1990 by the Centre and as per the mandate, meetings should be conducted thrice a year.