Centre dismantling Constitutional bodies, usurping power: Jeyaranjan

Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission vicechairperson J. Jeyaranjan has come down heavily on the alleged concentration of powers and systematic destruction of Constitutional institutions in the country by the Union government.

He was speaking while inaugurating the tenth annual conference of Kerala Economic Association (KEA) and a national seminar on ‘Cooperative federalism: Challenges ahead’ organised in association with Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), and Inter University Centre for Alternative Economics, Kerala University, on ‘Cooperative federalism: Challenges ahead’ here on Saturday.

Stressing the urgency for a fundamental restructuring of CentreState federal relations, Dr. Jeyarenjan said the increasing burden of expenditure on the States, especially the southern States, posed a serious threat to their economic survival.

He also lamented the absence of a common platform like the Planning Commission or the InterState Council to discuss issues concerning States. Such mechanisms enabled a direct interaction between the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers on economic issues. He objected to claims that the GST Council served a similar purpose.

Vinod Vyasalu, founder, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, Bengaluru, flagged the criteria fixed by the Finance Commission that has been worsening the imbalance in resource allocation'.

Economist D. Narasimha Reddy, GIFT director K.J. Joseph, KEA president K.N. Harilal and Prof. Lekha S. Chakraborty of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy also spoke.