THE 23rd Congress condemns the attacks by the central government on federalism in multiple spheres – educational, political, fiscal, social, and cultural.

Although the constitution declares India a union of states, the states in India today neither have the resources to fulfil their tasks as laid down in the constitution, nor do they have the right to raise such resources. The present situation is not because of the action or inaction of the states but is directly the consequence of central government policy.

The role of governors and Lt. governors transgresses all constitutional norms. They function as an extension of the BJP’s political agenda in opposition-ruled states. The centre continuously encroaches on the states’ rights by legislating on subjects that the constitution puts under the state list and the concurrent list. Education is in the concurrent list, but the National Education Policy (NEP) was announced unilaterally by the centre without any consultations with state governments. A government-appointed committee that included a large number of RSS functionaries and organisations finalised the draft document. The three retrograde farm laws were enacted without any consultation with states. The creation of a ministry of cooperatives at the centre is a blatant encroachment on states’ rights. The recent budget announcement for “one nation one registration” is intended to intrude into the rights of states with respect to land rights, which is a state subject. The new labour codes and electricity legislation were introduced without consulting states. Central agencies are wantonly being used against state government.

In the cultural field, the autonomy of the state governments is constantly being squeezed. The central government is consciously promoting Hindi while denying equal status to all national languages listed in the 8th schedule of the constitution.

The main features of the loss of financial autonomy are, first, the FRBM Act, which has severely restricted the fiscal space of the states. Now the government of India, following the FRBM review committee report, is considering the imposition of even more stringent conditions on states.

Secondly, GST has taken away the rights of states with respect to taxation. Because of arbitrary reduction of GST rates before the elections and serious lapses in the administration of GST (including delays in setting up the IT backbone), GST collections have lost buoyancy. Now that compensation is coming to an end, states’ revenues will fall precipitously.

Thirdly, finance commissions are increasingly becoming instruments in the hands of the central government to impose neo-liberal policies on states. The central government is making a mockery of even the awards of the finance commission by increasingly taking recourse to cesses and surcharges (which are not shareable with states) as a means of raising revenues.

Fourthly, the dismantling of the Planning Commission has placed large allocations on new projects entirely at the discretion of the central government, raising serious issues related to lack of planning and equity. The terms of centrally-sponsored schemes increasingly place new burdens on states, which are given no say in their formulation or design.

Fifthly, the central government is signing international treaties and free-trade agreements, on subjects and commodities that are in the domains of states, without consulting states at all.

Sixthly, the system of direct beneficiary transfers, bypassing state governments, is now being introduced in a large number of schemes.

This 23rd Congress of the CPI(M) demands a comprehensive restructuring of centre-state relations in order to reverse the present trend of weakening states’ rights, and in order to ensure states’ autonomy.

The 23rd Congress demands that the inter-state council be reactivated and that it discuss thoroughly all central legislation that impinges on states’ rights. It demands that GST be restructured to provide greater flexibility and a larger share of revenues to states. It resolutely opposes moves to make FRBM even more restrictive. It demands that, before the privatisation of any central public sector enterprise, the government of state in which it is located must be consulted, since state governments have contributed the land and more for these enterprises. The Congress demands the reintroduction of the planning process, and a fair and just role for states in national planning.