Big Issue of Centre-State Relations Still Unaddressed

Degradation of Indian political discourse was evident during the No Confidence debate in the Lok Sabha on Friday last. The 12-long-hour debate discussed everything under the sun apart from the issue which provoked Telegu Desam Party (TDP) to bring the No Confidence motion after being a partner for nearly four years of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

From the motion moved by TDP, it was expected that there would be a threadbare discussion on Centre-State relations in the country; perhaps light should be thrown on how to make India a true federal country. But all parties having representation in the Parliament did not dwell on that issue. Rather, they were more interested in playing to the gallery by offering lip-service to Dalits, farmers, minorities, etc. The moot question on why a State will have to be always dependent on the Centre to keep it functioning remained unanswered.

What prevented our lawmakers from finding an answer to this question is not difficult to understand. All the political parties are now eyeing the general elections next year and thus are more interested in making a political statement than in building a strong Centre-State relationship to take the country ahead. But time has now come for the political parties regardless of what promises they make to the electorate to garner their support, India will never achieve its goals until such issues like the Centre-State relationships are properly addressed.

But it was a perfect opportunity for the parties to discuss the issue which has proved as a major hurdle for the growth of India. For India to be a formidable nation; graduating from a developing nation to a developed country, states should be strengthened. Only strong states can help India to achieve this dream. But for years, India instead of adopting a more federal approach has chosen a centralised approach. ‘Power to grass root level’ remained a mere slogan. Power is being concentrated at one point rather than being distributed at all levels.

Strangely, during the course of the No Confidence motion, not a single speaker touched this issue. All of them seemed to be more focused on issues relating to their constituencies. Congress president Rahul Gandhi indulged in dramatics with an eye to rebuild his party’s support base, the mover of the No Confidence motion TDP also confined to issues relating to the State of Andhra Pradesh rather than talking about the big picture. Other leaders who participated in the debate also remained mum. So much was the reluctance that a veteran leader like former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir Farooq Abdullah clearly said that he was not interested in talking about other issues except Kashmir.

The situation could be saved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But he too decided not to talk about the issue. Though he has assured the people of Andhra Pradesh that the Centre will extend all necessary help to the State to reorganise itself after bifurcation, the Prime Minister did not speak a word about relooking the Centre-State relations, notwithstanding the fact that the entire nation was eagerly waiting for Narendra Modi to throw some light on this issue. But that wish remained unfulfilled. Clearly, the debate on No Confidence was a waste of time.