THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Niti Aayog’s instructions to the district collectors to convene grama sabhas were ‘’a joke,’’ Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said on Wednesday, demanding immediate withdrawal of the decision. Bypassing the state government in this manner goes against the federal principles and the spirit of decentralisation, he said, attending ‘Kerala @ 60,’ a meet-the-press programme organised by the Kesari Memorial Trust. Grama sabhas come under the Local Self- Government Department, and even the state government would hesitate before taking such a decision, he said. ‘’It is a wrong decision. The Modi Government is increasingly adopting a centralised approach,’’ Isaac said.
The Niti Aayog - the BJP Government’s alternative to the Planning Commission - has asked collectors to convene special grama sabhas on January 26 to collect suggestions from the public for a vision document being prepared by the Centre. The Niti Aayog itself was not a constitutionally mandated body but an advisory one lacking the executive powers of the Planning Commission, Isaac said. ‘’How will they even compile all the suggestions that flow in from millions of grama sabhas in the country? They don’t have any idea about it. This is a joke,’’ he said.
Announcing the Union Budget just ahead of the elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa is likely to influence the elections, Isaac said.
Commenting on the recent threat by IAS officers to go on mass leave, Isaac said the grievances would be addressed. But the decision itself, which involved senior officers taking mass leave, was not right. While calling the entire issue ‘’slightly complicated,’’ he said there was nothing wrong in the manner Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dealt with it.