BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said India’s cooperative federal structure is under threat, alleging a ‘shift towards coercive centralism.’
He was speaking after inaugurating a conference of South India Socialists organised by the Centre for Socialist Studies and Samajwadi Samagama to discuss the Centre’s ‘discrimination’ in financial allocation to southern states, delimitation and the ‘assault on federalism’.
Siddaramaiah said Karnataka is being punished for performing well. Despite contributing nearly Rs 5 lakh crore annually by way of central taxes, the state receives only around 13 paise per rupee.
“Cooperative federalism is not a choice, it is the soul of our Constitution. What we are witnessing today is a dangerous shift from cooperative federalism to coercive centralism, and this threatens the very structure of the Indian Union,” he said.
“For every rupee we send to Delhi, only about 13 paise comes back. Is this justice? Is this federalism? This is punishment for performance,” he said.
“Delimitation is not a technical exercise. It is a political question that will determine India’s federal future. Southern states controlled population growth, invested in health and education, and empowered women. They are now being punished with reduced representation,” the Chief Minister said.
The states are not municipalities of Delhi. Federalism is not charity. It is a constitutional right, he said.
Justice Sudharshan Reddy, former Supreme Court judge, who spoke on weakening federalism, said, “Weaponising democratic processes and threatening political opponents are dangerous authoritarian tactics that are not only anti-federal, but also unconstitutional.”
“Delimitation, as proposed, threatens not only federalism, but also the very idea of ‘We the People’ enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.
Vice-chairman of the Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission BR Patil said India’s unmatched diversity is under threat due to attempts to impose uniformity, silence dissenting voices, brand intellectuals as urban Naxals, anti-nationals, and weaken independent media, eroding citizens’ freedom of expression.