Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s move to form a high-level committee to study the constitutional and legal provisions that impact Centre-state relations can be regarded as an extension of its ongoing tussle with New Delhi. In recent months, TN has raised several issues including the imposition of the three-language policy, exemption from the common medical entrance test, and alleged discrimination in the devolution of funds.
The three-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph is expected to make recommendations to achieve “maximum state autonomy without harming the unity and integrity of the nation”. It is also mandated to suggest ways to restore subjects transferred from State list to the Concurrent one and look at measures needed to address the challenges states face in delivering good governance.
Stalin’s announcement comes almost 56 years after the first committee with a similar mandate was formed by his father and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in 1969 under Justice P V Rajamannar. The other two panels that considered the subject were the Sarkaria Commission of 1983 and the Punchhi Commission of 2007. All of them looked into the misuse of Article 356 that resulted in frequent dismissal of elected state governments, the powers and duties of governors, and the role of interstate councils in fostering better Centre-state relationships.
The recent Supreme Court judgement that laid down timelines for governors and the president on granting assent to bills has reinforced the primacy of the role of elected state governments in framing laws and curtailed the discretion of nominal heads. The court also invoked its powers under Article 142 to hold 10 bills that were pending to be deemed as been assented to.
As the Centre is likely to appeal the verdict, a protracted legal showdown may ensue. But the reasons that triggered the judiciary’s intervention and the committee’s formation need to be addressed. One cannot ignore that non-BJP state governments have repeatedly raised apprehensions over fund devolution by the Centre, ideological impositions that go against cultural diversity and governors’ action or inaction on bills. It would help several states if the Kurian Joseph committee offers legal tools to help states redeem their powers and clarify the Centre’s role—all for the greater good of the country.