VIJAYAWADA: Launching a broadside against the Centre, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has said that the BJP government at the Centre is attempting to dilute the rights of State governments through the 15th Finance Commission.
Ramakrishnudu, who attended the meeting of the Southern Finance Ministers in Kerala recently, expressed his strong objection to the Centre dictating terms to the 15th Finance Commission, preparing the ground for hosting another meeting of Southern States Finance Ministers in Andhra Pradesh in May.
In a statement issued here Saturday, the Finance Minister said that democracy will be in danger as long as Narendra Modi continues to be the Prime Minister as he is trying to change the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.
Alleging that Modi lacks leadership qualities and the Centre is trying to deny the State its rights in the name of cooperative federalism, the Finance Minister said that despite the Finance Commission being an independent body formed in accordance with the Constitution, the Modi government is trying to turn it into a puppet in its hands, causing damage to the spirit of federalism.
Alleging that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is making all false statements, he said the claim of the Centre that the 14th Finance Commission did not give its clearance for Special Category Status (SCS) to AP is a lie and the statement of the Centre that there no harm will be caused to the States by the 15th Finance Commission is another lie.
Seeking to know how the Centre can dictate terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission, he said that it is high time the States resented the objectionable decisions of the Centre and the dictatorial approach of Modi in governing the country.