THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Union government is muzzling the state government to withdraw the petition in the Supreme Court against denial of eligible funds, Finance Minister Minister K N Balagopal has said.
Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, the minister said the state government will not succumb to the pressure and would continue the fight for fiscal federalism. The minister said the centre has now denied undisputed funds citing the court case. “On Monday, the centre told the Supreme Court that sanction for additional borrowing worth `11,731 crore would be given to the state if the suit is withdrawn. But this is an eligible entitlement and is not linked with the court case. Many states have already received the sanction for additional borrowing. The Centre is taking revenge on the state by tagging an undisputed entitlement with the court case,” Balagopal said.
This additional borrowing sanction includes the reward for power sector reforms which the state has already implemented and replacement borrowing.
The state is headed for a crisis if the Centre does not change its stand, the minister said. The state has huge financial commitments in the financial year end. Last year, the outgo in March was nearly `22,000 crore, Balagopal said. The state approached the court after unsuccessful attempts to seek a remedy at different levels. The chief minister and the finance minister raised the issue with the Centre several times. The Legislative Assembly passed two resolutions. The petition was filed after all these attempts, he said.
The minister said the Centre is muzzling the state to withdraw the suit because the state’s arguments have merit. The issues raised in the petition are constitutional rights of the state. Kerala also succeeded in mobilising other states facing similar discrimination. Like Kerala, Congress-ruled Karnataka also staged a protest in Delhi. Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya expressed solidarity with Kerala’s protest. Balagopal said the centre is resorting to “unconstitutional” steps to silence Kerala. It wants to send a message to all states, he said.