Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of ruining federalism through unilateral decisions and favouritism towards BJP-ruled states.
During a discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s speech, leaders from the Biju Janata Dal, Trinamul Congress, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Congress raised the alleged attacks on the federal structure. The BJD and the TRS have usually been friendly towards the BJP.
BJD leader Sashmit Patra said the President’s address did not use the word “federalism” even once. He said the principles of equality and federalism were getting eroded.
Patra pointed out that the President had in his address referred to B.R. Ambedkar’s views on equality, liberty and fraternity. “Equality, every state must get equal treatment. Is it happening in reality? No,” Patra said.
He said Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had written three letters in 2019, 2020 and 2021 to the Centre, seeking sanction of six lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Grameen). Most of the proposed beneficiaries belong to the Scheduled Tribes. The Awaas portal is required to accept the demand, but it has been closed for the last three years, Patra said. However, it was open in January when Karnataka, ruled by the BJP, applied for houses, he claimed.
“It is good that the portal was opened for Karnataka. But what is the crime of six lakh brothers and sisters of Odisha that it is not being opened for them? I feel the interests of all states are not being considered. The federal scheme is not taking all states together. Odisha is giving the highest contribution in GST. It is giving mines and minerals. But why is the legitimate demand of Odisha not being accepted?” he asked.
Patra accused the Food Corporation of India of not procuring parboiled rice from Odisha.
“I was looking for the ‘federalism’ word in the (President’s) address. Is federalism out of context, out of syllabus, or out of date?” he asked.
TRS leader K. Keshava Rao said the Constitution mentions India as a Union of States, and the states must be consulted for any law or policy.
“You brought farm laws without proper consultations with the states. You repealed them later. Under your tenure, the basic structure of the Constitution, whether secularism or the state list, is under threat,” Rao said.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh alleged that the Centre did not consult the trade unions while bringing four labour laws by subsuming the existing 29 laws on labour.
Trinamul’s Jawhar Sircar said the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had been reduced to “instruments of political vendetta”.
He said the actions taken by both the central agencies are far from being neutral.
Sircar also alleged the Election Commission “misused” its powers and sent central forces to Bengal during the Assembly elections.
Congress leader Ripun Bora said the Modi government had sold 23 PSUs without adding a single one.
“All the time we are hearing about nothing done in 70 years. I remember a story in our village. A son sells all property of his father. After selling all property, he blames that his father kept nothing for him,” he said.
Bora said Jawaharlal Nehru created 33 PSUs, while Lal Bahadur Sashtri created five such PSUs, Moraji Desai created nine PSUs, Indira Gandhi created 66 such institutions, Rajiv Gandhi added 16 PSUs, V.P. Singh created two PSUs, P.V. Narasimha Rao added 14 PSUs, and H.D. Devegowda and I.K. Gujaral added three PSUs.
None of them privatised any PSU. When Atal Bihari Bajpayee was Prime Minister, 17 PSUs were created while seven were privatised. During the tenure of Manmohan Singh, 23 PSUs were created while three were privatised. But the Modi government created not a single PSU but privatised 23 PSUs.
