Centre's financial restrictions threaten cooperative federalism, says Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal
Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal said that the financial disparities imposed by the BJP-led Union Government on Kerala go beyond politics, posing a significant challenge to cooperative federalism, and called on the Central government to ensure fair treatment for all states.
«The BJP-led Union Government's financial discrimination against Kerala is not just a political slogan but a question of cooperative federalism, and it is the duty of the Central government to protect the interests of the states,» the minister told PTI in an interview on Monday night.
Balagopal, who has been challenging the BJP-led Centre for its alleged discrimination against Kerala on financial matters for quite some time, said that the issue has now been raised by other non-BJP ruled states, including Congress-ruled Karnataka, as the states are feeling strangled by the Centre.
«It's more than a political issue. This is a question of cooperative federalism,» Balagopal said, when asked whether the alleged discrimination by the Centre against the states on financial matters would be a poll issue for the INDIA formation in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The Kerala minister's statement came in the context of a case filed by the state government in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre for releasing its rightful share of tax revenue.
«Everything now depends on the Supreme Court verdict. The Union Government has denied us many things; our rights as a state are denied, and finance is crucial for development. Rightful,
