PM Modi talks of cooperative federalism, but coercive federalism witnessed in country: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor on Thursday alleged that «blatant subversion of the constitutional separation of powers» was taking place through the bill to replace the Delhi services ordinance and said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about cooperative federalism, the country was witnessing «coercive federalism». Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Tharoor argued that the proposed bill represents a «grave chapter in the history of the Indian republic, seeking to ratify an ordinance that in many ways is an assault on our democratic heritage and the spirit of federalism».
He argued that bill with such a substantive policy change should not have been brought in the first place when a motion of no-confidence was pending against the government. «The Bhagavad Gita of parliamentary practice and procedure — MN Kaul and SL Shakdher (book) — explicitly states that when the leave of the House to the moving of a motion of no-confidence is granted, no substantive motion on policy matters is to be brought before the House by the government till the motion of no-confidence is disposed of,» Tharoor said.
«In 27 motions of no-confidence brought since independence to this House, no bills were debated and passed (during the period of no-confidence motion) before this government did so with two bills in 2018,» he said. «Therefore, such an improper introduction of a substantive policy change while the no-confidence motion is pending is against the democratic morality,» the Congress MP said.
«What we have repeatedly seen under this government is a brazen effort being made to curtail the autonomy of our states. PM Modi talks about cooperative federalism but we
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