Having succeeded in projecting Narendra Modi as “anti-farmer and pro-corporate” following his government’s decision to amend the Land Acquisition Act, the Congress has opened another front against the prime minister, resulting in a fresh war of words between the grand old party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
At a day-long meeting of Congress chief ministers on Tuesday, the party targeted Modi for violating the spirit of “cooperative federalism” to attack his claims that he has been generous in allocating funds to states. The BJP promptly rejected these charges.
Led by party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the Congress challenged the Modi government's repeated statements that it had devolved more funds to the states by increasing their share of central taxes.
They said that Central budgetary allocations in key areas like education, health, sanitation and women and children welfare programmes had actually reduced. States in the North East and hill states have been particularly hit as they no longer enjoy “special category status” that made them eligible for extra funds.
A false impression
The participants at the meeting criticised the Modi government for giving the impression that the states were getting more money whereas they said that they were actually incurring a loss because of the change in funding pattern. "All the chief ministerss pointed out that although the Modi government says it is giving more grants to the states," Rahul Gandhi said. "The fact is the government gives money with one hand and takes it away with the other."
Sonia Gandhi set the tone of the deliberations when she launched a scathing attack on the Modi government in her opening remarks. Hitting out out at the ruling alliance over its "substance and style", she stressed that the "substance of the Modi government was marked by the dismantling of welfare state, while his style was highly centralised and contemptuous of Parliamentary procedures which warrant consensus and dialogue”.
The tenor of the deliberations at the chief ministers conclave suggested that the next pitched battle between the BJP and the Congress will be fought on the issue of funding of social-sector programmes and neglect of the states.
Swift response
This was evident from the BJP’s swift response to the Congress charges. It held a special late-evening media briefing to reject the allegations leveled against the government. Maintaining that states were now getting an additional Rs 1.4 lakh crores, the BJP stressed that cooperative federalism was the Modi government's "guiding mantra". Rahul Gandhi was singled out for attack by telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who said that the Congress vice-president should do his home work. “Making false allegations and running away has become his forte," the BJP leader added.
With the BJP making a concerted effort to improve its presence in the North East, the region was the focus of special attention at the Congress conclave. In an attempt to protect their turf, the chief ministers of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram were unanimous in their opinion that the Modi government had deprived their states of resources by stripping them of their special category status. Emphasising the needs of this region from the development and security point of view, they said the Centre had failed to extend the necessary help to them and had made things worse by discontinuing their special industrial package.
Awaiting an appointment
They said that eight chief ministers had submitted a joint petition to the Prime Minister listing their grievances and seeking an appointment with him in early April but there has been no word from him. “Only officials of the NDA Government meet us, but no minister gives us appointment,” complained Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Tuki.
In the same vein, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said that contrary to what Modi said publicly, he had consistently violated the spirit of cooperative federalism. “He never bothered to consult Assam while discussing the Indo-Bangla land boundary agreement," Gogoi said. "Again, he visited China recently but never consulted Arunachal Pradesh government regarding stapled visas.”
Since the North East is among the few areas where the Congress is in power, it has become imperative for the party to highlight their particular problems and to be seen to be fighting for their demands. As a result, the resolution adopted at the chief ministers meeting especially demanded that the Centre should restore the North East industrial and investment promotion policy and reiterated its opposition to the manner in which the distinction between special category and non- special category States has been done away which has adversely affected the North Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Jammu and Kashmir as also the new state of Andhra Pradesh.
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At a day-long meeting of Congress chief ministers on Tuesday, the party targeted Modi for violating the spirit of “cooperative federalism” to attack his claims that he has been generous in allocating funds to states. The BJP promptly rejected these charges.
Led by party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the Congress challenged the Modi government's repeated statements that it had devolved more funds to the states by increasing their share of central taxes.
They said that Central budgetary allocations in key areas like education, health, sanitation and women and children welfare programmes had actually reduced. States in the North East and hill states have been particularly hit as they no longer enjoy “special category status” that made them eligible for extra funds.
A false impression
The participants at the meeting criticised the Modi government for giving the impression that the states were getting more money whereas they said that they were actually incurring a loss because of the change in funding pattern. "All the chief ministerss pointed out that although the Modi government says it is giving more grants to the states," Rahul Gandhi said. "The fact is the government gives money with one hand and takes it away with the other."
Sonia Gandhi set the tone of the deliberations when she launched a scathing attack on the Modi government in her opening remarks. Hitting out out at the ruling alliance over its "substance and style", she stressed that the "substance of the Modi government was marked by the dismantling of welfare state, while his style was highly centralised and contemptuous of Parliamentary procedures which warrant consensus and dialogue”.
The tenor of the deliberations at the chief ministers conclave suggested that the next pitched battle between the BJP and the Congress will be fought on the issue of funding of social-sector programmes and neglect of the states.
Swift response
This was evident from the BJP’s swift response to the Congress charges. It held a special late-evening media briefing to reject the allegations leveled against the government. Maintaining that states were now getting an additional Rs 1.4 lakh crores, the BJP stressed that cooperative federalism was the Modi government's "guiding mantra". Rahul Gandhi was singled out for attack by telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who said that the Congress vice-president should do his home work. “Making false allegations and running away has become his forte," the BJP leader added.
With the BJP making a concerted effort to improve its presence in the North East, the region was the focus of special attention at the Congress conclave. In an attempt to protect their turf, the chief ministers of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram were unanimous in their opinion that the Modi government had deprived their states of resources by stripping them of their special category status. Emphasising the needs of this region from the development and security point of view, they said the Centre had failed to extend the necessary help to them and had made things worse by discontinuing their special industrial package.
Awaiting an appointment
They said that eight chief ministers had submitted a joint petition to the Prime Minister listing their grievances and seeking an appointment with him in early April but there has been no word from him. “Only officials of the NDA Government meet us, but no minister gives us appointment,” complained Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Tuki.
In the same vein, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said that contrary to what Modi said publicly, he had consistently violated the spirit of cooperative federalism. “He never bothered to consult Assam while discussing the Indo-Bangla land boundary agreement," Gogoi said. "Again, he visited China recently but never consulted Arunachal Pradesh government regarding stapled visas.”
Since the North East is among the few areas where the Congress is in power, it has become imperative for the party to highlight their particular problems and to be seen to be fighting for their demands. As a result, the resolution adopted at the chief ministers meeting especially demanded that the Centre should restore the North East industrial and investment promotion policy and reiterated its opposition to the manner in which the distinction between special category and non- special category States has been done away which has adversely affected the North Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Jammu and Kashmir as also the new state of Andhra Pradesh.