One chief minister, one deputy chief minister and four finance ministers from as many states on Thursday said unless the Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission were modified, the states would be reduced to begging before the Centre, and the country would be weakened in the long run.
In a memorandum submitted to the President of India, they said the Terms of Reference were violative of the Constitution's principle of federalism, eroded the autonomy of states and were disruptive of the well-settled conventions of Centre-state relations. They also had technical flaws, the ministers pointed out.
The six-page memorandum has been signed by Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Kerala Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, and Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Y. Rama Krishnudu.
Briefing the media after their meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind, the ministers said while the six of them spoke up, all the chief ministers and finance ministers in the states shared their views and knew that states would be weakened and their financial health hit hard by the proposed Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission.
They pointed out that Article 280 gave the President of India the power to amend the Terms of Reference.
The memorandum, which presents clause by clause changes they seek, was drafted after two conclaves they held—one in Thiruvananthapuram and the other at Amaravati.
"From north to south, east to west, the Terms of Reference have resulted in discontent. Several chief ministers have written to the prime minister and sought a review. We are all united in this, across the political and state divide, because it is against the federal character, the autonomy of states." said Mitra.
Narayanasamy said while the prime minister claims on every stage that he believes in cooperative federalism, the Centre is not practicing what the PM is preaching. “The Centre wants us to be at their mercy, and go to them with a begging bowl".
The finance minister of Andhra Pradesh said they would become puppets in the hands of the Centre as federalism will be finished.
Sisodia felt not much thought had been applied in the drafting of the Terms of Reference.
Badal pointed out that the Centre collected more in revenue than all the states put together, and without good planning, the country's fortunes would dip. This Terms of Reference was not good planning, he said.
The Terms of Reference, according to these leaders, were ultravires of Articles 270, 275 and 280 of the Constitution and were liable to be struck down by the court of law.
Among other things, the Terms of Reference of this Finance Commission has shifted the population base year from 1971 to 2011, for population-based devolution. These states in particular have worked hard to bring down their population, and will now stand to lose on account of this. "We want the less developed states to develop, but not at our cost" pointed out Rama Krishnudu, who was critical of the manner in which the Planning Commission had been disbanded.
The ministers expressed satisfaction over their meeting with the President and as of now, did not have a next step to talk about.