Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat yesterday demanded that state governments should be given free hand to manage their day-to-day administration in matters pertaining to state assets and take initiatives for developmental activities.
Speaking at the one-day conference of chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan here, he said there was absolutely no doubt about the fact that a country as diverse as India needed a strong Centre, but the state governments should also be allowed a free hand to manage matters pertaining to their states.
The five chief ministers, all from states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, include Manohar Joshi (Maharashtra), Sahib Singh Verma (Delhi), Bansi Lal (Haryana), Prakash Singh Badal (Punjab) besides Shekhawat.
The Deputy Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Maharashtra - Hari Shankar Bhabhra and Gopi Nath Munde - are also attending the conference.
The focus of the one-day meet will be on issues relating to urgent need for reforms in the power sector, flexibility in the role of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Centre-state relations in the light of Sarkaria panels recommendation and strategy for employment generation and poverty alleviation.
He said time and again all major political parties cutting across their ideological differences have shown requisite statesmanship to reaffirm for a strong Centre, but the Centre must also realise that states should be given more powers and autonomy.
He criticised the way the state governments were dismissed on, what he called, flimsy grounds by invoking Article 356 of the Constitution without giving a state government an opportunity to show cause.
He said the recommendations of the standing committee of the Inter-State Council on modalities of application of the Article 356 should be considered in regard to its use.
Referring to the Sarkaria Commissions recommendations on Centre-state relations, he said the tendency of the Central government to arrogate more powers to itself vis-a-vis the states must be brought to an end.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the chief ministers will adopt a Jaipur declaration to be submitted to the Union government.
