Frequent use of powers under article 356 to dismiss elected state governments and the role of Governors came in for critical review at the day-long second meeting of the Inter-state Council here.
The meeting covered various contentious aspects of Centre-state relations on the basis of the Sarkaria Commission recommendations relating to sharing of fiscal and political powers.
The newly elected Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi, went to the extent of asking for immediate repeal of the Constitutional provision for imposition of central rule. Abdullah said, it was use of this article which had really created instability in J&K and was the cause of many other problems.
Andhra Pradesh joined hands with Jammu & Kashmir in demanding maximum autonomy to states and that the Centre should restrict itself to matters such as defence, internal security, currency and external relations. And-hra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the Centre should amend the inter-state River Water Dispute Act to provide for the constitution of a tribunal within six months when a lower riparian state makes a specific request to that effect. The Chief Minister suggested that the right to approach the Centre for constitution of a tribunal where there is subsisting award should be limited only to the lower riparian state. He endorsed the Sarkaria commissions view that the award of the tribunal should have the same force as a decree of the Supreme Court.
Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar suggested a thorough review of the Sarkaria Commission recommendations and abolition of the post of governors.
Nayanar said the proposed high level committee should also review the commissions recommendations on which there was a broad consensus already. Moreover, the recommendations did not go far enough to meet the demands and difficulties of the states, he said. Nayanar said the office of the governor was unnecessary and it should be abolished. Regarding the Cauvery waters, he said Kerala which contributed 147 tmc water to the river, had a legitimate claim to a major portion of its contribution.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi called for setting up a tribunal to solve inter-state river disputes. Making his maiden appearance in the inter-state council meeting, Joshi said as per the Sarkaria Commission recommendations, the Centre should not devise schemes without prior consultations with the concerned state. He sought the Centres support for state policies to keep a check on prices of food grains and other essential items being distributed through PDS. Joshi was in favour of immediately sharing-taxes on the basis of 71:29 and said the state governor should consult the council of ministers while exercising special powers under article 371.
Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik has stoutly opposed any suggestion to amend the Constitution to tackle emergency provisions including Article 356 keeping in view the salient principles laid down by the Supreme Court. Patnaik said as per the apex court ruling, imposition of Presidents rule in a state is judicially reviewable to examine whether it was issued on the basis of any material or in the malafide exercise of power.
He felt that the judicial pronouncement of the apex court had clearly interpreted article 356 of the Constitution and has provided sufficient safeguards against misuse of power under this article.
Punjab Chief Minister H S Brar strongly pleaded for devolving more and more powers, including financial power, on the states for giving a fillip to the developmental process. Brar said the schemes of devolution and decentralisation of finances, powers, and responsibilities should not be limited to states but must percolate to the panchayats and civic bodies.
He said the Punjab government, following the recommendations of the state finance commission, had already decided to transfer all the district-level plan schemes alongwith funds to the rural and urban bodies to make them functionally more effective.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh demanded greater autonomy for states to check the growing demands for statehood in different parts of the country. The state, in turn, could give more powers to the panchayats, he said. Singh said there is a strong need to move even further from the somewhat rigid institutional framework of panchayats that largely rests on the premise of representative democracy based on adult franchise.
Assam Chief Minister Praful Kumar Mahanta stressed the need for implementing the recommendations of the Sarkaria panel on the appointment of governors, successful functioning of the federal set-up and other issues relating to strengthening Centre-state relations.
