 "Amit Shah, Parliament, Citizenship Bill")
On Tuesday, Kerala became the first state to move the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act, saying that the contentious law is against the provisions of Right to Equality granted by the Indian Constitution.
This, even as the Modi government’s allies like Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have agreed to debate CAA in the state assembly, and a number of Opposition parties have sought its withdrawal along with that of any work related to National Population Register and National Register of Citizens. Meanwhile nationwide protests have forced the BJP to recant on Home Minister Amit Shah’s older statements that NRC will be brought in all states.
“These are political problems. In such situations, instead of exacerbating the situation, the Central Government needs to sit with the states and try to resolve the issues. If there is a problem with Constitutional implications, then the Central Government will have to resort to dialogue, failing which the political problems will become Constitutional ones,” said P D T Achary, Constitutional Expert and former Secretary General of 14th and 15th Lok Sabha.
“In our Constitutional set up, the Union government has overriding powers. The relation between the Centre and states is so structured that the laws made by Parliament have to be carried out and enforced,” Achary said and added that while CAA is legally binding on states, the NPR is not.
“As far as CAA is concerned, states cannot say no. Because they are bound to act in compliance in the law passed by Parliament. The Constitution is clear on that. Central government has the power to direct the states to implement a law. The consequence of not complying is that the the Constitution gives the Centre the power to impose President’s rule,” he said.
Achary said that the NPR is a ‘legal orphan’ without backing, and is not provided for in the Citizenship Amendment Act. “States can refuse to carry it out. Had the Union Cabinet issued an executive order, then it would have been binding,” he said.
However, the Modi government’s problems with opposition states isn’t just restricted to CAA/NRC/NPR, through this has been the biggest flashpoint. What also needs to be factored in is that after the last round of state elections, the BJP’s share of area governed in states is down to 40 per cent, from 71 per cent in late 2017. Given that the BJP leadership is now seen on the defensive after the backlash on CAA, opposition states are bound to get emboldened and take the battle to the Centre.
A number of states have gotten into political slugfests with the Centre on the powers of investigative agencies, with West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh even withdrawing the general consent given to Central Bureau of Investigation in the past, to carry out investigations in those states.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Maharashtra and Odisha assemblies passed a resolution urging the Centre to conduct a socio-economic caste enumeration along with the general census 2021, something the central government has been loathe to do.
And things could get worse.
The whole basis of the concept of cooperative federalism starts with sharing of resources. On that front, political differences can shoot up further. Simply put, there is a resource crunch.
Analysts predict that due to the economic slowdown, gross tax revenues for 2019-20 can see a shortfall in excess of Rs 3 trillion, and about 35-42 per cent of that shortfall will be borne by states, because lower tax collections means lower distribution of the divisible pool to states. Already a number of states have complained about Goods and Service Tax compensation dues not been released or being delayed by the Finance Ministry.
The upcoming budget, which will incorporate recommendations from the 15th Finance Commission, may also create a situation where certain states are not happy with the distribution of resources. Essentially, with the Centre already facing flak over the CAA/NRC issue, states which feel they have not been given their dues may go on an attack.
“You are talking about Cooperative Federalism. If you are going on a confrontational path and don’t pay any heed to what the states are saying, because after all they are also legitimately elected governments, then there can be bigger problems,” Achary said.
This means that 2020 will be defined by how Prime Minister Modi handles opposition states. If that can’t be done, then we may see fresh battlelines being drawn.
