KCR to boycott NITI Aayog meeting, says institution useless
Hyderabad, Aug 6: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would be boycotting the 7th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog scheduled to be held on August 7, as a mark of strong protest against the present 'discriminating' trend of the Centre towards States.
In a letter to Modi, KCR, as Rao is also known, said the country can develop only when States develop. Strong and economically vibrant States alone can make the nation strong, he said.
In view of these facts, I do not find it useful to attend the 7th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog scheduled to be held on August 7, 2022 and I am staying away from it as a mark of strong protest against the present trend of Central government to discriminate against the States and not treating them as equal partners in our collective effort to make the nation strong and developed, Rao said in the letter, narrating a host of reasons for the boycott.
Alleging that recent unpleasant happenings have given rise to a realisation that the federal structure is being systematically eroded by some "deliberate actions" by the Centre, Rao said it is needless to say these developments are very much discouraging to "trail-blazing" States like Telangana.
The blatant discrimination against some States even in the legitimate functions assigned to them in the Constitution leaves much to be desired, he said.
He reminded Modi that though in the beginning NITI Aayog had constituted a group of Chief Ministers to give recommendations on developmental issues, it was kept aside and on the contrary the Centre is micromanaging the schemes giving a go-by to State-specific needs which are best left to individual States.
It is not just in case of such schemes but Centre has also turned a Nelson's eye even to the recommendations of NITI Aayog itself... KCR said.
He alleged that though there were recommendations from NITI Aayog for a grant of Rs 5,000 crore to Mission Kakatiya and Central assistance of Rs 19,205 to Mission Bhagiratha, the NDA government ignored them and did not release any money for the schemes. However, the State government has completed both the projects on its own.
These examples are sufficient to say that the institution of NITI Aayog is rendered useless, he said.
He alleged that the Centre had claimed credit for Telangana's achievements as it is one of the States which provides drinking water to every household under the banner of Jal Jeevan Mission, a Central scheme.
He lambasted the Centre for including the borrowings of State PSUs as State government borrowings, saying that it was not only done suddenly but with a clause of retrospective implementation which put brakes on the progress of the States.
I may affirm that Niti Aayog has started with an objective of cooperative federalism, recognising that strong States make a strong nation. But, after seven years of functioning, it is now clear that this (cooperative federalism) was observed more in breach. The Centre's actions show that the initiative has gone astray as States are not included as equal partners in the national developmental agenda, KCR said.
According to him, when the Planning Commission was in place earlier it used to have detailed interactive sessions with the States on the Annual Plan. Now there is neither a Plan nor any involvement of States and NITI Aayog and its meetings serve no constructive purpose.
KCR said as there was no planning and no spirit of cooperative federalism, the country is passing through a most difficult phase with unprecedented problems of falling rupee value, inflation, skyrocketing prices and increasing unemployment coupled with low economic growth.
He said the Centre has become a silent spectator to the problems and is resorting to playing on people's emotions.
According to him, statements from some of the leaders in high positions are disrupting the communal harmony and the social fabric of the nation besides inviting international criticism.
The propensity of the Centre to levy cess as an indirect tax is depriving States of their legitimate share in tax revenues and such unilateral and irresponsible of the Centre without taking into consideration the State's interests have nudged the country away from the development trajectory, he further alleged.
This, I feel is not good for the future of 140 crore Indians, he added.
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Efforts on to bring Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna back to India: Home Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said efforts are on to bring Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexual abuse against women, back to India.
He also asserted that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case was functioning efficiently.
The 33-year-old Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women.
The scandal has raised a political storm with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaged in a slugfest.
Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27 and is still at large.
He was BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls in the first phase on April 26.
"Procedures are on, until we secure him, bring him back here and take action in accordance with law, they will continue. We will neither slow it nor stop it," Parameshwara told reporters on questions about the Interpol's Blue Corner Notice that was issued against Prajwal.
On BJP alleging that the government was "responsible" for Prajwal's "escape" from the country, the Minister said, "They will say it, they have to say such things. They cannot say the government is doing a good job. But we have a responsibility as a government. Such incidents cannot be taken lightly. We will do our job."
Accusing the Congress government of trying to tarnish the reputation of Deve Gowda's family instead of ensuring justice to victims of alleged sex videos scandal case involving Prajwal, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had recently alleged that every bit of information on the investigation is being sent to a Congress MLA of Mandya district, but not the Home Minister.
Reacting to this, Parameshwara said: "Kumaraswamy is also well aware, several things we cannot bring to the public domain, because the investigation is on. Who will brief the Mandya MLA? Making such allegations is easy. We all have responsibility and we are functioning with responsibility, and we are not under any compulsions."
"I want to tell him (Kumaraswamy) that SIT is working efficiently, and whatever they have to brief me or the Chief Minister, they will brief. Let there be no doubts about it," he said.
