Modi rejects allegations over 15th Finance Commission
Chennai, April 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday rejected the allegations of southern states, including Tamil Nadu, that the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission were biased against them and said it would benefit states that took population control measures.
"An issue that has been raised by certain vested interests over the last few days... Baseless allegations are being made about the ToR of the 15th Finance Commission being biased to the states of a particular region," he said after inaugurating a building of the Cancer Institute (WIA) here.
"Let me tell you our critics seem to have missed something. The Union government has suggested to the Finance Commission to consider incentivising states who have worked on population control. By this yardstick, states like Tamil Nadu, which has devoted a lot of efforts, energy and resources towards population control, would certainly benefit."
He said it was not the case earlier.
Southern states have been complaining about the ToR of the Finance Commission saying their interests would be harmed in the matters of resource allocation because of their better performance on population control and economic growth.
The issues was first raised by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, which was followed by BJP's ally-turned-foe Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
On Tuesday, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac convened a meeting of southern Finance Ministers which was attended by representatives from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry, in which they called the ToR a "threat to federalism".
Modi said the Union government was committed to cooperative federalism.
"Our Mantra is 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas'. Let us all work together to build new India, which would make our freedom fighters proud," he said.
Earlier in his speech, he said the Union government had planned setting up 20 state cancer institutes and 50 tertiary care cancer centres in different parts of the country.
"Proposal can be approved for eligible institutional up to Rs 45 crore for tertiary care cancer centres and up to Rs 120 crore for setting up of state cancer institutes. I am happy to note that the proposal of 15 states cancer institutes and 50 tertiary care centres have been approved so far," he said.
Modi also said 40 new All India Institute of Medical Sciences were being set up with focus on oncology and its various aspects.
Also, eight existing institutions were being upgraded with provision of oncology services under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), Modi added.
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Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says he stands by his statement on Sanatana Dharma
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 1: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday reaffirmed his statement cautioning against "organised efforts" to portray sage and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru as a proponent of Sanatana Dharma.
"I stand by what I have stated about Sanatana Dharma," Vijayan told a press conference here while reacting to a query about the mounting criticism from the BJP over his statement made during the Sivagiri pilgrimage conference held on Tuesday.
Inaugurating the conference in Sivagiri, Vijayan claimed that the Guru, who advocated "one caste, one religion and one God for people" had neither been a spokesperson nor a practitioner of the Sanatana Dharma but had reconstructed it and proclaimed a Dharma suited to the new age.
Reacting to Vijayan's statement, the BJP had alleged that the chief minister insulted Sanatana Dharma and followers of Sree Narayana Guru through his remarks in the holy land of Sivagiri.
"The crux of Vijayan's speech at the Sivagiri conference was that Sanatana Dharma should be hated. His remarks were a continuation of Udayanidhi Stalin's statement that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated," senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan had said.
Reiterating his statement, Vijayan on Wednesday said whatever he had said is his stated position on Sree Narayana Guru and Sanatana Dharma.
"Sree Narayana Guru cannot be seen as an advocate of Sanatana Dharma. In fact, Guru played the lead role in rectifying it. You will come to know about it if you examine its history," the chief minister said.
