Madurai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has said that federalism will flourish in India, only with the end of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rule at the Centre.
“That’s why the DMK is raising its voice. Communist comrades must also raise their voices for this. Let us fight together and defeat fascism,” said Stalin Thursday, at a conference organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), alongside its 24th congress in Madurai.
At the conference, which was held to focus on the importance of federalism, the Tamil Nadu chief minister and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shared the stage with the appeal to mobilise all non-BJP democratic forces across the country to fight for the protection of federalism in India.
Vijayan stressed the need to work effectively against “authoritarian” tendencies backed by corporate agenda, and protect democracy, socialism and state rights.
“In our campaign against the onslaught of communal and authoritarian forces, we need to include more symmetric relations between the Union and the states as an important plank,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Stalin had announced the installation of a statue of Karl Marx in Chennai, in a show of solidarity with the Left. “Half of the DMK flag is red! You are part of us,” he said at the event. “The bond between the Dravidian movement and the communist movement is an ideological friendship! I have come to this conference as a symbol of that bond.”
Stalin also slammed the Union government for running a “fascist regime” and turning the institutions created by the Constitution into “puppets” of the government.
“One nation, one religion, one language, one food, one election, one exam, one culture—this uniformity is a sign of a one-party system, and ends up concentrating power in the hands of a single individual,” he said.
He also questioned the prime minister over the implementation of the recommendations of the Sarkaria and Punchhi commissions to strengthen the relationship between the Union and state governments.
“Having become the prime minister for the third consecutive term, what steps have you taken to implement this? You must answer. You are coming to Tamil Nadu in two days. We demand an explanation from you when you arrive,” Stalin remarked.
The Sarkaria Commission, set up in 1983 under the chairmanship of Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, examined the Centre-state relationship and submitted its report in 1988 with about 247 recommendations, including limiting the misuse of Article 356 (provision for imposing President’s Rule) and emphasising cooperative federalism.
The Punchhi Commission was set up in 2007 under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi. The panel submitted its report in 2010. The commission gave 273 recommendations, addressing issues, like the role of Governor and proposals to amend Article 355 (duty of Union to protect states against external aggression and internal disturbance) and 356.
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‘Fighting for state autonomy’
Stalin recalled how his father and former chief minister M. Karunanidhi identified himself as a communist.
“The relationship between the Dravidian and communist movement began, when Thanthai Periyar translated the Communist Party manifesto into Tamil and published it. Leader Kalaignar identified himself as a communist. I, named Stalin, announced in the assembly that a statue of world-renowned genius Karl Marx will be erected in Chennai,” he said.
He added that state autonomy has been the core principle of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, as highlighted by former chief ministers C.N. Annadurai and Karunanidhi.
“In 1974, Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) brought a resolution on state autonomy in the assembly… We continue to fight for state autonomy and federalism at the national level. But the Union government led by BJP stands as a fascist regime opposing this,” he said.
He also appealed to the alliance partners to stay united to defeat BJP. “We can bring down BJP’s monstrous fascist face only through continuous campaigns. We must stand united for the welfare of the people. Because only if there is a change of regime at the Centre will federalism be preserved in India,” he said.
The chief minister also spoke about the proposed delimitation exercise in 2026.
“We formed a joint action committee, held consultations with four Chief Ministers and representatives of various major parties, and passed a resolution to extend the existing parliamentary constituency delimitation for another 25 years. But to this day, Prime Minister Modi has not responded. This is how the BJP is running a regime that strips away constitutional rights. This is fascism,” he said.
‘States bear burden of centrally sponsored schemes’
Kerala CM Vijayan also spoke about the Sarkaria and Punchhi commissions. “There have been consistent demands for restructuring the powers of different tiers of the government, both from the political and fiscal sides. The Union Government had appointed the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions to suggest measures in this regard. These commissions submitted many useful recommendations. Unfortunately, not many of them have come into effect,” he said.
He further focused on the “imbalance” of fiscal powers stated in the 15th Finance Commission. “Mutual respect and recognition of powers of the states in their Constitutionally provided legislative domain is the basic principle of a federal set-up. While states have nearly 62 percent of the total expenditure obligations, they have power to raise only 38 percent of the total revenues,” he said.
He also pointed out the increase in the burden on states because of the expanding number of centrally sponsored schemes. “The fiscal imbalance is worsened by the expanding number of centrally sponsored schemes, in which the states are being made to bear an increasing cost burden. Since 2015-16, the share of the states has increased from 25 to 40 percent in most of these schemes.”
Vijayan added that the sharing of taxes under the Goods and Services Tax regime is unfavourable to the states. “States lost much of their already limited fiscal space to mobilise their own tax revenue.”
He slammed the Union government for initiating Constitutional amendment for ‘One Nation, One election’, calling it an “insult” to the “wisdom of voters and an attempt to superimpose unitarism over federalism”.
He said, “In our country, voters are extremely discerning in voting for Lok Sabha and state assemblies. They have voted in a substantially different manner in a short span of time. The attempt to align the terms of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies under the guise of controlling poll expenditure is an insult to the wisdom of the voter, and an attempt to superimpose unitarism over federalism.”
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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