Sisodia: Centre 'suffocating' states, 'murdering' federalism

New Delhi, Feb 22: The Centre today came under attack from non-BJP-ruled states, with Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia accusing it of "murdering federalism" while Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat claimed that states were "suffocating" under the Narendra Modi government.

Speaking at a 'Budget Aaj Tak' event here, Rawat said power is so "centralised" in the hands of Modi that even the Finance Minister cannot assure you that your concerns will be taken care of.

Sisodia accused Centre of not letting the Arvind Kejriwal-led government function freely and charged the NDA major of lacking the "right mindset". "When we say let us work, they will say it is the Centre which has powers.

When we demand money, they ask us to generate funds on our own," he said. Union Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan refuted the allegations saying the NDA government has ensured states receive more funds from states, a move, he claimed, is suggestive of strong federal set up.

Balyan said had the Prime Minister not thought of strengthening Centre-state rapport, he would not have increased share of states in central taxes from 32 per cent to 42 per cent.

"He wanted to ensure states become independent financially, that they do not rely on Centre for assistance. He would not have increased share of states' if co-operative federalism was not on his mind," he said.

The Union Minister also said that "if states have problems, Centre too has problems with states" and accused Uttarakhand Government of not carrying out public works in constituencies represented by BJP Parliamentarians. Balyan also accused AAP of not keeping its electoral promises and charged Sisodia of "complaining all the time".

PTI