Kerala CM Accuses Centre of Neglect, Weakens Federalism

New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) The Centre's discrimination against Kerala and the resultant financial crunch has forced the state to resort to the protest path, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday as he asserted that the Union government's actions have weakened cooperative federalism.

As Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) prepares for the protest against the Centre on Thursday, Vijayan also alleged that BJP and NDA-ruled states are getting favourable treatment.

Addressing a press meet in the national capital, Vijayan expresses hope that the protest will get massive support and that many leaders from non-BJP-ruled states are expected to participate in it.

The Centre's discriminatory approach is impacting the state's social welfare efforts, and such practices should stop, Vijayan said.

The situation should not be seen as a divide between the North and the South. It is about getting the rights of the states, Vijayan said against the backdrop of differences among Opposition parties.

Kerala is being neglected in all areas. The discrimination and the financial woes have forced the state to resort to the protest, the chief minister said.

While urging everyone not to view the protest through the lens of partisan politics, Vijayan said states like Kerala that have successfully implemented population control measures should be protected from disproportionate fall in their share of revenue.

The protest against the Centre's alleged neglect of the state is not to defeat anyone but to get what is rightfully eligible for the state, he said, adding that the Centre has been cutting down funds.

The chief minister pointed out that branding state-run schemes as central initiatives as well as imposing financial sanctions on states for not adhering to branding requirements, amounts to a challenge to the democratic system.

He also said that he does not understand why the Opposition Congress in Kerala is not supporting the protest.

Amid criticism that the planned protest against the Centre's negligence of Kerala is a political drama, state finance minister KN Balagopal, who was also present at the briefing, refuted the allegation and said that many other states are also raising the issue.

Vijayan also took a swipe at Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, with whom the state government has been at loggerheads over various issues, including appointments at universities.

"We are seeing a situation of how a governor should not be functioning," Vijayan said.

The governor, who has turned Kerala into a stage for his theatrics, withholds the bills approved by the assembly and misuses his chancellorship to disrupt the functioning of universities. These actions pose a direct challenge to constitutional values, the chief minister said.

Further, he said that such actions are necessitating legal actions and people's protests to safeguard federalism and democracy.

"Indian constitutional values have never before encountered such serious challenges except during the emergency."

Vijayan, along with his cabinet colleagues, will stage the protest in the national capital on Thursday.