Four of these States will go to the polls in the next few months
A day-long conclave of Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States on Saturday will deliberate on the economic crisis in the country and the attempts by the UPA to ‘undermine’ federalism, and consider ways to deal with the situation.
It is not the first time the BJP CMs are meeting for stock-taking on issues related to Centre-State relations and exchanging views on governance.
However, the coming meeting assumes importance as four of the BJP-ruled States will go to the polls in the next few months.
Yashwant Sinha, Convenor of the Policy Formulation Action Group, was at pains to emphasise at a news conference here that the conclave was not meant for Centre-bashing but to understand how the party-ruled States were coping with the economic crisis and the drought-like situation.
To be attended by all the Central leaders, the conclave is expected to adopt a resolution outlining key aspects of the interaction and the future course of action.
“If the Centre finds any merit in the recommendations of the conclave, it is most welcome to accept them. But, our deliberations are focused essentially on the issues in States ruled by our party and how they are dealing with them,” Mr. Sinha said.
In response to a question on whether the party had any plans to co-ordinate with other non-Congress ruled States, the BJP leader said there was no formal proposal as such but there could be discussions on an informal basis.
Mr. Singh charged that the Congress-led UPA government had made a mockery of the federal structure and was giving non-Congress State governments step-motherly treatment. “Discrimination is rampant in the allocation of funds or natural resources. Legislations passed by the State Legislatures are kept pending at the Central level at will. There is a long list of pending projects. In Independent India’s history Centre-State relations have never been worse.”
