The Centre today rejected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s charge that non-Congress ruled states were discriminated against at the National Development Council (NDC) meet and said that no leader should make political capital at such events.
“The Prime Minister showed a gesture by giving an opportunity to her to speak first, immediately after his speech, though her turn was to come much later. The time allotted to each Chief Minister is precisely 10 minutes,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla told reporters here.
He reasoned that since there was a long list of speakers, including 35 Chief Ministers, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, the Finance Minister and the Agriculture Minister, the time allocated to each had been fixed.
“The same arrangement has been made for Chief Ministers of Congress and non-Congress ruled states. The buzzer is being pressed even for the Congress Chief Ministers. So where is the discrimination? The leaders should not make political capital out of such events,” Mr. Shukla said.
The Minister maintained that the NDC meeting should be used by the Chief Ministers to achieve something for the people of their state instead of “making an issue out of a non-issue”.
Ms. Jayalalithaa created a stir when she abruptly walked out of the NDC meeting, alleging that she was not given enough time to speak as she is not the Chief Minister of a Congress ruled state.
Mr. Shukla said it is not appropriate for a leader of Ms. Jayalalithaa’s stature to walkout of the NDC meet.
Law Minister Ashwini Kumar said that the same rules were being applied for Congress and non-Congress Chief Ministers.
“Jayalalithaa even said during her speech that the rest of the written speech may be considered as read,” he said.
Keywords: National Development Council meet, Jayalalithaa walkout, Centre-State relations, UPA government, centrel denial
The persons who have sponsored NDC meeting might have known with huge members to participate and express their views regarding their states. When there were previous occasions which had given more than the stipulated time, a committee before sponsoring the programme should ascertain the time going to be taken by them will be attained from the persons who are going to participate and monitored well before starting the meeting, then only atleast these type of embarrassment could be avoided in future.
This is a gross mis-management of time. There need be a sort of moderator triaging
the CM's calls so that nothing is lost. Though the intent is positive, it lacks planning,
management skills. Politicians should be trained on better handling of people issues
as opposed to adopting political school of thoughts. One-on-One sessions provide a
better tool to represent people issues. Similar calls take place at international fronts
such as climate, fiscal issues and so on.
Right this UPA government is a shining beacon of propriety that it is time bound in
everything. We have the evidence of any number of projects and programmes that
have strictly observed the time limits. Alas, and, yet the country is not responding -
such as in the completed, yet un-inaugarated Chennai airport.
These delhiwallas are so sickening.
This has happened for the first time and does not augur ell for the
planned efforts which involve active vooperation of the states. It is
somewhat cavalier on the part of those who rogansied the meeting that
keeping in with the rpevious experience the minsitry concerned should
have mesured the prpbel time that CMs and others would need and mnkept
the meeting time accordingly.Instead it rushed through a performance limiting the spech to a short ten minutes like the claass room elocution comeptitions. Hardly a satisfactory way. Instead of regreting that planning, it does not do credit to teh govt. to blame TN CM. She did what was expected of her to demonstrate her displeasure
by an qapprporiate affront. This is the only medicinde that the
authoritarian centre will udnerstand.
First of all it was all her mistake that she did not prepare her speech for allocated 10 minutes. At least she can read the important points first in first page itself. 10 minutes limit was not limited to her but to all. And moreover, it was foreinformed that alloted time is only 10 minutes. Walking out from the meeting is not a good gesture.
The centre should have informed the time limit much earlier to enable the CMs to prepare their written texzt accordingly. To announce it just before the commencement of the meeting is not democratic. Definitely JJ has a case there. The minions of the centre who replied with such alacrity should have shown the same alacrity about the time frame well in advance
In a big meeting of all 35 speakers at all CMs meet, only a fixed time can be permitted.PM first while inagurating the session, must havemade clear that since the time of 10 minutes may not be enouhg, all states can submit all other details in writing, while taking only 10 minutes for briefing the speech,while allUnion Ministers can take the queue lastly to sum up the session.
Later, all state secretaries can discuss with theconcerned depat of the centre to be sorted out later.
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