Kejriwal, Mamata and Sarkar: state common cause against Centre

Arvind Kejriwal explicitly clarified that through the conclave the CMs were coming together on a 'particular issue' and there was no question of a coalition.

Arvind KEjriwal, CMs conclave, Mamata Banerjee

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee speaks as Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal looks on at Chief Ministers Conclave on ‘Cooperatve Federalism and Centre-State Relations’ in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Source: PTI)

In what is being touted as the first such conclave of chief ministers on cooperative federalism organized by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday, Tripura and West Bengal CMs Manik Sarkar and Mamata Banerjee, respectively, attended the meet and slammed the BJP-led Centre for being non-cooperative and stepping on the state’s jurisdiction.

When opposition parties top leaders get together publicly, it is generally perceived as a sign of a probable coalition. Kejriwal, however, explicitly clarified that through the conclave the CMs were coming together on a ‘particular issue’ and there was no question of a coalition. “If the Centre’s attitude remains like this, then in future more chief ministers will come out in the open and join hands,” he said at the end of conclave.

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This seems to be Kejriwal’s effort to unite states against what he sees as the overbearing attitude of the Centre. For this meeting, Kejriwal had invited all chief ministers including those from BJP and Congress states out of which six had responded to his invitation. “Bihar CM is busy with the upcoming elections whereas the Mizoram CM has his budget session from today. Next time we will coordinate the dates so that more CMs can join us,” he said.

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Both Sarkar and Banerjee had met Kejriwal in one-on-one sessions earlier in the day to discuss issues plaguing the state and interestingly, they found several common bottlenecks in their interaction with the Centre.

Sarkar, a political foe of Banerjee, did not attend the public address later in the afternoon. Despite this, the CMs agreed on their grouse against the Centre. Referring to Sarkar, Banerjee said, “We might be political rivals but on this issue (lack of cooperation from the Center) we stand together.”

“I respect the central government. I know my jurisdiction. But the state government is also an elected body. The Centre should not step on our jurisdiction. When new schemes are launched the state government is not even consulted. A parallel government is being run through the governors.”

Banerjee said that funding on as many as 39 state schemes had been withdrawn while PM Narendra Modi has been making announcements of ‘big packages’ at election rallies. “This is called frying fish in its own oil. To cut back state schemes to fund other schemes by the Centre.”

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Banerjee evinced interest in hosting a similar conclave that would help strengthen states and push the Centre to move towards cooperative federalism.

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