NEW DELHI, AUG 16: Chief ministers of 17 states, including those ruled by the BJP and its allies, are meeting here on April 21 on the initiative of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to discuss 11th Finance Commission recommendations.Chief Ministers of 12 states have already confirmed their participation in the meeting, according to sources. The CMs of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have informed Naidu that they would be deputing their Cabinet colleagues because of their preoccupation with the Rajkumar hostage crisis.Besides these two states, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are someof the others that would be represented at the meeting.Many of these chief ministers have written to the Prime Minister, voicing their protest over the raw deal meted out to their states by the Finance Commission. They feel that states which have done well on the economic front have been penalised by way of smaller devolution of funds.
