Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Saturday said the single point agenda being pursued by the ruling party at the Centre will destroy the federal structure of the country.
Speaking at a seminar on Centre-state relations in Kannur (north Kerala) at the 23rd party congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxists ) he said the country will turn strong only after states become stronger but all efforts are being made to pull back and undermine states.
“One religion, one language, one voice and one election the list goes on. Even during the time of British Raj power was not centred on a single entity like this. This single point agenda will destroy the federal structure of the country,” he said. He said such an attitude was contrary to the guiding principle of the country, unity in diversity. He said all efforts are being made to weaken states and undermine their role.
“If you are a yes man then it is fine. If you disagree they use every possible way to weaken you. It is a fact that non-BJP-ruled states are treated as second class. Central agencies to governor, they use all means to undermine an elected government,” he said adding even constitutional offices like planning commission and practices like railway budget were discontinued at the fancy of the ruling party and many constitutional offices suffered.
{{/usCountry}}“If you are a yes man then it is fine. If you disagree they use every possible way to weaken you. It is a fact that non-BJP-ruled states are treated as second class. Central agencies to governor, they use all means to undermine an elected government,” he said adding even constitutional offices like planning commission and practices like railway budget were discontinued at the fancy of the ruling party and many constitutional offices suffered.
{{/usCountry}}“We have to ensure social justice, secularism and equality. Let us fight for states’ autonomy and create a true federal India,” he said. His speech was peppered with Malayalam to take on the huge crowd and he dubbed CM Pinarayi Vijayan as the strongest in the country. He said his name is a telling example to his relations with the communist ideology.
Congress leader K V Thomas, who defied the party diktat to attend the seminar, said he came to the function as a Congress man and the party will have to take up the Nehruvian spirit to respect opposition and take everyone along. He supported the proposed high-speed rail project K- Rail and said such big- ticket projects are the need of the hour. Though the Congress warned strong action against those who attend the CPI (M) seminar it is yet to take disciplinary action against him.
At the seminar Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Congress which ruled the country for many years was the first to sabotage the cordial Centre-state relations and the present BJP regime vitiated it further. He criticised the Congress for handing out veiled threats to Thomas for attending the seminar. “We invited Thomas as a Congress leader. But later he was threatened. Congress shows no sign of recovery. Nothing will happen to Thomas,” said Vijayan.
No direct alliance with Congress
Meanwhile the political resolution of the CPI (M) ruled out any direct alliance with the main opposition party Congress. But state units are free to take a call on electoral understanding or adjustments depending on local situation. Though the West Bengal unit favoured a direct alliance with the Congress Kerala unit opposed it strongly saying there is no point in running after the Congress which it said often diluted its position on secularism. A national alternative to the BJP could be found only by building suitable political alliances at regional levels, the resolution said.
“We feel the Congress is not in a position to stitch up such an alliance at national level. So it is ideal to have regional understanding. We still have reservations on Congress party’s position on economic policies and secularism,” said party leader Prakash Karat adding electoral understanding and co-operation were two different subjects. He said forming an electoral alliance was not on the party’s agenda and its first priority is to widen its mass base especially in Hindi-speaking areas of north.