Union or central? How DMK refers to Modi govt fans debate | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Union or central? How DMK refers to Modi govt fans debate

ByDivya Chandrababu
Jun 17, 2021 12:17 AM IST

Chennai: The new DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been punctilious in its reference to the Union Government as Ondriya Arasu (which literally means Union government) instead of the usual Madhiya Arasu meaning Central Government leading to both a semantic and a Constitutional debate

Chennai: The new DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been punctilious in its reference to the Union Government as Ondriya Arasu (which literally means Union government) instead of the usual Madhiya Arasu meaning Central Government leading to both a semantic and a Constitutional debate.

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The Constitution of India is clear. In ‘The Union and Its Territory’, Part I, Article 1, it states, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” Recently a parliamentary committee also suggested using the term Union Government of India instead of Central Government and union government officials instead of central government officials.

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Since May 2, when the DMK returned to power in Tamil Nadu after 10 years, chief minister M K Stalin has used the term which has now become the norm with his cabinet ministers and even regional media. This has made the BJP uncomfortable. Its ally and the principal opposition party, the AIADMK, has insisted that Central and regional governments is the correct term.

“It is the central government only,’’ said former chief minister and leader of opposition Edappadi Palaniswami when reporters asked him about DMK’s new terminology.

“The nomenclature is just shadow boxing. It’s a symbolic fight,” says retired justice of Madras high court, R Chandru. “The larger issue is the state’s argument that it should have more powers and more say in the running of the state.If you look at the Constitution, it doesn’t give you any different opinion other than saying we are a unitary and not a federal state though we may use the word quasi federal.”

The constitution contains a Union List of 97 items, State List of 66 items and Concurrent List of 47 items. Chandru cites the example of how the 97th item in the union list gives it power over items that aren’t mentioned in the other 96. “In this exercise of constitutional power of lawmaking, slowly, the parliament started accessing more power that what it was originally intended to have,” says Chandru. Then, there are laws related to items in the concurrent list that the Union government passes. “ For example, now the centre is going to codife labour law, which was in concurrent list, into four labour codes. Once that is made into a law, it will eclipse all the state’s own amendments,” adds Chandru.

Madras high court lawyer and DMK spokesperson, S Manuraj says that though it is alright to use either of the terms colloquially, the party’s use is as laid down by the Constitution and statutory bodies. “Terminologies and nomenclature have often changed and improved with time,” says Manuraj. “In the past we used to say physically challenged, today we say differently-abled. With the passage of time, we change to reflect our modern sensitivities but also to bring in proper terms. There is no question that we have used ‘Centre’ before,” he said. But now, the party prefers Union. Manuraj points to the Rajamannar Committee set up by the DMK In 1969 which looked into the relationship between the Union government and the states. “It laid out a platform for federalism and discussed these issues in depth”.

The state’s BJP unit suspects secessionist motives. “We want a clear explanation from the chief minister as to why he was saying Centre before May 2 and after that he is saying Union,” says K T Raghavan, advocate and general secretary of BJP in Tamil Nadu. “I agree with the translation in Tamil. But why is this narrative being set now? I see something fishy here. There are a lot of fringe elements working in Tamil Nadu who feel they are compelled to live in India and have begun raising their heads since DMK came to power.”

Manuraj responds that while DMK was in the opposition and the party critiqued New Delhi’s policies, it used the term ‘Modi arasu’ meaning Modi’s government but that now its language has to reflect the fact that it is in power in the state.

“I think there is more expectation from the DMK to uphold federalist interests. It’s fair,” adds Manuraj. “ DMK has long shouldered the responsibilities to advance the cause of a more federalist country. This usage is also in continuation of those principles which have been upheld by the Constitution and by the Supreme Court in the SR Bommai versus Union of India case in 1994.”

Chandru says that the questions and discussion that went into the constituency assembly were-- what is the power of the union of India? Is it a federating structure or a union structure? “It t isn’t intended to be a federal structure like the United States of America. Then they brought in a via media calling it a quasi federal structure,” he says. But states “cannot do whatever hey want to.”

Political analysts see the DMK’s language as something aimed at keeping its cadre happy as well as reinforcing the state’s autonomy, if only in form. “The DMK is clearly implying that the state is not subordinate,” says political commentator Maalan Narayanan. Even former CM and DMK chief , the late M Karunanidhi, a Tamil scholar didn’t use terms such as Ondriya, he adds.

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