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A day after a protest by members of the Karnataka government, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the state's ministers, and people's representatives staged a protest at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar against the Centre's alleged discrimination against the states over the allocation of funds.
"Kerala has lost ₹1,07,513 crores in the last seven financial years. We tried everything; we sent letters to the Centre, spoke to leaders, tried to convince the PM [Narendra Modi]. But it all failed. That is why we are here today," said CM Vijayan, addressing a gathering at the 'Fight to Protect Federalism' protest on Thursday, 8 February.
Joining him in solidarity were Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, Tamil Nadu Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, former Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, and lawyer Kapil Sibal, among others.
Accusing the BJP-led central government of "destroying federalism" and "constantly neglecting the states," CM Vijayan said:
He added that it was not just Kerala that is protesting against the political discrimination against the states. "Karnataka has also come out in protest. They say that they suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,87,000 crores – a loss that is similar to that of Kerala."
The Kerala CM further said that "efforts are also on by certain sections to depict this issue as a north-south divide. It is totally untrue, unfounded, and baseless."
CM Vijayan also referred to the state government's ongoing tussle with Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed, saying:
"In many states, including Kerala, we have seen Governors trying to overreach their constitutional mandate by meddling with the autonomy of the legislature. Assent to bills passed by Legislative Assemblies is indefinitely delayed. The Supreme Court did warn the Governors they were playing with fire. But they continue to play their political glames."
Addressing the gathering, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said:
"If the people of Kerala are not given the funds they deserve, then how will they run the government? We are not here to beg. Vijayan saab has not come here to ask money for his family. He has come here to ask funds for the people of his state – like all of us," Kejriwal added.
Meanwhile, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said they came to Jantar Mantar to "to demand our rights. We need our GST, NHM, RDF scheme money. You cannot stop the money from reaching us."
"In order to save the country, it is very important for all of us to united," he further said.
On Chandigarh Mayoral polls, Mann said: "While counting 36 votes, 8 votes were cancelled. Almost 25 percent of the votes were declared invalid. In May/June, they have to count 90 crore votes, I am worried what they will do then."
Tamil Nadu IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, or PTR as he commonly known, said he was taking part in the protest on behalf of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin.
"This is a vital expression of protest against the unfair, unjust, immoral, and ultimately self-destructive deprivation of funds to Opposition states," he said.
Pointing out some examples, he said:
He added, "Our CM has already pointed out the many ways in which we are deprived of our share of funding, primarily starting with the excessive use of surcharges and cesses where the Government of India does not share those revenues with the states, but instead – at its own discretion – decides how it should be distributed."
"At one time, Tamil Nadu used to get about 70 percent of its revenue from the Union's share of taxes and 30 percent under central schemes. Now, we get less than half our revenues from the share of taxes and the other half from central schemes," he pointed out.
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