Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has stressed the need for drafting a new constitution and promoting new line of thinking in line with the emerging changes.
The Chief Minister said there was need for rewriting the Constitution as the existing one could not meet the expectations even after 75 years of Independence. “There is a need to pursue new constitution and thinking. I will be talking to many leaders in this regard,” he said.
He said there was need for strengthening the Constitution and there was no hard and fast process evolved for it. He said he was proposing the need to drafting the new Constitution to the country and let the country debate and discuss the issue threadbare. The Chief Minister was particularly unhappy with the way successive governments at the Centre had usurped powers earmarked for the States.
The Constitution guaranteed certain powers to the States and certain power to the Centre. There was also a concurrent list for both. It was desirable that the Centre delegated more powers to the States as the democracy matured.
But the BJP and the Congress governments had followed unitary policies usurping the rights of the States. One such attempt was the Centre’s move relating to one national–one registration system. “It is a conspiracy against the States,” he said.
Mr. Rao took objection to the Centre’s claims on inter-linking of rivers claiming: “The tribunals’ awards which are equivalent to Supreme Court judgments are clear on the rights of the Telugu States on Godavari and Krishna waters. With what power does the Centre want to take water to Cauvery?” he questioned wondering how the Centre could incorporate such a measure in the budget without obtaining the consent of the State.
Replying to queries, he said he did not adopt a confrontationist attitude against the Central Government in the initial years of the State formation.
But the situation changed ever since and the State had become one of the most progressive States in the country which the Centre could not digest.
He took objection to the Central Government’s proposal to start an international arbitration centre in Gujarat while one was already functional in Telangana.
The State Government had allocated three-acre land worth ₹300 crore for the full-fledged centre and was prepared to spend ₹50 crore for the requisite infrastructure.
The government was presently footing a bill to the tune of ₹1.6 crore annually for accommodating the arbitration centre which started functioning following his request to Chief Justice of India Justice N.V. Ramana.
