West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday tore into Narendra Modi government, accusing it of bulldozing the federal structure and running a Presidential form of government, drawing sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"Has Presidential form of government started in India? This is a very sensitive and important question. It happens in Russia, China, America. If they (BJP) want to do that then change the Constitution. Ours is a federal structure," Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata.
The state government, she said, had received a letter from the Centre during the day, saying the Centre-sponsored schemes are being rationalised with effect from the current financial year.
"This is being done by force without taking the states into confidence. Only BJP-ruled states and some other smaller states have agreed to the recommendations of the sub-group of chief ministers in this regard," Banerjee said.
She pointed out that state subjects like law and order, fisheries, agriculture, public health, sanitation, irrigation have been brought under the ambit of national development agenda as per a circular of Niti Aayog.
"Modi government is bulldozing the federal structure and violating Constitution. It is interfering in the functioning of the state governments. They talk about cooperative federalism. They don't know what is cooperative federalism," she said.
The chief minister said the Centre is trying to monitor expenses of the state treasury, giving direct orders to district magistrates and leaving no space for state schemes.
"I will protest before the President. We will seek his opinion if this is constitutionally valid. We will speak with him and write a letter. Other states must also protest," she said.
Sharply reacting to her remarks, the BJP accused Banerjee of presiding over an anarchist state government for the last five years.
"Mamata Banerjee has presided over five years of an anarchist government in the state. She has not spared even a farmer, student and cartoonist for criticising for questioning her. Therefore, to call Modi government dictator is far from truth," BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said.
"Banerjee should be grateful that it is Modiji's believe in federal structure that state of Bengal will get under 14th Finance commission Rs 3,59,406 crores which is more by Rs 2,52,206 crore than that given by the 13th Finance Commission," he said.
Banerjee questioned why schemes should be run in the states in the name of the prime minister and BJP leaders.
"When the state has to pay for the schemes then why should I run the schemes in the name of their party leaders. Why? Don't we have Tagore, Netaji, Nazrul Islam?," she said claiming that now the Centre has started deciding the state's budget.
"This is total dictatorship. We have been humiliated many times before too. But I had never heard anything like this before," she said.
Attacking the Central government, Banerjee said it should have only four ministries -- finance, railways, external affairs and defence.
According to a memo issued by the Niti Aayog, existing 66 centrally-sponsored schemes have been rationalised into 28 umbrella schemes.
"In 20 schemes the Centre-state contribution will be 50:50, while in 6 other schemes the ratio will be 60:40 but the name will be theirs. They are forcing us to do it," she said.
"If they (Centre) interfere into the functioning of the states, there is no meaning of the existence of the state governments. It is a very serious matter," the TMC chief said.
Claiming that the situation in the country is "worse than emergency" now, Banerjee said the Centre's Kashmir policy has failed while its NSG diplomacy was a disaster. Pakistan issue has become worse because of the Centre's failure, she said.
Few days ago, the union finance minister paid tributes to Netaji on his death anniversary. Are these mistakes or planned actions, she asked.
Photograph: @AITCofficial/Twitter
