Law Minister J.C. Madhuswamy on Saturday put the ruling BJP in discomfiture by stating that the Centre was slowly divesting the States of their power and encroaching upon subjects under the Concurrent list.
Mr. Madhuswamy went on to remark that centralisation of power did not augur well for the unity and harmed the federal structure by stoking regional sentiments.
Extending the parallel to the State, the Minister said only a few districts in every State of the country had witnessed growth and development and this had fuelled the demand for the creation of more States. This was one of the reasons for the creation of Telangana and disgruntled voices being heard from north Karnataka, the Minister added.
He urged Tejasvi Surya, MP for Bengaluru South, and a member of his own party, to raise the issue in Parliament and equated the policies leading to greater centralisation as akin to the policies pursued by the former Prime Minister the late Indira Gandhi for which the Opposition parties had criticised her.
Pointing out that education was a State subject, the Minister said there was a centralised admission procedure through NEET with respect to admissions to MBBS course and this would leave Kannadigas in the lurch. Similarly, job opportunities for Kannadigas was limited in the industrial sector in Karnataka though the land was procured from the local people and the State provides infrastructure, he added.
R. Balasubramaniam of Vivekananda Youth Movement and the former MLC Thontadarya were among those present.
