Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has said the Centre is attempting to usurp the powers of the States and asserted that he would fight with the Centre to safeguard the rights of the State.
The Central Government which took away taxes collected by the State in the name of the Goods and Services Tax tried to include petrol and diesel prices under the GST regime. “The Centre however relented as the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States opposed the moves during the recent GST Council meeting held in Lucknow,” he said.
He reiterated that the State was among the top four contributors to the GDP and the RBI itself had confirmed this. “More funds were going from the State to the Centre. What we get from the Centre is very less,” he said. He was replying to a debate on Palle and Pattana Pragati programmes that came up as short discussion in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
He asserted that the allocations from the Centre were part of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission. The Centre was not doling out any largesse on the State and it was discharging its constitutional obligations by releasing funds. “Such funds are our right and they will come automatically,” he said.
He recalled how he submitted several representations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, who was then Urban Development Minister, seeking funds for development of Hyderabad which was among the cities that were considered face of the country. “But there is no response from the Centre,” he lamented.
Explaining the significant growth of agricultural produce in the State due to the proactive steps initiated by the government, Mr. Rao, however, lamented that the Centre was refusing to purchase foodgrains from the State. The government was waiting for response from the Centre in this regard and alternatives would be announced if the Centre did not relent from its stand. “We will announce the alternatives for the next season, if need be, next month,” he said.
