constitutionalconduct

The political rhetoric of a ‘Double Engine’ narrative ("having the same political party at both Center and the state guarantees maximum efficiency and development") is an assault on federalism. It falsely positions democratic deliberation, dialogue, and regional differences as obstacles to economic growth, says @AiyarYamini in her talk at the Conclave on Citizenship and Federalism at the Constitution Club, on Saturday. Other key points by Yamini: Federalism is Accommodation, Not Just Mechanics: Federalism is fundamentally a principle of political accommodation and restraint, rather than just a dry, administrative collection of institutional, procedural, or fiscal arrangements. Threat to Diversity: The core challenge to modern Indian federalism is an ideological push toward majoritarianism, which threatens the foundational democratic idea that citizens can hold multiple regional or subnational political identities while still remaining fully "one" as Indians. The Paradox of State Politics: While states vociferously demand rights and autonomy from the Union government, they are deeply complicit in practicing the exact same centralization within their own borders by refusing to devolve political power and funds to local bodies. Neglect of Local Grassroots Governance: Genuine democracy cannot be revived without empowering local governance. Currently, less than 3% of public spending happens at the local government level, representing one of the biggest flaws in India's democratic structure. Weaponization of Financial Mechanisms: The Union government has historically used centrally sponsored schemes to micromanage states. More recently, the Center has heavily increased cesses and surcharges (by over 20%) because these funds are not shareable with the states, effectively shrinking the divisible pool of tax revenues meant for regional devolution. The Dangers of a "De-concentrated" Grand Bargain: The 16th Finance Commission has introduced discourse suggesting a dangerous bypass: capping cesses and surcharges only if states accept a lower share of baseline tax devolution (below 42%), or even bypassing states entirely to fund local panchayats. This promotes a "de-concentrated" rather than a genuinely decentralized democracy. Widening Social and Economic Regional Inequalities: India faces unprecedented social and economic polarization across regions. Productive southern and western states are experiencing near Chinese growth rates (with per capita GSDP comparable to Indonesia), while labor-supplying northern states lag significantly behind (with GSDP closer to Nepal). The Conundrum of "Equity vs. Performance": There is an incredibly complex fiscal challenge in balancing the historic "equity principle" (ensuring all citizens, whether in Bihar or Kerala, get equal access to basic services) with the states' growing performance anxieties, especially as the 16th Finance Commission begins factoring a state's contribution to the national GDP into revenue sharing. Need for a State-Led Federal Dialogue: Because the current Union government lacks the trustworthiness to lead an authentic federal dialogue on explosive issues like representation and upcoming delimitation, the states themselves must lead the way. States need to initiate dialogues amongst themselves, build trust, and actively live up to federal principles internally by setting up their own State Finance Commissions. @bismil_prasad @gmukhopadhaya @seemay @tajmahalfoxtrot