The State will have to move legally and constitutionally if the Centre continues to insist on eroding the financial rights of States, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said in the Assembly on Tuesday.
He was replying to a calling attention motion moved by P. Nandakumar on how the slashing of the State’s share of tax revenue and the stopping of the revenue deficit grant was hurting the State’s development imperatives.
The government’s dissent on the Centre unilaterally amending the terms referred for the consideration of the Finance Commission has been noted in the supplementary memorandum submitted to the 15th Finance Commission. Kerala has strongly noted that the Centre not consulting the States is a violation of cooperative federalism, Mr. Balagopal said.
