Reimagining federalism, mounting a legal challenge to the current setup on financial devolution, and rethinking Centre-State relations were some of the ideas thrown up at a seminar in the city with Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, Telangana MA&UD Minister K.T. Rama Rao, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P. Thiaga Rajan, and Andhra Pradesh FM Bugganna Rajendranath among the panelists.
“The proportion of resources the Centre transfers to the States has significantly declined. There is a heavy tilting of scale towards the Union Government. There was a balance. Has that balance been lost?” asked Mr. Tharoor, setting the stage for a debate.
Talking about the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, Mr. Tharoor said “We need to reimagine federalism. There is a serious scope for disenfranchisement of south as politically powerful north gains more seats in Parliament and south will see a loss of political power.”
