Union govt forcing sectoral reforms on states during pandemic: Congress MP Bajwa writes to PM, asks to reconsider approach

JALANDHAR: Accusing the Union government of trying to push through its agenda by forcing sectoral reforms on state governments when they are facing serious financial crisis, Congress Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to reconsider such a structural adjustment approach during this Covid-19 induced economic situation.
"The Ministry of Finance accepted multiple requests from different state governments to raise the borrowing limits, from 3% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to 5%.The issue arises by linking the increase in borrowing limits to the four reforms. The Central government has asked states to accept specific sectoral reforms as announced by the finance minister, for the States being able to access this higher amount of funding,” he has written.
Pointing out specific issue of power subsidy to farmers, Bajwa has said that to avail higher borrowing limits, the Central government has declared that power subsidies must be reformed in Punjab. "This has forced the government of Punjab to discuss direct benefit transfers of subsidies to farmers and other measures that could potentially affect their livelihood. By forcing the States to act in a certain manner, the Centre is attempting to dictate their economic policy," he has written while arguing that such moves would cause resentment amongst the citizens, especially in these economically distressing times. "Rather than providing succor for our farmers, such reforms will only penalise them further,” he has added.
Congress has argued that country is fundamentally a union of states, where the state governments are not subservient to the Centre government but are partners in the federal structure of our polity. “Such conditional aid will only harm the financial capabilities of the States to help Indian citizens,” he has said while adding that in a federal system like India, the states should be given the space to create their own economic reform plans ably assisted by the Centre. “The Centre must not give the States diktats that would lead to local resentment. The undercurrents of the same have already been felt in Punjab,” he has added.
"The Government of India is attempting to do what foreign funding organisations have done in the past,” Bajwa has said while adding, “such actions miss the point of economic reforms, which should be based on improving the local conditions of the people and not disregarding their needs. To create a truly self-reliant India, the Government must respect and work within the federal framework of our Constitution. The Centre must work with the States and through them, with the Indian people to truly come out of this situation stronger.”