At Niti Aayog meet, Oppn CMs call for cooperative federalism

The governing council meeting of the Niti Aayog on Saturday, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saw chief ministers from non-NDA states highlighting the need for cooperative federalism with Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin raising the pitch for enhancing the state's share in central taxes, even as Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann reiterated his displeasure at the Centre's decision to deploy CISF forces at the Nangal Dam amid a dispute with Haryana over water sharing.

- HT Correspondents

NEW DELHI:

Three of the nine opposition CMs — West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee, Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan and Karnataka's Siddaramaiah — skipped Saturday's meeting, with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, a key member of NDA, also giving it a miss.

TN seeks release of funds

Stating that it does not augur well for cooperative federalism when states seek legal recourse to get the central funds they are entitled to, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin urged the Union government to disburse ₹2,200 crore funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) due for the state.

He also made a strong pitch for enhancing the state's share in central taxes to 50% and underscored the necessity for a dedicated urban transformation mission in the state. "Particularly, nearly ₹2,200 crore of Union funds have been denied to Tamil Nadu in the year 2024-2025. This affects the education of children studying in government schools and children studying under Right to Education Act. Therefore, I urge you to release this fund without delay," Stalin said.

Mann accuses BBMB of bias

As the controversy over water sharing with Haryana continues, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said the Bhakra Beas Management Board had taken a "biased approach" against Punjab.

He denounced the Centre's move to deploy CISF at Nangal Dam and stressed that Punjab has no surplus water to share.

"Instead of the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal a Yamuna-Sutlej Link (YSL) Canal should be mooted. Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers there is a need to divert water from surplus to deficit basins," he said.

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