Tamil Nadu CM Stalin announces the establishment of a high-level committee to strengthen state autonomy

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced at the legislative assembly on Tuesday (15 April 2025) that a three-member high-level committee was established to review constitutional, legal and policy provisions on China’s relations and to recommend appropriate steps to strengthen state autonomy and federalism.

Production Suo Motu Mr Stalin said that under the announcement of Parliament Rule 110, the High Commission will be headed by former Supreme Court Justice Kurian Joseph. Retired IAS officer and former vice president of the Indian Maritime University K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty and former State Planning Commission M. Naganathan will be members of the committee.

The tasks of the High Commission include reviewing constitutional provisions, laws, rules and policies regarding China’s relations; in order to recommend methods for transferring subjects from the status list to the concurrent list; propose measures to overcome administrative challenges; propose reforms to ensure maximum autonomy of the state without undermining the unity and integrity of the state; and considering the current political, social and economic development, the recommendations of the Rajamanal Committee and the recommendations of the Commission established by the Union Government in terms of central state relations.

National Autonomy

Mr Stalin said that India has completed 75 years of independence, in a country where people speak different languages, belong to various ethnic groups, follow multiple cultures, and protect the rights of the people in the constitution. Despite many differences, we all live in harmony. With this in mind, our constitution makers led by Dr. BR Ambedkar have shaped the political and administrative framework of our country, not as a unified state but as a unified state, but rather as a national alliance that follows federal principles. But today, state rights steadily violate state rights. The state is considered to be in competition with the right.

“In order to make the country progress, each state should be given autonomy. Tamil Nadu has been constantly demanding more national autonomy. This is Karaniere when there are no other states in India’s initiative on national autonomy. [M. Karunanidhi] In 1969, he formed a high-level committee under the PV Rajamannar Judicial Chairman to study China relations. In 1971, the Rajamanal Commission submitted a detailed report. On April 16, 1974, the Tamil Nadu Parliament adopted a resolution adopting the main recommendations of the report. ”

Thereafter, the Union Government established the Sakariya Committee in 1983 and later further reviewed the central relationship in 2004 by the Punchhi Committee. He said the committees submitted a large number of reports, but no action has been taken. He claimed that the current union government is taking steps to transfer some important topics from the state list, such as health, law and finance, to the concurrent list.

Neet

“In the name of promoting unified education, the Alliance Government has adopted the National Qualification-Inclusion Test (NEET) as an entrance exam for medical admissions, covering the education policy of the Tamil Nadu government aims to ensure opportunities are provided from marginalized and economically weak and economically weak students.

This NEET benefits only from a few students and promotes the Coaching Center. This puts students from rural and poor backgrounds at a disadvantage. It ruins the dreams of several aspiring people. For more than a century, Tamil Nadu has produced some of the best doctors. The state’s top medical facilities attract patients from India and even overseas. Although the parliament passed a legislation to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET, it has denied the agreement. ” he said.

National Education Policy

He also said the coalition government is trying to implement a trilingual policy in accordance with the 2020 National Education Policy, which indirectly forces Hindi to impose on students in Tamil Nadu. “Since the ‘Dravida Model’ government prioritizes student welfare, rejecting this policy, the centre has withheld about Rs 250 crore in funding Samagra Shiksha Abhiyanthus betraying our students’ interests. Even the Standing Committee of the Parliament expressed strong opposition to the coalition government’s refusal to release funds to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. Now, education must be moved back to the national list to protect the uniqueness of each state’s language, culture and identity,” he said.

Financial autonomy

Furthermore, according to the recommendations of the Finance Committee, the tax decentralized share in Tamil Nadu is disproportionate. Tamil Nadu was one of the few states to object when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced. However, the concerns are ignored. The implementation of the GST has brought huge revenue losses to manufacturing centers such as Tamil Nadu and has seized the states’ fiscal autonomy. Although Tamil Nadu is India’s second largest economy and a major contributor to union income, it earns only 29 passes per Rs. “This is very unfair,” the chief minister said.

He quoted Dr. Br Ambedkar, who said: “The alliance and the states are created by the Constitution. Both derive their respective authority from the Constitution. One does not belong to the other in his own realm; and one’s authority is in harmony with the other.”

delimitation

“Tamil Nadu has taken consistent efforts to control population growth through the propaganda campaign. However, now the state is being punished in the name of demarcation. The upcoming demarcation of parliamentary constituencies in 2026 may significantly reduce the representation of Tamil Nadu,” he said.

“Whenever the Union Government takes action against federal principles, Tamil Nadu raises his voice in resistance. We have always raised these issues before the people and the legislature, and we do not hesitate to pass laws for the welfare of our people. We even defended the Supreme Court against the governor’s delay in order to pay the delay in that court, which was to pay a historic trial, not an outdated trial. The state, affirming the importance of cooperative federalism,” added Mr. Stalin.

The Chief Secretary cites former U.S. President James Madison, who plays a key role in formulating the U.S. Constitution, said: “In times of war and danger, the federal government will operate the broadest and most important; in times of peace and security, the state government’s actions.”

He added that at a time when state rights are besieged, it is urgent to strengthen the cooperative federal system by reviewing the provisions of the Indian Constitution, laws and policies related to China’s relations.