Uttarkhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday criticised the move to dismantle Planning Commission saying it has created uncertainty in the country, a view countered by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis who claimed the new framework will give more rights to states.
Rawat said that institutions like Planning Commission are "time tested" and it has tried to do justice with states in the federal structure. He said one should not talk of dismantling it unless unless a "unanimous alternative" is reached. The Congress leader stated that just saying that the process of consultation has started is not enough "because for the last six months, this uncertainty is there which is not good for the country".
However, BJP leader Fadnavis defended the Centre's move to dismantle the Planning Commission and termed the concerns raised by Rawat "baseless". He said that government is a "continuous" process and the Planning Commission still exists. "Till the time the, new institution comes up, the planning body will keep functioning," he said.
"Institutions like Planning Commission, finance commission, they are such institutions which are time tested ones and have tried to do justice with states in the existing federal structure, provided states a platform to give their opinion. Unless a unanimous alternative is reached upon, it (Commission) should not be finished," Rawat said during a discussion in a TV programme in which Fadnavis also participated.
Rawat accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not consulting any political party or making any attempt to arrive at national consensus on the issue. "You are taking such a big decision, have you tried to reach a national consensus or are you trying to impose your own thoughts on national consensus. You did not take Chief Ministers in the decision, you did not consult the political parties, you did not conduct any open house consultations. "He (Modi) did not do any such thing and only said it should be dismantled and has not made it clear what should be done next on the issue. This is our concern," Rawat said.
Fadnavis said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked for many years both as Chief Minister and in the opposition and has experienced the difficulties in the centre-state relationship. It is because of this he wants Centre-state relationship to be stronger, the Maharashtra Chief Minister said, adding that in a democratic set up, when a institution replaces the others, it is done for good.
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