-The Indian Express Mani Shankar Aiyar writes: Planning for withstanding the ingress of COVID-19 requires the full deployment of the mechanisms for district planning envisaged in Article 243 ZD involving all three tiers of the panchayats and the municipalities brought together in the district planning committee An unintended but welcome consequence of the struggle against COVID-19 is that the “confrontational federalism” that has characterised the Centre’s relations with the states, especially those...

-Newsclick.in The Modi Government’s sudden modification of the terms of reference via a presidential order on July 29 is an attempt to squeeze the revenue share of states, say Opposition leaders. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s decision to change the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission through a Presidential Order is aimed at further squeezing the revenue share of states, without even consulting them, various finance ministers of non-BJP...

-The Hindu Former PM Manmohan Singh says change undermines federal polity New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday remarked that the Centre ought to have consulted the State governments before introducing additional terms of reference for the 15th Finance Commission seeking to create separate funds for Defence and Internal Security. Asserting that unilateralism was not good for a federal polity and Cooperative Federalism, Mr. Singh said the best course would have...

-PTI Earlier in July, the Centre changed the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission and mandated the panel to suggest ways for allocation of non-lapsable funds for defence and internal security. New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the government should have taken chief ministers' views before changing the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission, adding that unilateralism is not good for federal policy and...

-Newsclick.in The amendments contradict the federal nature of the Act, and end up violating the PM’s principle of Cooperative Federalism. Information is the currency that every citizen requires to participate in the life and governance of society —AP Shah, former Chief Justice, Delhi and Madras High Courts, 2010. It is not just Shah but many justices of the High Courts and the Supreme Court, who have repeatedly stressed that the right to information is...