Modi’s stress on cooperative federalism welcome
The two most outstanding features of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Parliament on Wednesday was that he reached out to the opposition parties to seek their cooperation in nation-building and underlined the need to nurture the federal spirit by making States important stakeholders in comprehensive development. By saying that he looked forward to constructive criticism — “forget the bitterness”, he appealed — from the opposition benches so that his Government “could be saved from becoming arrogant”, Mr Modi not only invited the Bharatiya Janata Party's political rivals to speak their minds and indicated that his regime would welcome their opinion, he also hinted at one of the reasons for the Congress's debacle in the lok Sabha election: Arrogance. This had indeed become a stable feature of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime, which repeatedly snubbed the Opposition when it raised issues of corruption in high places and refused to heed the Opposition’s suggestions in deciding appointments to senior positions such as those of the Central Vigilance Commission. It is heartening that Mr Modi does not intend to repeat that folly, although he is faced with a Congress decimated to such an extent that it cannot, by the existing rules, even claim recognition for its nominee, the status of leader of Opposition. The rancour of the past, amplified during the election campaign, should be a thing of the past as the Government and the opposition parties settle down to the task of guiding the country to peace and prosperity. In keeping with this spirit, Mr Modi light-heartedly pointed out that the first four years should mark cooperation between the ruling combine and the opposition parties while the fifth year — that of an election — can be used to score political points. The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address had been by and large constructive. This was yet another effective way that Mr Modi used to strike the right chord with his opponents. It is to be hoped that the rival parties fully reciprocate the sentiment.
It can be argued that the Prime Minister's outreach to the regional parties — many of them not aligned with the Congress — with the promise of “cooperative federalism”, is a political attempt to further isolate the Congress in Parliament. The reality is that strengthening the federal spirit has been Mr Modi's mantra since before he became the Prime Minister. As Chief Minister of Gujarat, he had added his voice to the apprehensions of other Chief Ministers that the Centre was trampling all over them. Soon after the BJP received a decisive mandate and his becoming Prime Minister became a matter of formality, he reiterated his resolve to strengthen the bonds between the States and the Union Government. These were not empty words, as the President's address to the joint session of Parliament on June 9 confirmed. Regional parties such as the Biju Janata Dal, the AIADMK and Trinamool Congress Party have welcomed the emphasis and extended their support to the Centre in this task.
Mr Modi's determination to accord the respect that is due to the States could lead to a revamp in the functioning of the National Development Council and the Inter-State Council, both of which were reduced to showpieces in the Congress-led UPA rule. Many Chief Ministers had begun to skip the meetings of these bodies because they resented the dominant behaviour of the Union Government and its inflexible template of development. Also, with closer coordination between the Centre and the States, contentious issues of national interest, such as the Goods and Services Tax regime and the creation of mechanisms to combat terror, can be resolved.