'Not Subordinate': SC Justice Nagarathna Suggests Centre To Coordinate With States, Keep Party Differences Aside

Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna on Saturday asserted that the centre must coordinate with the state governments for an overall development. While speaking at Chanakya Law University in Patna, she suggested the centre to view states as "coordinates and not subordinates". The apex court judge pointed out that rather than establishing a hierarchy, the Indian constitutional framework has focused on a system of "co-equals". Her remarks came after the chief ministers of several opposition-ruling states had accused the centre of discrimination in recent times.

While addressing the theme 'Constitutionalism beyond rights: why structure matters', Justice Nagarathna asserted that governance is a matter of coordination. "It ensures that governance is not a matter of unilateral command, but of negotiation and coordination," she was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI. "The state governments are not subordinate to the Union government except as stipulated under the Constitution," Justice Nagarathna added.

ALSO READ: Baramati Bypoll: Congress Blocks Unopposed Election Bid As Uddhav, Sharad Move To Leave Seat For Sunetra Pawar

She further pointed out that interparty differences should be kept aside during the coordination, adding that there must not be a pick-and-choose approach. "Inter-party differences… have to be kept aside in the matter of Centre-state relations," she said. "Constitutional governance would not depend on which party may be ruling at the Centre and which other party may be ruling at the state level," she further noted.

"There cannot be a pick and choose approach vis-a-vis the states… Equity, as a matter of fair approach, must be adopted," Justice Nagarathna asserted. She also stated that the key institutions of the country, including the Election Commission, Finance Commission, SEBI, and the Competition Commission of India, must work independently.

ALSO READ: 'Time Is Running Out': Trump Reminds Iran Of 48-Hour Hormuz Deadline Before 'Hell Will Reign'

Several opposition chief ministers such as Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin have accused the BJP-led central government of non-cooperation on several occasions. However, the centre has denied all the allegations by calling them baseless.