Whether Arunachal Chief Minister Nabam Tuki wins or loses trust vote, it is likely to affect the meet.
Highlights
- Nabam Tuki's trust vote has to be held by July 16, the date of the meet
- Government wants to showcase its initiatives at the meet, sources say
- But leaders suspect some Chief Ministers may target government
The Supreme Court's "turning back the clock", that restored the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, may cast its shadow on the first Inter-State Council meet in a decade that's scheduled for July 16.
With Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki asked to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly by July 16, the verdict, whichever way it goes, will create ripples.
It threatens to upset Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans discuss a host of issues -- inter-state relations, internal security, direct benefit transfers, Aadhar card education and atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
The government had wanted to use the meet - chaired by PM Modi and attended by senior cabinet ministers -- to showcase its initiatives and invoke the spirit of cooperative federalism.
But BJP leaders suspect it may end up providing a platform not just to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is constantly at loggerheads with the Centre, but also the chief ministers of Meghalaya and Manipur, who in recent past had attacked the Centre for encouraging rebellion.
"If the Tuki government wins, the opposition Chief Ministers will use the meet to attack the Centre. And ditto if it loses the vote," said a senior BJP leader.
It will also bring into focus the case of Uttaranchal, where the Harish Rawat government, too, came to power following a verdict from the top court.
The BJP is planning to use the Chief Ministers of the NDA-ruled states to ensure that the opposition does not get to hijack the agenda.
But the Prime Minister may also use the meet to seek the support of Chief Ministers for his development agenda. Some sources say PM Modi may also call upon the Chief Ministers for support on the government's flagship Goods and Services Tax Bill in the coming monsoon session of Parliament.
The last meeting of the Inter-State Council was held in 2006 - the second in the UPA's 10-year rule.
While this is the first such meeting by the Narendra Modi government, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has chaired meetings of all five zonal councils with Chief Ministers of those zones.
The Council was set up through a Presidential order in 1990 under Article 263 of the Constitution. The idea was to improve policy creation and coordination between the Centre and the states.