PM Narendra Modi met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Inter-State Council meet today.
Highlights
- PM Narendra Modi chairs meeting of Inter-State Council in Delhi
- In room with chief ministers, PM speaks about cooperative federalism
- PM Modi is likely to seek feedback, support for crucial GST Bill
IJndia's development is possible only when states and the Centre work together, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he kicked off a meeting with chief ministers in New Delhi.
"The Inter-State Council will not just enshrine the values of cooperative federalism, but will ensure a better future for our citizens," he said.
The meeting today is the first in ten years of India's Inter-State Council. Set up in 1990, the group brings together the PM, six of his cabinet ministers, and all Chief Ministers and administrators of union territories to discuss the coordination of schemes and policies.
The PM is likely to seek the Chief Ministers' feedback and support for the crucial Goods and Services Tax or GST, a landmark tax reform that the government wants to clear in the 20 sitting monsoon session that begins on Monday.
The meeting will put the Prime Minister in the same room with leaders who accuse his government of recently acting like a wrecking ball for them.
Among them is Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who has taken PM Modi's government to court for trying to appropriate the administration of the capital, and Harish Rawat, who was reinstated as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand by the Supreme Court which found that PM Modi's government had illegally imposed direct or President's Rule in the hill state to get rid of the Congress government.
The meeting also took place in the conspicuous absence of the Chief Ministers like Siddaramaiah and Akhilesh Yadav. Mr Yadav is a key challenger to PM Modi's bid to win Uttar Pradesh in elections due next year for the BJP.