In three southern states, their governors and governments; bigger war in Telangana

Hyderabad: The centre-appointed governor, led by the BJP, appears to have declared war on the state governments of the three southern states, with Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan taking the conflict here to an entirely different level on Wednesday, with politically charged charges. Less is from Raj Bhavan.

Interestingly, Soundararajan’s allegations come at a time when the BJP-led centre appears to be spearheading a war against the country through a range of measures, including so-called unilateral financial restrictions by the state government, in addition to exerting pressure by withholding funds, Grants and just compensation.

The governor’s standoff with the administration in three states has so far been limited to the ping-pong bill and oral allegations over college-related matters, while engulfing legal battles in two states. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK has submitted a memorandum to the president calling for the removal of Governor RN Ravi, while in Kerala, the CPI(M)-led government has voted to issue an ordnance or special Order to remove the Governor-General from the office of Prime Minister. the University.

A common pattern emerged in these standoffs in the non-BJP-ruled country, following Soundararajan’s accusations at a news conference on Wednesday.

The Governor has been pending or refused to sign key bills, made remarks critical of the state or its ministers, attempted to interfere in day-to-day administration, and then as the state acted in legitimate retaliation or protests, various allegations took off from Raj Bhavan, including against the Chief Minister , ministers or personal attacks seen in Tamil Nadu, angered the ruling party with controversial statements about heritage and linguistic identity.

In fact, Soundararajan’s allegations of phone wiretapping bear striking resemblances to those brought by former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. He had a dispute with Mamta Banerjee’s government and claimed Raj Bhavan was being “surveilled”.

However, what makes Soundararajan’s allegations part of a larger plan, aside from the immediate spark of the Telangana University Common Recruitment Committee bill, is the lack of provocation on the part of the state government. Her statement about Pragathi Bhavan brought political overtones to her accusation because if she wanted to welcome protesters to Raj Bhavan, she could do so directly without mentioning the chief minister’s official residence.

Furthermore, the allegations of phone wiretapping came when no minister, chief minister or TRS (BRS) party mentioned Raj Bhavan in any official statement in connection with the MLA poaching case.

These allegations, and the sudden attention of central agencies including the Enforcement Directorate and Telangana Income Tax, must be read in conjunction with the Centre’s indirect attacks through denial of funding, grants and compensation, and direct restrictions on lending. State under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.

The outsized impact of these attacks on the nation’s finances can be understood from Finance Minister T Harish Rao’s statement in the Parliamentary Record, where the nation lost Rs 15,033 crore in the 2022-23 financial year as the centre imposed restrictions on loans under the FRBM Act. Apart from this, the centre owes the state more than Rs 100 crore in the form of pending funds, grants and compensation for the past eight years, he said.

Although the state’s debt is within the allowable range and is better on fiscal metrics than several other states, the refusal of loans is blamed on politics, of which Raj Bhavan is now a part.