Centre should fully reimburse financial burden on the states: Telangana CM

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was on Saturday forced to leave the Inter-State Council meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi abruptly due to ill-health.

Officials sources said Mr Rao is suffering from fever and a team of doctors from Hyderabad treated him later. While the meeting began at 10 am, the CM reached Rashtrapathi Bhavan, the venue by 9.45 am. Mr Rao was present at the venue for less than 1.5 hours and left at around 11.30 am. The meeting went on till 5 pm.

Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma read a copy of the CM’s speech on his behalf. Mr Rao, in his speech copy stated, “In the matter of any new Act or amendments brought by the Centre in the Concurrent List, the consent of states should invariably be taken and in case it entails a financial burden on the states, the Centre should fully reimburse them.”

Mr Rao cited RTE Act in support of his argument stating that, “In Telangana alone, Rs 300 crore is required annually to implement the RTE. Further, there are schemes like model schools sanctioned by the Centre, but funding has been stopped now, creating a huge burden on the states. Unilateral control of Central agencies in the matter of subjects in the Concurrent List should be avoided.”

Mr Rao supported the recommendation that the states should also be consulted while selecting the Governor.