Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Call for changes in fiscal ties between Centre and States

Special Correspondent

Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

UNITED STAND: The Secretariat march organised by the Kerala Gazetted Officers Association as part of a State-wide action on Thursday to press its demands.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Left Democratic Front convener Vaikkom Viswan has called for changes in the fiscal relationship between the Centre and the States.

Inaugurating the Secretariat march and the dharna organised by the Kerala Gazetted Officers Association (KGOA) as part of a State-wide action on Thursday, he said that the changes should be based on the principle of decentralisation and the federal character of the Constitution, which wanted both the Centre and the States to be strong. At present the Centre was appropriating all the sources of revenue, denying financial resources for welfare measures and making the States and the people look like alms seekers.

Mr. Viswan contended that the development and planning concepts of the country had been upset and made in favour of foreign funding and the monopolies which controlled it. The interests of the country were not being protected. The reforms in tax structure, uncontrolled price rise, the break down of public distribution, abandoning of the mandatory procurement of food grains, withdrawal of the support price for agricultural produce, neglect of the crisis in the agricultural sector, opening of the retail sector to monopolies and the downsizing of poverty alleviation and social security measures were part of that policy.

He charged these sections with throwing open the doors for genetic experiments, which would destroy the biodiversity of the country. General secretary of the KGOA K.Sivakumar said that the action was to press demands.

The leaders of various service organisations also spoke.

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