From Telangana, an extreme proposition

Chandrasekhar Rao’s idea of floating a new Constitution is not the solution to Centre-State issues

Hours after the Budget was presented, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao raised a heated debate by floating the idea of rewriting the Constitution. Mr. Rao has been angry at what he perceives to be “step-motherly” treatment meted out by the Centre to the States. He floated the idea of introducing a new Constitution to remedy the situation as the existing Constitution, according to him, has been unable to do so.

Addressing an unusually lengthy press conference, he said there is a Union List, State List, and Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. But the party in power at the Centre, whether the Congress or the BJP, is trying to usurp the rights guaranteed to the States.

As expected, the idea attracted a lot of criticism. Mr. Rao’s comments gave enough ammunition to the Opposition to project the TRS president and his party as “anti-Dalit”. BJP and Congress leaders held separate demonstrations in support of the Constitution drafted by B.R. Ambedkar. BJP State President Bandi Sanjay Kumar said charges of sedition should be filed against the Chief Minister as his remarks had the potential of creating “social disorder”. Telangana Congress President and MP A. Revanth Reddy said there seemed to be a nexus between the TRS and the BJP as the latter too has been working to change the Constitution for quite some time. There was scope for amending the Constitution, but the proposal to introduce an altogether new one showed Mr. Rao’s disrespect for Ambedkar and the sections whose cause he championed, he said. BSP Telangana unit in-charge R.S. Praveen Kumar called the statement irresponsible. He said the formation of Telangana was possible only thanks to the Constitution.