Criticising the Union government for allegedly withholding funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme for the financial year 2024-’25, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday said that states having to approach courts to get their rightful share goes against cooperative federalism, reported The New Indian Express.

Speaking at the Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stalin said it was “not acceptable in a cooperative federal India for funds due to a state and already approved to be withheld, delayed, or reduced”, according to The Indian Express.

The Samagra Shiksha scheme, implemented in 2018, is the scheme through which the Union government provides support for elementary and secondary school education.

On May 21, the Stalin government moved the Supreme Court, alleging that the Union government’s decision to withhold funds was a response to its refusal to implement the 2020 National Education Policy and the PM SHRI Schools scheme, and its opposition to the three-language formula that includes Hindi.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister said during the meeting on Saturday that the Centre’s decision “adversely impacts the education of children studying in government schools and those studying under the Right to Education Act”, reported The Indian Express.

He also stated that Tamil Nadu was “marching ahead with long-term plans” and asserted that the state would make a “significant contribution to India’s vision of a USD 30 trillion economy”.

“To realise that vision, cooperative federalism must be the strong foundation,” said Stalin. “I strongly urge that the Union government must extend cooperation without bias to all states, including Tamil Nadu, to help them achieve their development goals.”

His counterpart in Telangana, Revanth Reddy, also spoke about the need to uphold the principle of cooperative federalism in the march toward a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047, reported The Indian Express.

The Telangana chief minister said that the progress of the nation was “intrinsically linked to the progress of each of its constituent units”.

“It is, therefore, imperative that we support, catalyse, and harness the potential of rapidly advancing states, while simultaneously extending every necessary assistance to those that are still catching up,” Reddy was quoted as saying.

It was important that the states and the Centre continued to “collaborate, exchange best practices, and support one another in building a resilient, inclusive, and future-ready India”, he added.

Three Opposition CMs skip meeting

Three of the chief ministers of non-Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states did not attend the meeting.

Among them was West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee. It was not clear why she did not attend the Niti Aayog meeting.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also skipped the meeting, stating that he was busy with “prior engagement” in the state, reported The Hindu. The Congress leader sent his speech to be read out in the council.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also sent his speech to be read out by his Cabinet colleague KN Balagopal. Vijayan had not attended a Niti Aayog meeting of chief ministers in Delhi last year as well.

This article first appeared on Scroll.in

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