Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Monday expressed his strong protest against the proposed amendments to the All India Services (AIS) (Cadre) Rules, 1954 that will allow the Centre to pick AIS officers without the consent of the state governments.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM said, “The proposed amendments militate against the federal structure of our Constitution, both in letter and spirit.” The amendments will seriously erode the All-India Service character. “The Telangana state government, therefore, strongly oppose” the amendments, he said.
The CM demanded that that Centre “cease and desist” from the proposed amendments “in the interest of administrative fairness and federal polity of our Constitution.”
He said that considering the criticality of functions discharged by AIS officers in the states, the present rule position provides for concurrence of states in matter of deputation.
“The proposed amendment seeks to unilaterally disturb the above position, with the Central government assuming the power to take officers on deputation without concurrence of the officers or state government concerned.”
“This is a dangerous move which is against the constitutional framework and spirit of cooperative federalism,” he said. “The state governments would be reduced to being insignificant entities.” The proposal was “clearly a move to exercise indirect control by the Central government on officers working in the states.”
“It amounts to interfering in the functioning of the state governments, targeted harassment of officers and their demoralisation, besides impacting accountability of officers to the state governments,” the Chief Minister wrote in his letter.
The proposed amendments “would also render state governments as helpless entities in matters of AIS officers,” Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao wrote.
He said he “strongly objected” to the “coloured exercise of powers” vested with the Centre to amend Cadre rules to the detriment of the interest of the state and watering down the federal polity of the country.
“The proposed amendment to the All India Services Cadre Rules, 1954 is nothing but amending the Constitution of India relating to the Centre-state relations. Instead of such backdoor method of amending the AIS Rules, Government of India should muster courage to amend the provisions by the Parliament," the CM stated.
“The proposal shows scant regard to the administrative exigencies and requirements of the states. The proposed amendments threaten the spirit of mutual adjustment and accommodation between states and Central governments in the manner of shared All-India Services and will further strain the Centre-State relationship, the CM said.
