THE New India script has multiple dimensions, including proposed changes in the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954, by the Government of India. But states seem to be exceedingly wary, so much so that there is a forewarning of launching a people's movement.
The chief ministers of West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and now Kerala have written letters to the prime minister strongly opposing the proposed changes. Other states may join the chorus of protests as they view the move as an erosion of India's federal structure, destructive of the spirit of cooperative federalism, the cornerstone of Indian nationhood. An incipient Opposition is coiling in the states and a larger segment of the bureaucracy as well for obvious reasons.
The states, including many NDAruled states, are apprehensive that the proposed changes, once effected, would confer overarching powers to the Union government in the posting of IAS officers. This may be followed by similar changes in the service rules of other All India Services (AIS) like the IPS and the Indian Forest Service.
West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee sent a second letter within days to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, describing the move as one that goes "against the... basic structure of India's Constitutional scheme”. Apart from many non-BJP ruled states, the opponents of the move include BJP and NDA-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Meghalaya. The Maharashtra government too has “strongly opposed” the proposed changes.
The controversy has been fuelled by a letter written by the Union home secretary to the chief secretaries of the states a year ago about the proposed a changes, while sharing the reasons behind it. The states have been given extended time to reply by January 25, 2022.
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