Kochi, March 07: Accusing the 13th Finance Commission of acting as a Centre’s tool, a Kerala minister today said it is “imposing” its conditions on states which is unacceptable.
“The Federal character of our country will be lost if the Commission continues to impose its conditions on states,” Finance minister Thomas Isaac told reporters here.
“It is acting as a tool of the Centre,” he said to a query whether he thought the Commission has become an instrument to impose financial policy on states.
Kerala would consult experts to look at challenging the constitutional validity of its recommendations that states must amend their Fiscal Responsibility Act to suit their fiscal consolidation agenda, Isaac said.
A two-day meet of state Finance ministers would be held in Delhi from March 16 to discuss various aspects of the 13th Finance Commission’s recommendations, he said.
–Agencies