Beyond the structural and legal dimensions of centre-state relations covered in our earlier article on Modi’s impact on Indian federalism, it’s worth examining how individual state chief ministers themselves, across party lines, have publicly characterised their working relationship with the central government during this period.
The Recurring Complaints from Opposition-Governed States
Chief ministers from opposition-governed states have been the most vocal critics of what they describe as an increasingly centralised relationship with New Delhi. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has been among the most consistent voices on this front, according to Deccan Herald’s coverage of opposition chief ministers convening specifically to discuss what Stalin and others characterised as “constitutional overstepping” by centrally appointed Governors, a reference to the Governor’s-office friction covered in more detail in our federalism article. West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee has raised similar concerns repeatedly over her state’s relationship with the centre, with commentary published by News Arena India specifically grouping Stalin and Banerjee together as what the piece called “symbols of resistance” among state leaders pushing back against what they characterise as central overreach.
The GST Council as a Specific Point of Friction
Beyond Governor’s-office disputes, opposition state finance ministers have repeatedly raised concerns within the GST Council itself, the body covered in detail in our federalism article, about the compensation delays states experienced during the pandemic period and about the broader structural loss of independent state tax-setting authority that came with GST’s implementation. Tribune India’s archival coverage of one such dispute carried the specific headline “Follow cooperative federalism, Centre told,” reflecting a recurring demand from state finance ministers that GST Council decision-making better reflect states’ own fiscal priorities rather than functioning, as some critics characterise it, as effectively centre-driven with limited genuine state leverage despite the formal two-thirds state voting weight in the council’s structure.
If you like this, you must read: One Nation One Election: What It Means for India's Federal Structure
The CBI and Enforcement Directorate Concerns
A further recurring grievance from opposition-governed states involves the use of central investigative agencies, particularly the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, against state politicians and officials. Deccan Herald’s archival coverage of one such dispute specifically described a “CBI row” as exposing broader “tussle between” the centre and a state government, a pattern that has recurred across multiple opposition-governed states during this period, with state leaders alleging politically motivated investigative targeting, and the central government consistently maintaining that these agencies operate independently based on the specific facts of individual cases rather than political considerations.
How the Political Landscape Has Shifted Around This Debate
It’s worth noting that the roster of opposition-governed states raising these concerns has itself changed considerably across this decade, as the state election results covered in our earlier article show, with some states that were once vocal critics later coming under BJP or NDA-allied governance, and others, like Odisha’s historic 2024 flip, changing the specific mix of chief ministers voicing these federal-relations concerns at any given point. Coverage by The Federal, in a piece asking “Where have Modi’s rivals gone?”, specifically traced what the outlet characterised as a gradual erosion of India’s opposition landscape over this period, a framing that itself illustrates how intertwined the federalism debate has become with the broader electoral fortunes of India’s opposition parties.
Also read: What Historians a Century From Now Might Say About Narendra Modi
Why State Leaders’ Views Vary So Widely
It’s worth noting that chief ministers from BJP-governed or NDA-allied states generally offer a starkly different characterisation of the same centre-state relationship, describing consistent cooperation and describing GST Council and central-scheme coordination as working smoothly in practice, a divergence that tracks closely with each state government’s own political alignment relative to the party governing at the centre, making state leaders’ characterisations of federal relations difficult to separate cleanly from their own party-political positioning.
What This Means for Judging Federalism Fairly
Because nearly every state leader’s public characterisation of centre-state relations correlates so closely with their own party’s relationship to the central government, independently verifying which specific complaints reflect genuine structural problems in India’s federal system, as opposed to ordinary political friction that would exist under any central government regardless of party, requires looking past individual chief ministers’ public statements toward more objective measures, such as the Supreme Court rulings, GST compensation payment records, and central agency case data covered in our companion federalism article, rather than taking any single state leader’s characterisation, however loudly stated, as a complete or neutral account on its own.
Bottom Line
State leaders’ own public characterisations of their relationship with Modi’s central government split sharply along political lines, with opposition-governed states, led vocally by figures including Tamil Nadu’s M.K. Stalin and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, describing recurring friction over Governor’s-office delays, GST compensation, and central agency use, while BJP-governed and allied states generally describe smoother cooperation, a divide that closely tracks each state’s own political alignment relative to the centre.
Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available state government statements and news reports listed below. It is written for general informational purposes and does not represent an official statement from the Government of India or any state government named above.
Sources
FAQ
Which chief ministers have been most vocal about federal-relations friction?
Tamil Nadu’s M.K. Stalin and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee have been among the most consistent critics, particularly regarding Governor’s-office delays and GST compensation issues.
What do BJP-governed states generally say about the same relationship?
They generally describe smoother cooperation with the centre, a characterisation that tracks closely with their own political alignment relative to the ruling party.
Has the group of states raising these concerns stayed the same over time?
No. It has shifted considerably as election results have changed which parties govern which states, including Odisha’s 2024 flip to BJP after 24 years of Biju Janata Dal rule. —
