Chennai: A high-level commission set up by the Tamil Nadu government to review the Centre-state relations is preparing recommendations that could curb the discretionary powers of governors and revisit constitutional amendments that have diluted state autonomy since 1950, a panel member told ThePrint.
Prof M. Naganathan, one of the three members of the panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph, said the panel was finalising its recommendations and expected to submit an interim report in January 2026, months before the state elections.
“We have analysed every aspect of the Union-state relationship. We have also thoroughly analysed the role of governors and the powers of the post. We also plan to recommend procedures for constitutional amendments. Because, through the constitutional amendment, a lot of powers of the states have been taken over by the Union government,” he told ThePrint.
The committee is focusing on what it calls the “misuse” of the governor’s post in the opposition-ruled states and reviewing the 2010 Punchhi Commission’s report, which recommended stricter norms for governor appointments and their powers.
Relations between state governments and governors have been strained in several opposition-ruled states, such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala. The ruling parties in these states have accused governors of delaying bills and favouring the central government.
“The governor is not an elected post. They must act only on the advice of the state cabinet. But today, governors are used to obstructing the elected government in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Punjab, which are ruled by opposition parties,” Naganathan said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced the formation of the commission in April with Justice Kurian Joseph as chair, and former IAS officer Ashok Vardhan Shetty and economist and former state planning commission vice-president M. Naganathan as its members.
The commission’s report is most likely to set the stage for a confrontation between the Centre and Tamil Nadu.
Education & health
While the committee is examining all aspects of the Centre-state relations, it has identified education and health as core areas where the state has lost its autonomy to the Union government.
Naganathan said that the Union Government has accumulated powers through constitutional amendments on various aspects, with education and health subjects having taken a toll on state autonomy.
“Education was within the state list and it was moved to the concurrent list through the 42nd amendment in 1976. This has given them an upper hand in deciding the syllabus of educational institutions and bringing in entrance examinations,” he told ThePrint.
“Similarly, medical education and health, which were a state subject, are now being controlled through NEET and NExT examinations.”
He also said that entrance examinations such as NEET are “anti-poor”.
“Where is the merit if even those who score zero in NEET can still get a medical seat for Rs 1 crore? The state’s own Class XII marks-based admission model ensured merit-based admission to colleges. But the Union’s interventions with NEET have only favoured the rich and it is anti-poor,” Naganathan said.
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Change in political landscape
This is not the first commission formed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led state government to analyse the Centre-state relations.
In 1971, the Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, formed a commission headed by Justice P.V. Rajamannar to examine the Centre-state relations. One of its recommendations was abolishing Article 356, which empowers the President to impose President’s Rule in a state.
However, the Union government ignored its report, even after the state government passed a resolution in the assembly adopting the panel’s recommendations in 1974.
Asked how the new commission is different from those in the past, Naganathan was optimistic and said that “it will certainly have a strong bearing on the political front at the national level.”
“Rajamannar’s recommendations were ignored because the Congress controlled both the Centre and most states. Today, the political landscape is different. This time, the Union government will necessarily have to accept the recommendations,” he said.
Naganathan also said that the Centre-state relations issue first arose in 1967 after the DMK came to power for the first time.
“Until 1967, Congress ruled both the Union and the states; so there was no issue between the Centre and the states. The real issue arose only after the DMK came to power in Tamil Nadu, and opposition parties began to rule West Bengal, Kerala and other states. Similarly, today, opposition parties govern much of south India. Even Andhra’s Chandrababu Naidu, or leaders in Bihar, are demanding special assistance and resisting the BJP’s pressure.”
He also noted that opposition to the imposition of Hindi, once considered a Tamil Nadu-centric issue, is now spreading across different states, including those jointly ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra are all raising their voice. This shows it is not a North vs South question. Federalism means giving power to the people, and people are closest to their state and local governments.” Naganathan said.
Past panels on state autonomy
Tamil Nadu has a long history of challenging the Union government and its powers. In 1971, the Rajamannar Committee came out with a list of recommendations that sought greater financial and legislative autonomy for states.
Subsequently, in 1983, Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde convened a two-day conference of southern chief ministers. The conference—attended by then Tamil Nadu CM M.G. Ramachandran and Andhra Pradesh’s N.T. Rama Rao—pushed for fiscal autonomy and sought changes in the Centre-state relations.
“Yet, whenever states took initiatives, the Union countered by setting up its own commissions, asserting its supremacy,” Naganathan recalled.
In response to the rising demands from the states, the Centre had set up the Sarkaria Commission in June 1983 under Justice R.S. Sarkaria. The panel suggested that Article 356 should be sparingly used and governors should be neutral, apart from suggesting that the Union government consult the states on subjects that fall under the concurrent list.
Later, in 2000, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister, the Union government set up a National Commission to review the working of the constitution, chaired by former Chief Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah.
The commission recommended retaining most of the powers with the Union, but also emphasised cooperative federalism and providing greater fiscal powers through the Finance Commission.
Subsequently, during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule, in 2007, the Union government set up the Punchhi Commission to once again revisit the Centre-state relations. The report, submitted in 2010, also stressed limited governors’ powers and consulting the states while appointing governors.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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