Webinar: Double-engine sarkar, a threat to India's federal structure?
The Federal speaks to experts about the BJP's constant refrain on the benefits of a "double-engine" government — meaning the same party-led government in Delhi and the states
The BJP’s constant refrain on the benefits of a “double-engine” government — meaning the same party-led government in Delhi and the states — undermines India’s Federal system.
By convention, irrespective of the party that comes to power, when in government, party affiliations should play no role. The Union Government is bound to treat all states alike, even if some are ruled by Opposition parties.
By telling the electorate they stand to benefit if they vote for a party in the state that also rules at the Centre, the BJP government holds out an implied threat of not treating non-BJP state governments as well as it does BJP state governments.
Does this augur well for a country like India where elections are the cornerstone of democracy in a federal set up?
Join Prof. Omprakash Mishra, TMC leader; KV Dhananjay, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court and Supreme Court; SG Suryah, State Secretary, Tamil Nadu BJP; and Sangeetha Sundaram, TN State Secretary, All India Professionals’ Congress; in a webinar hosted by S Srinivasan, Editor-in-Chief, The Federal.
