Country's federalism needs 'structural reset,' says M K Stalin

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday proposed amendment to the Constitution to strengthen federalism at the Centre and state autonomy, calling for a "structural reset" of the country's federalism.

Tabling the first part of Justice Kurian Joseph committee report on centre-state relations in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, he said federalism was about trust and autonomy.

"India's federalism needs a structural reset. If we wish, we can again amend the constitution. Meaningful federalism is not about control, but about trust, autonomy, and governance that responds to people's realities," Stalin, the ruling DMK president, said.


In 1967, DMK founder and late CM C N Annadurai observed that the Union must indeed be strong enough to maintain the sovereignty and integrity of India.

His successor, the late M Karunanidhi, advanced this philosophy through the maxim, "Autonomy for States, and Federalism at the Centre" and in 1969 established the first independent committee on Union-State Relations under Justice P V Rajamannar, he recalled.

Stalin said the DMK follows the policy of autonomy in the states and federalism at the Centre.