1. Dissolution of Article 370: The whole procedure adopted in dissolution of article 370 endangers healthy federalism. Without taking state’s opinion, a full-fledged state was bifurcated and converted into a union territory. This goes against the principles of cooperative federalism which talks about participative decision making and more autonomy to states. Opinions against such a unilateral step were raised in other states too.
2. One Nation, One Exam (NEET): The Introduction of NEET created havoc in the state of Tamil Nadu. From suicides to large scale protest, the examination was resisted mainly due to –
3. Role of Governor: The evergreen issue of Governor’s role in Centre-State relations was once again in news. The issue here was the role of Governor in deciding government formation post hung assembly. The governor in case of a hung assembly can use his discretion in inviting a political party to form government. Generally it is considered that a party/coalition with most seats would be invited first, but this was not seen in case of Goa and Manipur (2017), or Karnataka and Maharashtra (2019). This led to Supreme Court’s intervention leading to bitterness in relationship of Centre-State, hampering cooperative federalism.
4. CAA/NRC/NPR: The passage of Citizenship Amendment Bill (awarding citizenship on the basis of religion) created quite a stir in the country. States like Kerala, Punjab and Bengal passed a resolution condemning the Act. Although it has no legal repercussions but it makes a dissent explicit. It once again highlighted the contradictions in opinions of states and central government, questioning the credibility of cooperative federalism.