‘Will kill India’s spirit of federalism’: Congress MP Vivek Tankha on CM Chouhan’s job quota announcement for locals

Shivraj Singh Chouhan has promised that government jobs in Madhya Pradesh will be reserved for locals.

The opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh has criticised Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for announcing that government jobs will only be given to the youth of the state. Congress MP Vivek Tankha said that it would go against India’s spirit of federalism if all states were to follow a similar dictum.

“Populist madness at its worst: not implementable in the face of SC 5 judge bench judgments,” Tankha tweeted. “If all states follow this dictum will kill India’s spirit of Federalism,” Vivek Tankha, Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, said. Tankha, 63, is also a senior lawyer at the Supreme Court.

Tankha has also written a letter to CM Shivraj, saying the declaration of 100% job reservation was without understanding the interests of the state and contrary to the judgements of the court.

“Such a declaration is not in the public interest and misleads the people,” he said in the letter.

Earlier, Congress’ national media coordinator and senior MP Congress leader Abhay Dubey too had voiced a similar sentiment. “This is shameful and is aimed at short-term political gains. The government is trying to confuse the people of Madhya Pradesh,” he had said.

मेरा पत्र ⁦@ChouhanShivraj⁩ जी को :: १०० प्रतिशत नौकरी आरक्षण की घोषणा प्रदेश के हितों को बिना समझे और न्यायालय के फ़ैसलों की विपरीत है:: ऐसी घोषणा जन हित में नहीं : लोगों को गुमराह करती है :: और यह सब कुछ वोट के ख़ातिर। आप ४ टर्म CM है ::आप को इन जटिलताओ का पूर्ण ज्ञान है pic.twitter.com/hQDW1pOFaL

— Vivek Tankha (@VTankha) August 19, 2020

The Madhya Pradesh CM had earlier this week said necessary legal provisions will be made to ensure that only locals get jobs in the state government. “The Madhya Pradesh government has taken an important decision, government jobs in MP will be given to the state’s youth only. We are making the necessary legal provisions for the same,” Chouhan has said in a video statement and added that resources of the state were meant for residents of the state.