Hyderabad:  Telangana Chief Minister K Chandra Sekhar Rao opposed the Central Government’s proposed amendments to the All India Services (Cadre) Rules, 1954. He also joined in the list of other State Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Telangana Chief Minister KCR wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday calling it a dangerous move which violates the spirit of Constitution and will further strain the Centre-State relationship. After Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin joined the list of Chief Ministers opposing the proposed amendment, KCR also demanded the Centre to drop the move.
In his letter he said that the proposed amendments militate against the federal structure of the Constitution, both in letter and spirit. Further, the proposed amendments will also seriously erode the All India Service (AIS) character of the IAS, IPS and IFS. Telangana State Government, therefore, strongly oppose the proposed amendments, reads the letter. The proposal shows scant regard to the administrative exigencies and requirements of the states.

The proposed amendments threaten the spirit of mutual adjustments and accommodation between states and Central Governments in the matter of shared AIS and will further strain the Centre-State relationship, he wrote.

Stating that the proposed amendment is nothing but amending the Constitution of India relating to the Centre-State relations, said KCR, instead of such a backdoor method of amending the AIS Rules, the Government of India should muster courage to amend the provisions by the Parliament. Considering the criticality of functions discharged by AIS officers in the states, the present rule position and practice provides for concurrence of State Governments in matter of deputation of officers to the Central Government.

The proposed amendment seeks to unilaterally disturb the above position, with the Central Government assuming the power to take officers on deputation without concurrence of the officers of the State Government concerned, he said in the letter. It amounts to interfering in the functioning of the State Government, targeted harassment of officers and their demoralization, besides impacting accountability of officers to the State Governments. It would also render state governments as helpless entities in matters of AIS officers, he added.