Drop proposed amendments to IAS (Cadre) deputation rules: CM Vijayan to PM

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the present deputation rules are themselves heavily loaded in favour of the Union and bringing in further stringency will weaken the very root of cooperative federalism.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Sunday urged the Centre to drop the move to bring amendments to IAS (Cadre) deputation rules, saying it will create "fear psychosis" among civil service officials to implement the state government policies.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the present deputation rules are themselves heavily loaded in favour of the Union and bringing in further stringency will weaken the very root of cooperative federalism.

"The proposed amendments in the Deputation Rules of All India Services will definitely induce a fear psychosis and an attitude of hesitancy among All India Service Officers to implement policies of a state government, which are formed by party/parties politically opposed by the ruling party at the Centre", Vijayan said in the letter.

He said the Kerala government is of the opinion that "these proposed amendments" may be dropped.

"In our federal set-up, the state governments are on a par with the central government as both of them are elected by the people, though the division of authority in the Constitution does give the Union jurisdiction over a wider range of subjects. We need to recognise that in a vibrant democratic and federal polity, States and the Centre can be ruled by political formations with vastly different ideologies and political views. But these governments function within the framework of the Constitution," the letter read.

The union government has proposed an amendment to the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, which would enable it to post IAS officers on central deputation, bypassing reservations of state governments.