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Centre to revive Council with states for closer ties
DHNS
Last Updated IST

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to improve Centre-State relations, the Union Home Ministry has decided to revive the Inter-State Council (ISC) that last met eight years ago.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has directed officials to begin the groundwork for convening meetings of the Zonal Councils and Inter-State Council. The Ministry has set a deadline of October next year for completing the first round of meetings of five Zonal Councils and the ISC.

“Inter-State Council Secretariat (ISCS) has been requested to take up the preparatory work (for meetings),” Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs, informed Lok Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday.

The Inter-State Council was established on the recommendations of Justice Sarkaria Commission in 1990 under Article 263 of the Constitution as an independent national forum with the prime minister as chairman.

The last time the ISC met was in December 9, 2006. The Council, a recommendatory body assigned to investigate and discuss subjects of common interest, had only met ten times in the past 24 years.

The Congress party appeared to be reluctant in convening ISC meetings as only two meetings were held during the 15 years they ruled in two instalments (1991-96 and 2004-14) since the first meeting in 1990.

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(Published 23 July 2014, 01:20 IST)