New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday (April 15) announced the formation of a three-member committee led by former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph to review and recommend measures for safeguarding the rights of states.

“To protect the rightful entitlements of the States and to enhance the relationship between the Union and state governments, a high-level committee has been formed,” said Stalin in the state assembly, also alleging that the Union government was gradually snatching away their rights, reported Indian Express.

Justice Joseph was among the four judges who, in an un unprecedented move, had addressed a press conference during the tenure of former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, wherein the judges had expressed their objections on about the way cases were being allocated in the roster.

The other members of the committee include retired IAS officer Ashok Vardhan Shetty and economist M. Naganathan.

Shetty was among the most trusted bureaucrats of Stalin during his tenure as the deputy chief minister of the state between 2009-11 and after his retirement also held the post of the vice-chancellor of the Indian Maritime University (IMU).

Naganathan, who is a noted economist and the former vice-chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission was a close confidante of Stalin’s father and former Chief Minister of the state M. Karunanidhi.

In recent months, Stalin has repeatedly raised the issue of autonomy of states and have accused the BJP-led Union government of trying to interfere in matters which come within the ambit of state governments.

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