By Sidharth Mishra
A few months back in this very column we had analysed the hot-button issue of statehood for Delhi becoming the centrifugal point of Centre-State relations in the coming months. Soon after he was anointed the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (the only one-to-one meeting between the two leaders so far) made it clear that the issue of statehood would be the fulcrum of the relationship between the Delhi state and Centre.
At that point of time, Delhi’s former finance secretary Shakti Sinha had a made a very pertinent observation about Delhi’s relationship with the Centre. In his remark, Sinha did not focus on the powers over Delhi Police but rather on the most pragmatic matter of funds which are needed to run the national Capital. Sinha had mentioned, “If Delhi lives within its means, it has unlimited fiscal autonomy, like any other state, but this state of affairs is dependent on its positive cash balance, which is fast drawing down. Once it tries to spend beyond its means, it loses that autonomy and becomes a subordinate office of the Home Ministry,