Overview
- Justice B.V. Nagarathna, speaking Saturday at Chanakya National Law University in Patna, said the Centre must treat states as co-equals and not subordinates, and she added that citizens of any state should not face discrimination in development or governance.
- She urged firm independence for the Election Commission of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the Finance Commission to keep elections, audits, and fiscal sharing neutral and accountable.
- Warning of slow constitutional erosion, she said formal processes can continue even as power escapes restraint when institutions stop checking one another.
- On elections, she said neutrality fails if those who run the process depend on those who contest it, noting past Supreme Court recognition of the ECI as a high constitutional authority.
- She pressed for dialogue over lawsuits in Centre–State disputes, a call that lands as coverage highlights opposition attacks on the Chief Election Commissioner, challenges to voter roll revisions in West Bengal, and a rise in inter-government litigation.