Tamil Nadu CPI(M) Marks November Revolution, Opposes Dissolution of Centre-State Panel

It Opposes Religion-Based Politics

Shanmugam said the CPI(M) continued to oppose political mobilisation based on religion.

The Tamil Nadu CPI(M) is currently extending outside support to the TVK government, although relations between the Left parties and Chief Minister Vijay’s administration have become increasingly strained over several policy decisions.

Shanmugam Criticises Dissolution of Centre-State Committee

The CPI(M) leader also criticised the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to discontinue the High-Level Committee on Union–State Relations.

He said:

“The TVK government should not have dissolved this committee.”

Shanmugam argued that disputes and unresolved questions between state governments and the Centre continued to exist and therefore required dedicated examination.

Panel Was Created by Previous DMK Government

The committee was constituted in April 2025 by the previous DMK government led by M.K. Stalin.

It was headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, with retired IAS officer K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty and former Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission Vice-Chairman M. Naganathan as members.

The panel had been tasked with reviewing constitutional provisions, laws and policies concerning Union-State relations and recommending measures aimed at strengthening federalism and state autonomy.

Committee Submitted First Report in February

The Justice Kurian Joseph-led committee submitted the first part of its report on February 16, 2026.

Its recommendations included proposals concerning timelines for Governors to act on state legislation and reforms relating to education, healthcare, GST, elections, delimitation and other areas of Centre-State relations.

The committee had been expected to continue working on a second part of its mandate.

TVK Government Transfers Work to Law Commission

The TVK-led Tamil Nadu government issued an order on November 6 discontinuing the committee with immediate effect.

The government said its functions substantially overlapped with those of the recently reconstituted Tamil Nadu State Law Commission, which had also been given a mandate to examine Centre-State and inter-state relations.

All records and relevant papers from the discontinued panel have been ordered to be transferred to the Law Commission.

Government Cites Overlap in Responsibilities

According to the Government Order, the High-Level Committee was a non-statutory body whose responsibilities were considerably similar to those of the State Law Commission.

The administration therefore decided that maintaining both bodies was unnecessary.

The decision represents an administrative restructuring rather than an abandonment of Centre-State relations as a subject of review, since that responsibility has been transferred to the Law Commission.

Left Parties Have Raised Concerns About TVK Decisions

The disagreement over the committee comes amid wider friction between the TVK government and the Left parties supporting it from outside.

In September, CPI(M) and CPI leaders warned that they could reconsider their support if the government continued taking major decisions without sufficient consultation.

Shanmugam’s latest criticism adds the dissolution of the Centre-State relations committee to that growing list of disagreements.

Federalism Remains at Centre of Dispute

The Tamil Nadu CPI(M) November Revolution event therefore combined the party’s traditional ideological observance with criticism of current state government policy.

While the TVK government says the committee’s functions can be handled by the State Law Commission, Shanmugam maintains that unresolved Centre-State disputes justify retaining a dedicated high-level panel.