Congress opposes plan panel revamp

At a unique conclave of Chief Ministers called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace the Planning Commission saw a consensus that more power and planning should be devolved to states, but Congress strongly opposed dismantling of the existing 65-year-old body established by Jawaharlal Nehru. Following up on his Independence Day announcement from Red Fort that the Planning Commission would "soon" be replaced by a "new institution", Modi was with Chief Ministers for nearly seven hours at his residence deliberating on what should be the future shape of the body.

Modi pushed for an effective structure, which strengthens "co-operative federalism" and the concept of 'Team India', and even cited his predecessor Manmohan Singh, saying he too had said on April 30 this year that the current structure has "no futuristic vision in the post-reform period". Except Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Mizoram and poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, CMs from all other states attended the meeting where Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh were also present.