(From left) Road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav, writer Suresh Rungta, BJP leader Arun Jaitley and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi at the book release in Patna on Saturday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, April 21: Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley criticised the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for encroaching on the rights of states.

Speaking at a book release function on Saturday, Jaitley said concern has been expressed by the chief ministers of non-Congress led states over the attitude of the Centre over the principles of federal polity and federal governance.

“The Centre must understand that they (chief ministers) are the elected representatives of the people and have not been thrust upon. During the Congress rule (earlier), the chief ministers were not elected by the elected representatives, rather they were thrust upon by the central leadership of the party,” he added.

Taking a dig at the central government for taking decision without taking states into confidence, the BJP leader said, “The relations between the Centre and the states should be cordial. Non-cooperation between the two is not healthy for the democratic structure of the country.”

Without taking the name of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the BJP leader said there were two “power centres” at Delhi. “While the major decisions are taken from Janpath, they are executed by North Block,” he said.

He also accused the UPA government of following the corporate model of governance. “The board sits elsewhere and the CEO (chief executive officer) governs.”

Jaitley was in Patna to release a book “Bite Dashak Ki Desh Dasha Evam Vartman Chunautiyan” written by Suresh Rungta.