NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it was open to hold dialogue with the Kerala government on resolving the dispute over a ceiling imposed by it on borrowings by the state.

Attorney-General R. Venkataramani told a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice K.V. Viswanathan: “Let's keep it open without any conditions. There can be an open dialogue," Venkataramani told the bench.

The AG’s assertion came after the apex court said those governing at the Centre and in the state were seasoned administrators who could resolve the issue.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Kerala government, said the state government has also agreed to send a delegation to the national capital on Wednesday for talks with the Centre.

"We will fly a delegation from Kerala tomorrow morning itself and we can have a meeting tomorrow itself. Unfortunately, the Budget is being presented by the (state's) finance minister so others will come," Sibal said.

The move came after the top court asked Venkataramani to seek instructions if the finance secretary of the state can meet the Union finance minister and resolve the issue through negotiation.

"We are not asking for tinkering with fiscal policy and we know that you (Centre) cannot take decisions only for one state. But we also think that you, being the Union, the cordiality is one thing that will work for the country," the bench observed.

 The AG sought time till 2 pm to revert to the court on its suggestion.
When the matter later came up for hearing, the top law officer told the bench that the Centre has agreed to hold talks to try and iron out the differences with the Kerala government.

Following the AG's assurance, the court then posted the matter for February 19.

The court is hearing an original suit filed by Kerala government accusing the Centre of interfering in the exercise of its "exclusive, autonomous and plenary powers" to regulate the state's finances by imposing a ceiling on net borrowing.