Cong rejects ‘One Nation, One Election’, calls it assault on Constitution, federalism
3 min read
By PTI
HYDERABAD: The Congress on Saturday rejected the ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept, calling it an assault on the Constitution and federalism.
Addressing a briefing on the deliberations of the primary assembly of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) right here, social gathering chief P Chidambaram mentioned the BJP doesn’t have the numbers to cross the required constitutional amendments for holding simultaneous polls.
“One Nation, One Election is an assault on the Constitution…it is an attack on federalism,” he mentioned when requested concerning the concern.
It would require at the least 5 constitutional amendments and the BJP is aware of that it doesn’t have the numbers to cross these, the senior Congress chief mentioned.
“Yet, if it (BJP) puts forward this mirage of ‘One Nation, One Election’ it is only to divert attention from the pressing issues and to create a false narrative. We reject this ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea,” Chidambaram mentioned.
His remarks come days after the federal government arrange an eight-member high-level committee to look at and make suggestions on the earliest on the problem of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.
The committee will probably be headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind and could have Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress chief in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former chief of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former Finance Commission chairman N Ok Singh as members.
Chowdhury had later declined to be a part of the panel.
HYDERABAD: The Congress on Saturday rejected the ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept, calling it an assault on the Constitution and federalism.
Addressing a briefing on the deliberations of the primary assembly of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) right here, social gathering chief P Chidambaram mentioned the BJP doesn’t have the numbers to cross the required constitutional amendments for holding simultaneous polls.
“One Nation, One Election is an assault on the Constitution…it is an attack on federalism,” he mentioned when requested concerning the concern.googletag.cmd.push(perform() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );
It would require at the least 5 constitutional amendments and the BJP is aware of that it doesn’t have the numbers to cross these, the senior Congress chief mentioned.
“Yet, if it (BJP) puts forward this mirage of ‘One Nation, One Election’ it is only to divert attention from the pressing issues and to create a false narrative. We reject this ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea,” Chidambaram mentioned.
His remarks come days after the federal government arrange an eight-member high-level committee to look at and make suggestions on the earliest on the problem of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.
The committee will probably be headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind and could have Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress chief in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former chief of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former Finance Commission chairman N Ok Singh as members.
Chowdhury had later declined to be a part of the panel.
