New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) A day after government sources said ‘one nation, one election’ will be implemented in the current term of the NDA government, the TMC called it another “gimmick” of the ruling party.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) questioned why the Maharashtra elections were not announced along with the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.
“One nation, one election’ is just another gimmick from the anti-democratic BJP,” TMC Parliamentary Party leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien said.
“Why were the Maharashtra elections not announced along with elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir? Here’s why,” he said.
Answering the question himself, he said the Maharashtra government announced the Ladki Bahin scheme in the budget this June. The first tranche reached the bank accounts of women in August and the second tranche is likely to reach the beneficiaries in mid-October, he added.
Communist Part of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja also said his party does not support the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal.
“Our party, the CPI, is not in favour of ‘one nation one election’. In fact, I met the former president who was heading the committee,” he said.
Raja said India is a diverse country and elections are held to Parliament and the state legislative assemblies. The Constitution makes clear the tenure of Lok Sabha, state assembly, the powers of elected chief ministers and governments in the states, he said.
The Union government cannot snatch all powers from the state governments, he said, adding this issue was discussed in the Constituent Assembly and things are very clear.
The CPI leader said the Election Commission is a permanent commission which draws all its powers from the Constitution. It has the mandate to hold free and fair elections, he added.
Raja said the ‘one nation, one election’ cannot be implemented in the country. The government should ensure level-playing field, he added.
Listing a couple of situations, he said any state government can be defeated on the floor of the House through a no-confidence motion or the elected chief minister can recommend the dissolution of assembly on the advice of cabinet. He asked their consequences and said there are many constitutional and practical questions.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will implement ‘one nation, one election’ within its current tenure, sources said, exuding confidence that the reform measure will receive support across party lines.
In his Independence Day address last month, the prime minister made a strong pitch for ‘one nation, one election’, contending that frequent polls were creating hurdles in the country’s progress. PTI AO KSS KSS
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