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NEW DELHI — The Congress on Wednesday said 'one nation, one election' is not practical and is against the Constitution and federalism, as it alleged that the BJP comes up with such things to divert attention from real issues when elections approach.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made the assertion as the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for 'one nation, one election' as recommended by the Kovind panel.
Read top story: Union Cabinet approves report on ‘one nation, one election’
The panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind had submitted the report in March ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha elections. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the report was approved unanimously by the Cabinet.
Asked about the issue, Kharge said at a press conference here, "It is not practical. It will not work. When elections come, and they are not getting any issues to raise, then they divert attention from real issues."
Later, in a post in Hindi on X, the Congress chief said 'one nation, one election' is just a BJP issue to divert attention.
One Nation, One Election केवल ध्यान भटकाने का भाजपाई मुद्दा है।
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 18, 2024
ये संविधान के ख़िलाफ़ है,
ये लोकतंत्र के प्रतिकूल है,
ये Federalism के विरूद्ध है।
देश इसे कभी स्वीकार नहीं करेगा। pic.twitter.com/rFMFInrnNA
"This is against the Constitution, this is contrary to democracy, this is against federalism. The country will never accept this," he said.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh slammed the simultaneous polls idea as a "hare-brained" one.
He also shared on X Kharge's letter to the Secretary, High-Level Committee on 'one nation, one election', written earlier this year.
The Congress continues to oppose this "hare-brained scheme", Ramesh said.
In the letter, the Congress had strongly opposed the "undemocratic" idea of holding simultaneous elections in the country and said it goes against the guarantees of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution.
Kharge had demanded in that letter that the idea be abandoned and the high-powered committee formed to study it be dissolved.
On Wednesday, senior Congress leader T S Singhdeo said, "It is only a strategy of political convenience, and what I can see is nothing beyond that. The same party which is governing the country as part of the NDA has been talking about this for the past few years."
"You see their intent. Had they really been proponent of this view that this will be a great benefit to the country and the society...what attempt did they make to ensure that Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections take place at the same time," he said.
Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat said the BJP has realised that they will lose elections in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
"After losing one state after another, the BJP was not in a position to sustain that pressure that would've resulted in collapse of their coalition government. That's why the rattled government has opted for 'one nation, one election' formula," he said.
Placing the Kovind panel report before the Union Cabinet was a part of the law ministry's 100-day agenda.
The high-level committee had recommended simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
The panel had also proposed setting up of an 'Implementation Group' to look into the execution of the recommendations made by the committee.
It also recommended the preparation of a common electoral roll and voter ID cards by the Election Commission of India in consultation with state election authorities.
The high-level committee on "one nation, one election" approached 62 political parties, of which 47 responded -- 32 voicing support to holding simultaneous polls and 15 opposing it -- according to the panel's report that was accepted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
Fifteen political parties did not submit a response, said the report by the panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind.
Among the national parties, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) opposed the proposal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National People's Party (NPP) supported it.
"Responses were received from 47 political parties. Barring 15 political parties, the remaining 32 political parties not only favoured the system of simultaneous elections, but also advocated its adoption for saving scarce resources, protecting social harmony, and stimulating economic development," the report said.
"Those who opposed simultaneous elections raised apprehensions that its adoption could violate the basic structure of the Constitution, be anti-democratic and anti-federal, marginalise regional parties, encourage the dominance of national parties, and result in a presidential form of government," it said.
According to the report submitted by the panel to President Droupadi Murmu in March, the AAP, the Congress and the CPI(M) rejected the proposal, saying it undermines democracy and the basic structure of the Constitution. The BSP did not explicitly oppose it, but highlighted concerns regarding the large territorial extent and population of the country, which could make its implementation challenging.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) said if simultaneous elections are implemented, state-level parties will not be able to compete with national parties as far as electoral strategy and expenditure are concerned, leading to an increased discord between these two sets of parties.
Among the state parties, the AIUDF, the Trinamool Congress, the AIMIM, the CPI, the DMK, the Naga People's Front, and the SP opposed the proposal.
The AIADMK, All Jharkhand Students' Union, Apna Dal (Soney Lal), ASOM Gana Parishad, Biju Janata Dal, Lok Janashakti Party (R), Mizo National Front, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (United), Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, Shiromani Akali Dal and United People's Party Liberal supported the proposal.
Others, including Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Indian Union Muslim League, Jammu And Kashmir National Conference, Janata Dal (Secular), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kerala Congress (M), Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Sikkim Democratic Front, Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress Party, did not respond.
Among other parties, the CPI(ML) Liberation and the Social Democratic Party of India opposed it, while the Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, Bharatiya Samaj Party, Gorkha National Liberal Front, Hindustani Awam Morcha, Rashtriya Lok Jan Shakti Party and Rashtrawadi Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) were among those who opposed.
The report also said at an all-party meeting in 2019, which was attended by 19 political parties to discuss critical reforms in governance, holding simultaneous elections was among the issues discussed and 16 of the parties had favoured it.
Only three parties had opposed the idea, it said.
According to the report, at the 2019 meeting, the parties that had supported the idea were -- the BJP, Nationalist Congress Party, Janata Dal (United), YSR Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Lok Janashakti Party, Shiromani Akali Dal, Apna Dal, All Jharkhand Students' Union, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, National Democratic Progressive Party, National People's Party, People's Democratic Party, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and Republican Party of India.
The CPI(M), AIMIM and RSP were the only parties that had opposed it.