Tag: 'One Nation One Election' in Parliament

Rahul In Mizoram

INDIA, Is A Union of States: Rahul Slams Centre on ‘One Nation, One Election’

By LokMarg

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government for “toying’ with the idea of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha elections and state assembly elections in the country.

According to the Congress MP representing Wayanad in Kerala, the idea of One Nation, One Election is an attack on the “Bharat” which, as per him, is the “Union of States.

In a message on his social media post, X, formerly known as Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said, “INDIA, that is Bharat, is a Union of States. The idea of ‘one nation, one election’ is an attack on the Union and all its States.”

The Centre on Saturday constituted an eight-member committee to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country.

The members of the committee, apart from former President Kovind, include Union Home Minister Amit Shah; Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury; former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad; former Finance Commission chairman NK Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former chief vigilance commissioner Sanjay Kothari.

The notification of the high-powered panel by the Centre came just days after it announced a special session of the Parliament from September 18 to 22, on the same day the two-day Mumbai conclave of the INDIA bloc was in progress.

However, the government remained tight-lipped on the issues to be taken up during the special session.

Opposition leaders slammed the BJP-led Centre for announcing a special session without holding prior consultations with them or informing the Business Advisory Committee.

According to the Centre, the high-level committee shall start functioning immediately and make recommendations at the earliest.

Further, according to the official notification, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the meetings of the committee as a special invitee.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, however, declined to serve on the panel, saying its “terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions”.

Simultaneous elections for the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha were held till 1967. However, in 1968 and 1969 some legislative assemblies were dissolved prematurely followed by the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 1970. This forced a change in electoral schedules for the states and the country. (ANI)

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Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi

Democracy About Evolution, Parliamentary Affairs Minister On ‘One Nation, One Election’ Proposal

By LokMarg

Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said on Friday that there will be a discussion on ‘One Nation, One Election’ in Parliament. He termed the proposal an evolution of Indian democracy and asked why the Opposition was scared of it.

“There will be a discussion (on ‘One Nation, One Election’) in Parliament. why is the Opposition scared (about it)? Democracy is about evolution; India is the mother of democracy. This is part of evolution,” Pralhad Joshi said.

“In this evolution every new proposal that benefits the nation will be discussed. For now, a committee has been formed and they will give their suggestion and then discussion will be held on the subject. There were simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies till 1967. Now there are polls every few months and it is a huge expenditure. This must be discussed,” Pralhad Joshi said.

The government has decided to call a Special Session of Parliament from September 18-22 where it is speculated that the government could bring a bill on ‘One Nation, One Election’.

However, the Parliamentary Affairs minister gave no indication of what was on the agenda for this special session of Parliament. Responding to questions from reporters he said “As far as the special session goes, I will discuss the agenda with you later”.

The Union government has constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of ‘One Nation, One Election’ which envisages the holding of general election and state Assembly elections simultaneously.

Sources said that the committee will explore the possibility of bringing legislation regarding it. A parliamentary standing committee, the Law Commission and Niti Ayog had earlier examined the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal and submitted reports on the subject.

The opposition INDIA alliance that is meeting in Mumbai has however opposed the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election” being discussed in the house.

Rajya Sabha MP and UBT Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said ” “Today the country is facing farmers’ issues, rising unemployment, China’s aggression… If the special session will address all these issues, then it’s welcomed. If it will be used to divert attention from these issues, then it shows that BJP is nervous. I want to ask them (central govt) as to when will a committee be formed on inflation, corruption, rising unemployment, women’s reservation…”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has several times pitched the idea of One Nation, One Election. In November 2020 while addressing a conference of presiding officers he said, “One nation, one election is not only a subject of debate but a necessity for India. There is an election in India every month, which hampers development. Why should the country waste so much money?”. (ANI)

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