The Kerala Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution against the Centre’s “one nation, one election” proposal, reported The Hindu.
The resolution was tabled by Kerala Minister for Local Self-Government and Parliamentary Affairs MB Rajesh.
The resolution claimed that the proposal would weaken the powers and rights of state legislatures and leave local self-government institutions irrelevant.
The proposal reflects an “anti-democratic mindset”, is in opposition to constitutional values and undermines the parliamentary democratic system, read the resolution, according to The New Indian Express. “The proposal is also viewed as a sinister ploy to nix the socio-cultural and political diversity of the country,” it added.
On September 18, the Union Cabinet cleared the report of a committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind recommending a two-step approach for implementing simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has for long been pushing for simultaneous elections, Opposition parties have criticised the proposal on the grounds that it undermines federalism.
The resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly on Thursday also said that the plan would further centralise power in favour of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Sangh is the Hindutva party’s ideological parent.
It also said that elections cannot be viewed only through the lens of monetary expenditure and that doing so would be undemocratic.
“The proposal disrupts federalism, which is a fundamental aspect of the Constitution, and violates the powers enjoyed by the states,” the resolution said. “It also challenges the sovereignty of the public.”
In its report, the Ram Nath Kovind-led committee said there is a need to bring back simultaneous elections as had been held in the initial decades after Independence.
Holding elections every year “casts a huge burden on the government, businesses, workers, courts, political parties, candidates contesting elections, and civil society at large”, the report said.
The committee said that simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies could be held initially, with municipality and panchayat elections organised within the next 100 days.
The Congress had said in September 2023 that simultaneous elections would violate the basic structure of the Constitution. The proposal is based on the idea that the entire country is “one but this contradicts Article 1, which envisages India as a ‘Union of States’”, the party said.
After the Cabinet accepted the recommendations of the Kovind-led committee last month, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the BJP was using the proposal to divert public attention away from more pressing matters amid a series of Assembly elections.
Also read:
‘One nation, one election’ plan presents a challenge for the Opposition – and for the BJP
Simultaneous polls will weaken the only check on Indian politicians: Elections
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