Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday slammed the central government over the ‘One Nation One Election’ and questioned the rationale behind the move. CM Kejriwal asked what a common man would get from ‘One Nation One Election’.
Taking to ‘X’, (formerly known as Twitter), the Delhi CM said, “What is important for the country? Whether ‘One Nation One Election’ or ‘One Nation One Education’ (equal education for rich and poor)”. “Or One Nation One Ilaaj’ (treatment)? What will a common man get from ‘One Nation One Election’?” CM Kejriwal added.
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.
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.
