[File photo]
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government at the Centre Friday announced formation of a high-level panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to study the proposal of ‘One Nation, One Election’.
The decision comes a day after the government announced a Special Session of Parliament from September 18 to 22, 2023.
Soon after the announcement of the Parliament's Special Session wild speculations started over the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal, which a section of the media had reported, could be discussed during the upcoming session.
The idea of "One Nation, One Election" refers to holding the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections simultaneously across the country.
The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have spoken on the issue on several occasions, and it was also a part of the party’s manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the main Opposition group in Maharashtra, slammed the purported moves by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"The BJP government is running scared and indulging in such things, but all the national opposition leaders attending the INDIA Conclave will discuss the issue today", Congress’ Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said that already three committees have been constituted earlier for ‘One Nation, One Election’ and have submitted their reports as well.
“So this 4thcommittee is nothing but a red herring to take attention away from INDIA and Peoples’ agenda… When will the Centre form a committee on record-breaking price rise, unemployment, growing atrocities against women, Adani Group financial frauds, farmers’ unrest, China adding Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin in its territorial maps? Till the core issues are unresolved, this is nothing but a distraction,” Chaturvedi said.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader, Prithviraj Chavan, said “this means the BJP is rattled by the INDIA alliance” and is resorting to such diversionary tactics, but they will not succeed.
Conducting polls simultaneously was the norm in India until 1967 when four elections were simultaneously held. The practice stopped after some state Assemblies were dissolved prematurely in 1968-69.
The Lok Sabha was also, for the first time, dissolved a year ahead of schedule and mid-term elections were held in 1971.
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