'One nation, one election': A disaster for democracy and federalism, says Owaisi

Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday said that the concept of "one nation, one election" will be a disaster for multi-party parliamentary democracy and federalism in the country, and it appears that the formation of a committee to look into it is just a formality.

The Union government has formed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of conducting simultaneous polls.

"This is the notification appointing the committee that will look into #OneNationOneElection. It is clear that this is just a formality and the govt has already decided to go ahead with it. One nation one election will be a disaster for multiparty parliamentary democracy & federalism," Owaisi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

This is the notification appointing the committee that will look into #OneNationOneElection. It is the clear that this is just a formality and the govt has already decided to go ahead with it. One nation one election will be a disaster for multiparty parliamentary democracy &… pic.twitter.com/sgKxOvG75A

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 3, 2023

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to reduce LPG prices because of upcoming state elections and he wants a scenario where, if he wins elections, he spends the next five years carrying out "anti-people" policies without any accountability.

"Modi government has downgraded the High Office of President of India by appointing a Former President to head a Government Committee. Why has a former Rajya Sabha LOP been included?” he questioned in a series of tweets.

According to him, the other members of the committee have clear pro-government views, which is evident from their repeated public comments.

At least five Articles of Constitution of India and a number of statutory laws will have to be amended before implementation of any such proposal, Owaisi said.

The proposal in itself is against the very spirit of the Constitution and the basic nature of federalism, he claimed adding that the panel’s scope of work is "against the will of voters and will defeat the voice of the people and is a dummy exercise."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Ghulam Nabi Azad, jurist Harish Salve, ex-CVC Sanjay Kothari, former chairman of Finance Commission N K Singh and former secretary general of Lok Sabha Subhash C Kashyap have been appointed as members of the committee.

However, Chowdhury declined to be part of the panel.