When questioned on the matter, P Chidambaram responded, "One Nation, One Election is an assault on the Constitution... it is an attack on federalism."
Digital Desk: The concept of "One Nation, One Election" was rejected by Congress on Saturday, calling it an assault on the Constitution and federalism.
Party leader P Chidambaram stated that the BJP lacks the necessary support to pass the constitutional modifications needed to hold simultaneous elections while informing the audience on the discussions of the inaugural meeting of the newly created Congress Working Committee (CWC) here.
When questioned on the matter, he responded, "One Nation, One Election is an assault on the Constitution... it is an attack on federalism."
According to the senior Congress leader, it will need at least five constitutional amendments to pass them, and the BJP is aware that it lacks the support needed to do so.
"However, if it (the BJP) promotes the fiction of 'One Nation, One Election,' it is just doing so to divert attention from the important issues and to spread a false narrative. We reject this ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea,” Chidambaram said.
He made these comments a few days after the government appointed an eight-member high-level committee to study the topic of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats, and to give suggestions as soon as possible.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Rajya Sabha opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, and former Finance Commission chairman N K Singh will all serve on the committee, which will be led by former president Ram Nath Kovind.
It may be mentioned that Chowdhury had later declined to be part of the panel.
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