Simultaneous polls an election jumla, says Chidambaram
30 Jan 2018 5:48 PM GMT
New Delhi: A day after President Ram Nath Kovind pitched for simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, Congress leader P Chidambaram termed it as another "election jumla" (gimmick) by the Modi government, saying it cannot be done under the current constitutional provisions.
Speaking at a panel discussion after the release of his book 'Speaking Truth to Power', Chidambaram said the Constitution of India does not give a fixed term to any government and unless it is amended, one cannot have simultaneous elections.
"In a parliamentary democracy, especially when we have 30 states, under the present Constitution you cannot have simultaneous election.
"This is another of these election jumla. One nation, one tax was a jumla. Now one nation, one election is a jumla," he said in reply to a question.
The former Union minister, whose book was released by ex-president Pranab Mukherjee, said one can artificially construct the appearance of a simultaneous election by advancing some elections and postponing some, and one could hold parliamentary election and elections to five or six states, but not in all the 30 states.
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