New Delhi: The opposition on Monday slammed the government over the ‘one nation, one election’ issue, saying it was not possible under the present Constitution and just a “gimmick” of the ruling BJP which keeps “releasing hot air balloons” to test waters.
The Congress, the TMC and the CPI rejected the idea, saying it was not pragmatic.
The opposition parties’ assertion came after reports said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government would implement ‘one nation, one election’ during its current tenure.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said it is not possible under the present Constitution and requires at least five constitutional amendments.
Replying to a question on reports that the BJP-led NDA government would implement ‘one nation, one election’ within its current tenure, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the numbers to place those constitutional amendments either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
Addressing reporters in Chandigarh, Chidambaram said, “’One nation, one election’ is not possible under the present Constitution. It requires at least five constitutional amendments.”
“Mr Modi does not have the majority to put those constitutional amendments in either in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha,” the former Union minister said.
He asserted that there were greater constitutional obstacles to ‘one nation, one election’. “It is not possible. The INDIA bloc is totally opposed to ‘one nation, one election.”
The Congress also said the idea of ‘one nation, one election’ was not pragmatic and wondered how long the government would survive by “releasing hot air balloons” to test the waters.
Asked about the reports on ‘one nation, one election’ being implemented during the government’s current tenure, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “You quoted government sources, here I am the official spokesperson of the Congress party laying threadbare the
many failures of the Modi government. How
long is this government going to survive by leaking selective information?”