TN Assembly adopts resolution against Centre’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ policy

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution against the Centre’s proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ policy, terming it impractical and undemocratic.

The Assembly also passed a resolution on the delimitation exercise, stating that the population of 1971 (census) should be the criteria for carrying out the process, if it was to be held for ‘unavoidable reasons.’

Moving the two resolutions, Chief Minister M K Stalin described as ‘autocratic’, the one nation one election proposal.

He dubbed as a conspiracy the proposed move to carry on with the delimitation exercise after the year 2026, based on the census (which may be conducted following the Lok Sabha polls).

Further, he said it would lead to a drop in the number of elected representatives for Tamil Nadu and the southern states.

In March 2023, then Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju had said in Rajya Sabha that the next delimitation exercise may be conducted after the first census to be taken after the year 2026.

Stalin said, both the proposals impinged on democracy and must be opposed in unison.

“The one nation one election is out-and-out impractical and it is against the basic feature of the Constitution. It is fully opposed to the Constitutional guarantee of independent, free and fair polls,” the chief minister said.

The proposal may lead to dissolution of State Assemblies in advance which is against the Constitution. “If the government at the Centre is to fall, will all state assemblies be dissolved ? Similarly, if governments in a few states were to be short-lived, will those in power at the Centre demit office ? Could there be a policy more comical than this,” he asked.