CHENNAI: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to revisit his stance of opposing the ‘One Nation One Poll’ (ONOP) proposal, recalling that his father M Karunanidhi was in favour of the move.
Addressing a seminar on ONOP, Kalyan said leaders of the INDIA bloc argue that the proposal is anti-federal in nature. “If it is really so, why did former chief minister M Karunanidhi, who was looked up to as a fighter for federal rights, support it? He did not see this as an anti-federal move.”
Kalyan said that in the first two decades after the country’s Independence, simultaneous elections were held for Parliament and state legislatures. “Today, those who oppose ONOP proposal should revisit and recall the argument supporting it in Karunanidhi’s autobiography, ‘Nenjukku Needhi’.
Karunanidhi, then, had urged the central government to constitute a committee to restore simultaneous elections, and the present central government is doing exactly that. It is bizarre that his son MK Stalin is opposing it,” Kalyan said. He also said the ONOP proposal is not just a political reform but an economic, administrative and governance reform.
The AP deputy CM also said he could understand valid concerns being raised about the ONOP proposal from Tamil Nadu. “Like DMK, I am also leading a regional party and not a national party. Political stability and having a solid foothold are different. Our individual agendas should not hamper the growth of the people. So, I request that the Tamil Nadu CM look into this,” Kalyan said.