NEW DELHI: The Congress has come out with its reasons for opposing the Modi government’s idea of simultaneous national and state polls. The proposal is anti-democracy, will result in prolonged spells of President’s rule, keep Assemblies suspended and take away the voters’ choice to throw out a regime, the party has said.
The Congress has made public its stand in the wake of recent consultations held by the law commission held with various political parties over the issue.
“Will the government tell us what will be the basis and form of One Nation One Poll? This is only an attempt to create ripples in political waters,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
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“The proposal of simultaneous elections dressed up with fancy phrases such as One Nation, One Election is antithetical to democracy. It is nothing but another example of authoritarian and dictatorship regime,” he said.
Pointing to specifics, the Congress leader asked that in case a state government falls, should the state wait for the next simultaneous election without a government instead of immediately going in for elections?
“Is the objective to keep our Assemblies suspended? Is this Mr Modi’s idea of federalism?” asked Singhvi.
“Long spells of President’s Rule are like tyranny of the unelected state,” he asserted.
The Congress leader argued that the proposal would deny the electors a choice they have in voting out a government. Taking a dig at the PM, he said the Centre had spent Rs 4,600 crore over the past four years on its publicity, which was more than the estimated cost of all state and national elections.
“This shows that the Modi government’s concern for expenditure in elections is a jumla (rhetoric),” Singhvi said.
Rahul signs online petition against Sinha
Congress president Rahul Gandhi supported an online petition urging the Harvard University to withdraw alumni status from Union minister Jayant Sinha who allegedly garlanded an a lynching case accused.
“If the sight of a highly educated MP and central minister Jayant Sinha, garlanding and honouring criminals convicted of lynching an innocent man, fills you with disgust, click on the link and support this petition,” Rahul tweeted.
He posted a link to the online petition started by Prateek Kanwal, a 2018 Harvard graduate, to its president Lawrence Bacow. Sinha graduated from Harvard in 1992. Kanwal said references to the university in Indian media reports had sullied its name.