Congress created situation that forced us to bring ONOE Bill: Nadda

New Delhi: As Opposition called the 'One Nation, One Election' Bills as anti-Constitution and anti-democratic, Rajya Sabha floor leader and senior BJP Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday claimed the Congress created the necessity for such a legislation as it "toppled" governments in the past for its own benefit and upset the time-table for polls.

Nadda's remarks in Rajya Sabha during a debate on the Constitution came even as senior Congress MPs like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shashi Tharoor and K C Venugopal made statements against the Bill.

"We have to bring the One Nation One Election Bill because you toppled elected governments in states, and elections had to be held," he said. The first Lok Sabha election and state assemblies were held together in 1951-52, a practice that continued for general elections in 1957, 1962, and 1967.

However, the Opposition leaders were not impressed. Priyanka told reporters outside Parliament, "Anti-constitutional Bill, it is against the federalism of our nation. We are opposing the Bill."

Venugopal said in Belagavi, "one nation, one election means one nation, no election. BJP's main agenda is one nation, no election. They don't want to have a democratic process at all. To sabotage the entire democratic process gradually, they are bringing this new idea."

Tharoor said the Congress was not the only party that had opposed the Bill. "The vast majority of the opposition parties have opposed this Bill and the grounds are very many, it is a violation of the federal structure of the Constitution. Why should a state government fall if the central government falls?" he said.

"Why should the timetable of one who enjoys the mandate of the people be truncated because of the timetable of another? It makes no sense. In a parliamentary system, you cannot have fixed terms. The reason that fixed terms ended in 1969 is because of the fact that we have in our country a parliamentary system… different Houses, different majorities, different coalitions, may rise and fall at different times," Tharoor said.

"My view is that this entire thing is a folly. In any case, the votes today have demonstrated that the BJP does not have the two-third majority required to pass a constitutional amendment," he added.

In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray claimed the Centre's move was an "attempt to divert attention" from issues affecting the country and demanded a transparent election process before implementation of the 'One Nation One Election' proposal.

Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora welcomed the initiative and said, "I think the fact that the government is keen to go back to the days when all elections used to happen simultaneously which reduces the burden on the taxpayers and allows the govt to focus on governance. It is the need of the hour. I don't know why the Opposition is afraid of going back to the old days."

Senior JD(U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan 'Lalan' Singh asked how one can call the Bills "undemocratic".

"Simultaneous elections were already a tradition but Prime Modi's government gave it a legal form. If elections are held once in the country, then it has many benefits. Elections go on for months, development is completely hampered. This neither affects the federal structure nor is it against the Constitution," he added.