'One nation, one election against Constitution': Kharge calls for Kovind-led panel's dissolution

He said the committee seems to have 'already made up its mind and seeking a consultation seems to be an eye wash'.

New Delhi: Strongly opposing ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE), Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded that the “entire idea must be abandoned” and the Ram Nath Kovind-led High Power Committee tasked to recommend modalities be “dissolved”, as  the proposal goes against the guarantees of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution.

Kharge also urged in his four-page letter on Wednesday that Kovind should not allow “his persona and the office of the former President of India” to be “abused” by the union government to “subvert” the Constitution and Parliamentary democracy in the country. Earlier, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M) and CPI among others recorded their objections to the proposal.

The Congress president insisted that the arguments in favour of simultaneous polls based on cost of conducting elections and Model Code of Conduct impacting governance among others were “baseless” while complaining that the panel “seems highly biassed” without substantial representation to the Opposition parties that head state governments.

He said the development process and governance is being brought to a standstill frequently because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is actively involved in electioneering rather than governance. 

“When the committee is headed by no less than the former President of India, it is distressing when even common voters feel the consultations of the committee are likely to be a pretence since minds have already been made up. Firm views in support of the proposal have already been expressed in public and a dispassionate analysis of pros and cons is not being attempted in a serious and systematic manner,” he said.

Countering the argument that the cost of conducting elections are “extremely high”, he said the ECI has estimated the expenditure for 2014 Lok Sabha elections at Rs 3,870 crore and it makes up less than 0.02% of the total Union Budget for preceding five years and the expenditure for Assembly elections may also be on similar lines. He said the figures for 2019 were not made readily available by the Election Commission.

He said the High Level Committee considers the 2014 expenditure as high but the ruling BJP has received donations of Rs 10,122 crore during 2016-22 out of which Rs 5,271.97 crore is through “anonymous” electoral bonds.

Kharge also rubbished claims that the Model Code of Conduct hurts social welfare schemes of development works saying pre-existing schemes and projects continue during elections and in any case, the Election Commission can approve any disbursement of pre-existing schemes.

“We are shocked to see the committee in its letter misleading people by saying all welfare schemes or development work will stop due to imposition of the MCC,” Kharge wrote.

The Congress president also opposed the curtailing or extension of the lives of Assemblies to initiate simultaneous polls.