JOIN US‘One Nation, One Election’ throws Karnataka Assembly out of gear
Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa made a case for ‘One Nation, One Election’ on Thursday amid protests by the Opposition Congress that spurned the idea, calling it “the agenda of the RSS”.
Thus marked the start of the Budget session of the Assembly where the ‘One Nation, One Election’, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for, was to be debated and discussed.
Kageri was keen to discuss this following a suggestion made at a recent Speakers’ conference.
The Congress, however, was not onboard with Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah seeking to know under what rule or provision the ‘One Nation, One Election’ was taken up.
The Speaker, disregarding senior Congressman HK Patil’s point of order, began his speech that resulted in bedlam.
Read: Yes, we are RSS, even PM Modi is from RSS: Yediyurappa tells Congress in Karnataka Assembly
“Simultaneous election to Lok Sabha and state assemblies was first held in 1952. Between 1952 and 1967, elections were held simultaneously. In Karnataka, too, the simultaneous election was held in 1989,” Kageri said in his speech amid sloganeering from the Congress members who were in the well.
Kageri said the ‘One Nation, One Election’ in countries such as the USA, Sweden, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Hungary and Belgium should be studied. “Simultaneous elections save manual labour, time and costs,” he said, pointing out that elections to the Lok Sabha and three state assemblies cost Rs 60,000 crore in 2019.
Yediyurappa, who also spoke despite the pandemonium, said repeated elections and the model code of conduct prevent elected representatives and officials from carrying out development works.
In all this, the Congress members shouted slogans: Down, down Speaker with RSS agenda...This is Vidhana Soudha, not the RSS headquarters. Some of them even tore the agenda and threw its pieces into the air.
“This is the agenda of the RSS. You’re moving towards a dictatorship,” Siddaramaiah shouted, accusing the BJP of being Hitler-like fascists.
Yediyurappa said Congress has no faith in anything. “What’s keeping you from participating in the debate and expressing your views? This is shameful and people won’t forgive you,” he said.
Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said his party was opposed to how 'One Nation, One Election’ was thrust upon the Assembly to discuss. “They just want to bulldoze and show dictatorship,” he said.
Read more: 'One nation one election' need of country: Bhupender Yadav
Patil said his point of order was based on a directive the Assembly Secretary had issued asking members to confine themselves to ‘One Nation, One Election’. "This is unprecedented. Only the Speaker can issue such a directive," he said.
Yes, we're from RSS: CMYediyurappa lashed out at the Congress for dragging the RSS, the BJP’s ideological parent, into their protest.
He said the BJP members were "proud" to have an RSS background. "Why are you bringing the RSS into your protest? Even the Prime Minister of this nation is from RSS. We are from RSS and we are proud of that," he said.
JD(S) walks outThe JD(S) staged a walkout protesting against the ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea. JD(S) deputy floor leader Bandeppa Kashempur said his partymen waited eagerly since morning to take part in the debate and register their opposition.
"National parties have hijacked the show. Hence, we are staging a walkout. We want to state it for the record that we are against the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election’," he said.