Impractical, foolish: Opposition unites to slam simultaneous poll
On a day when the government announced the Cabinet had okayed the Kovind panel report on “one nation, one election”, several leaders of the Opposition opposed the idea.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge the Cabinet decision of holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies as “impractical”. Stating that it would be an “impossible” task, Kharge told reporters that the Modi-led Cabinet passed the resolution to deviate from real issues.
“People are not going to accept it,” Kharge said on the sidelines of an event at the AICC office here.
Derek O’Brien, leader of the TMC in Rajya Sabha, said the step was “another cheap stunt from the anti-democratic BJP”. “Why were Maharashtra elections not announced along with elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir? Here’s why. The Maharashtra Government announced the Ladki Bahin scheme in the budget this June. The first tranche reached the bank accounts of women in August and second tranche will reach beneficiaries in October. You can’t do three states in one go and you talk about ONOE,” he said.
CPI’s Rajya Sabha leader P Sandosh Kumar said: “We oppose this anti-democratic and anti-federal idea and its imposition.”
AIMMS’s Asaduddin Owaisi said the decision compromised democracy. He added: “I have consistently opposed ONOE because it is a solution in search of a problem. It destroys federalism and compromises democracy.” AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said the proposal was a “sinister plan to destabilise states”.
