Congress MP Manish Tewari Criticizes ‘One Nation, One Election’ Proposal
New Delhi [India], September 19: Congress MP Manish Tewari has voiced strong opposition to the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal approved by the Union Cabinet. Tewari described the proposal as more ‘political’ than ‘constitutional’ and full of contradictions. He argued that it goes against the basic structure of the Indian Constitution and India’s federal system.
Referring to India’s federal structure, Tewari said, ‘The One Nation One Election proposal is a thesis in centralism and is the antithesis of decentralisation.’ He questioned whether states were consulted and if they are willing to hold local body elections along with parliamentary and legislative assembly elections.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh also criticized the proposal, accusing the BJP of running fake propaganda to evade accountability. Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar claimed the government wanted to eliminate regional parties.
The Cabinet’s proposal aims to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, with urban body and panchayat polls within 100 days. A high-level committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind submitted a comprehensive report supporting the proposal earlier this year.
Doubts Revealed
Congress MP -: A Congress MP is a Member of Parliament from the Congress party, which is one of the major political parties in India.
Manish Tewari -: Manish Tewari is a politician from the Congress party in India. He is a Member of Parliament (MP).
One Nation, One Election -: ‘One Nation, One Election’ is a proposal to hold all elections in India at the same time, including national, state, and local elections.
constitutional -: Constitutional means something that is allowed by the Constitution, which is the set of rules for how a country is governed.
federal structure -: India’s federal structure means that the country is divided into states, each with its own government, but all states are part of one country.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh -: Sanjay Singh is a leader from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is another political party in India.
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar -: DK Shivakumar is the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, which means he is the second-highest official in the state government of Karnataka.
Lok Sabha -: Lok Sabha is the lower house of India’s Parliament, where members are elected to make laws for the country.
Union Cabinet -: The Union Cabinet is a group of top government officials, including the Prime Minister, who make important decisions for the country.
high-level committee -: A high-level committee is a group of important and experienced people chosen to study and make recommendations on a specific issue.
Ram Nath Kovind -: Ram Nath Kovind is a former President of India, which means he was the head of the country.