NDA's 'One Nation, One Election' pitch a mere diversionary tactic: Cong's Udit Raj

New Delhi: Congress leader Udit Raj on Monday expressed strong reservations over the NDA's proposed 'One Nation, One Election' pitch and said that this was a mere diversionary tactic. He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was using this as a "tool" to shift attention from the real issues and attempting to escape the heat on its failures on many fronts.

Udit Raj, speaking to IANS, said: "This government sometimes changes the names of cities, rechristens some towns, but develops cold feet when it comes to taking solid measures for sturdy economic growth. All sectors, including health and education, remain in an ignored state, till date.

"We reject 'One Nation, One Election' idea because it is against Parliamentary democracy," he added.

He further stated that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a lot of centralisation has happened and this method of consolidating power on one hand amounts to Presidential system, and added that the country will have to pay heavy damage because of this.

The Congress leader further said that the BJP's web of deceit would not last long and the people would be able to see through its machinations soon.

To buttress his claim, he recalled the BJP's recent losses in the holy cities of Ayodhya and Badrinath, saying that they are strong indications of the party's shifting vote base.

"The BJP will take a beating, not just in the Hindi heartland but also in the Hindu-dominated Jammu division," he said while responding to Jammu & Kashmir's apparent transformation after Article 370 abrogation.

"The BJP's defeat in Kashmir is certain but even those in Jammu are not satisfied with its governance," he told IANS, adding that there has been no decline in the martyrdom of jawans in the Kashmir Valley in the past few years.

Sharing his views on 100 days of Modi 3.0, Udit Raj said that this term has exacerbated the situation rather than improving it.

"They claimed that the infrastructure will be the hallmark of their third term, but the falling structures have exposed its fake promises. Roads, railway, airport, structures... all are getting damaged," he said, while quoting instances like the leak in the Parliament building, the collapse of structures like Shivaji statue in Maharashtra and others.