One Nation One Election a diversionary tactic of BJP: Cong

Hyderabad: The Congress on Thursday termed the proposed simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies of States as a clear diversionary tactic of the BJP government at Centre, from the real issues faced by the nation.

Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan, Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said the Union government should inform the people about the facts of former President Ram Nath Kovind’s report, which proposed simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies as the first step and Municipal and Panchayat polls in the second phase, and the recommendations should be discussed thoroughly. The Congress MP pointed out that the Ram Nath Kovind Committee did not clarify who they met and where they held meetings and many facts were not mentioned in the report. “To conduct simultaneous elections, 18 amendments are required. Currently, holding simultaneous elections in four States is not possible, so how can it be feasible for the entire country,” he questioned.

The Bhongir MP alleged that BJP leaders were misleading people on the simultaneous elections and were indulging in diversionary tactics to shift the attention of the people. “The Union government needed a 2/3 majority in both Lok Sabha (362 MPs) and Rajya Sabha (164 MPs), along with support from 14 States. While ‘One Nation, One Election’ sounds good, it requires many amendments.