"Entire proposal is riddled with contradictions": Congress' Manish Tewari reacts to 'One Nation, One Election' initiative

New Delhi [India], September 19 : A day after Union Cabinet approved the proposal of 'One Nation, One Election', Congress MP Manish Tewari said on Thursday that the proposal looks more "political" instead of "constitutional," and entire 'One Nation, One Election' proposal is riddled with contradictions.
"...The entire one nation, one election proposal, is riddled with contradictions, it has not been thought through, it will not pass muster in a legal challenge and moreover, it goes against the basic structure of the Constitution as was conceptualised by the framers of the Indian Constitution... I think this proposal is more political than constitutional," Tewari said.
Referring to India's federal structure, Congress MP said that this proposal is a "thesis of centralism" and is the "antithesis of decentralisation."
Tewari said, "The One Nation One election proposal is a thesis in centralism and is the antithesis of decentralisation. In 1947, when India became independent, provinces of British India and the 562 princely states came together to form the dominions of India and Pakistan, respectively. Cognisant of this reality, the framers of the Constitution stated in Article 1 of the Constitution that India is a union of states. So the first question is that are the states on board with this proposal of the one nation, one election?"
Raising uncertainty over state governments consultations on this initiative, he further questioned states whether they are willing to hold elections of local bodies along with parliament and legislative assembly elections.
"The Supreme Court of India in the case of Kesavananda Bharati held federalism to be a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. This one nation, one election militates against that very conception of what constitutes the basic structure of the Indian Constitution and would therefore fall foul when there's a legal challenge to it. The Municipal Corporation, Zila Parishads, Panchayat, Block Samities, Zila Committees, etc, they fall under the jurisdiction of state governments. Though the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments gave them the constitutional status but they actually fall within the purview of the state governments. Would the state governments be willing to hold elections of local bodies along with parliament and legislative assembly elections is a question which nobody has consulted the states on? ..." said Tewari.
Meanwhile, launching a scathing attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party over one nation, one election initiative, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh said that BJP is a party of one nation, one corruption and one nation, one commission. He added that the BJP is running fake propaganda that a lot of money gets wasted in holding elections to evade accountability.
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar also opposed the Centre's move, claiming that the Government wanted regional parties to stop existing.
The Cabinet approved the 'One Nation, One Election' proposal, which proposes simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, with urban body and panchayat polls to be held within 100 days.
The High-level Committee on Simultaneous Elections, constituted under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind, submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu earlier this year.
The government said that the report, comprising 18,626 pages, is an outcome of extensive consultations with stakeholders, experts, and research work of 191 days, since its constitution on September 2, 2023.