As the country engulfed itself in the heated debate over PM Narendra Modi’s recent move of forming a high-level panel to explore the feasibility of the controversial ‘One Nation, One Election’ subject, the Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, indicated on Wednesday that the Election Commission is ready to conduct the simultaneous polls if it gets implemented.
He was addressing a press conference in Bhopal on the preparation of Madhya Pradesh’s assembly elections to be held later this year.
Election Commission Chief Revels Details on ‘One Nation, One Election’ Preparation
Responding to a question on the debated topic, especially the preparation of the Election Commission for the ‘One Nation, One Election’ exercise, the Election Commission chief said, “We have a mandate to conduct elections as per the legal provisions of the Constitution and the RP Act (Representation of the People Act, 1951), and we are ready.”
Nevertheless, an election can be announced six months before the completion of five years. According to the Constitution, the EC is always ready to conduct elections, CEC Kumar added.
High-Level Committee’s Secret Meeting on One Nation, One Election
It is pertinent to note that the Central Government has constituted an eight-member high-level committee to make recommendations on the issue of one nation, one election, and reportedly the first meeting of the panel was recently convened at the residence of former President and the chair of the panel, Ram Nath Kovind, with the attendance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. However, later denying the speculations about the meeting, the two described the nearly hour-long meeting as a ‘courtesy call’ only.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Declines To Be Part Of The Panel
Recently, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was also appointed to this High-Level Committee (HLC) constituted by the Centre, has stepped down from the panel, alleging that the committee’s “terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions.”
Calling the exercise an “eyewash”, he added, “The sudden attempt to thrust a constitutionally suspect, pragmatically non-feasible, and logistically unimplementable idea on the nation, months before the general elections, raises serious concerns about the government’s ulterior motives.”
Significantly, apart from the Chowdhury, the other members in the committee include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission chairperson NK Singh, senior advocate Harish Salve, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C. Kashyap, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
