It appears that the ongoing debate surrounding “One Nation, One Election” is sparking an intense political storm across the nation. While some believe the proposed referendum will be a game-changer for India’s electoral process, critics argue that it is a plot by the Sangh Parivar to reshape the country’s multi-tiered and resilient election processes into a single national agenda focused on one leader.
Adding to the series of developments over this contentious issue, prominent Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan has also lent his voice to the growing chorus of protests against the Central government’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ move.
Expressing concerns about the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) proposal, the Supreme Court lawyer alleged that the government’s intent behind it is to delay the upcoming state assembly elections in five states slated for 2023.
State assembly elections are scheduled to take place in five states this year: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram.
Bhushan claimed that the implementation of ONOE would lead to a presidential rule system in the country, which goes against the democratic nature of India. He further added that ONOE is not applicable to a country like ours because a majority-led government can also fall during its 5-year term, necessitating a new election. Therefore, ONOE should not be implemented.
“We are transitioning from a democratic system to a presidential rule system. So it would be a total violation of parliamentary democracy. In my view, the government is well aware of this, and they also know that several amendments to the constitution are required to switch to the presidential rule system,” Bhushan said.
He claimed that due to the central government’s fear of losing the upcoming elections in the states, they want to postpone the assembly elections until the national elections in 2024. “They are planning to postpone the assembly polls until the general election in 2024 in the name of ONOE. And President’s Rule will be imposed in the states,” he added.
