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'One nation, one election' not possible under Constitution: P Chidambaram
Sep-16-2024

Congress leader P Chidambaram has lashed out at the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre over the 'one nation, one election' issue, saying it is not possible under the present Constitution and requires at least five constitutional amendments. About question on reports that the BJP-led NDA government would implement 'one nation, one election' within its current tenure, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the numbers to place those constitutional amendments either in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. In his Independence Day address last month, the prime minister made a strong pitch for 'one nation, one election', contending that frequent polls were creating hurdles in the country's progress.

Chidambaram said ‘One nation, one election’ is not possible under the present Constitution. It requires at least five constitutional amendments. He added ‘Mr. Modi does not have the majority to put those constitutional amendments in either in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha’. He asserted that there were greater constitutional obstacles to 'one nation, one election'. It is not possible. The INDIA bloc is totally opposed to 'One Nation, One Election’.

Chidambaram was asked if the Congress would announce its chief ministerial face for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls. He said that normally, the Congress does not announce a CM candidate before the polls. He said ‘The practice is that elections take place, MLAs gather and their preferences are asked. Then the high command announces who will be the chief minister. I think the same practice will be followed in Haryana’. He hit out at the BJP government in the state over several issues, including unemployment, agriculture and state debt. 

He appealed to the people to vote for the Congress in the Assembly elections and promised that his party would bring back Haryana's growth rate, give a fillip to development, agriculture, and industry, and tackle issues of unemployment and inflation. He said ‘The BJP boasts of a double-engine government. One engine is without fuel and the other is completely broken down. What is the use of such a double-engine government? The time has come to junk the two engines’.


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