The proposed simultaneous elections to Parliament, State Legislative Assemblies and Local Self Government Institutions is against democracy, federalism and basic structure of the Constitution of India, observed All India Lawyers Union (AILU), while opposing the One Nation One Election policy.
The AILU national committee vice president Sunkara Rajendra Prasad and Joint Secretary Narra Srinivasa Rao, in a statement in Guntur on Friday, said that the Union Government has unilaterally formed a committee under former President Ram Nath Kovind to report on the proposal. To appoint a former President to head a committee under the Cabinet itself is denigration of office of the President, they said.
The action of the Union government on such an issue of wide ramifications and implications without consulting the Opposition parties is undemocratic and authoritarian, observed Mr. Srinivasa Rao.
The conduct of simultaneous election will impact the involvement and participation of people in the democratic process, democratisation of society and accountability of the government at all levels, the Union Government, State Government and Local Self-Government as well as elected members, Mr. Rajendra Prasad said.
‘Different issues’
The AILU leaders maintained that for the development of democracy, an informed electorate is a basic precondition. Informed choice shall be taken by people only if the issues involved in the elections, the policies of political parties and groups on such issues and their manifestos are debated in public and the people are able to understand them. The issues, problems, considerations and priorities for the elections at different levels shall be different, they said.
The issues, problems, considerations, priorities and the policy before the local self government administration will be different from that of State government and the Union government. If the elections are simultaneous, the issues, considerations, policies and priorities will not be discussed and debated effectively and it would only cause total confusion for the electorate. This will be highly detrimental for our democracy and welfare state, the AILU leaders added.
Further, it impacts federal principles and affects the tenure of Legislative Assemblies. If the State Assembly needs to dissolved midway due to various reasons, election can not be postponed till the tenure of Lok Sabha is completed. In a similar manner, if midterm polls have to be conducted for Lok Sabha, State Assemblies should not be dissolved, observed Mr. Rajendra Prasad and Mr. Srinivasa Rao.
