The BJP government forming a panel with “some puppets” as members to explore the ‘one nation, one election’ (ONOE) idea was nothing but a “conspiracy with dictatorship” to realise its goals and the AIADMK was being a “scapegoat” in supporting that idea, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin charged on Sunday.
Addressing partymen during the wedding of a party functionary, Mr. Stalin also questioned the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind. “The President of India is common for all. Even when he is not holding the post, he should not come to politics, or it is not fair that he is involved in any issue relating to politics.” He also questioned the absence of representatives from the DMK in the panel, which is the third largest party in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Pointing out that the AIADMK, which, he said, was the “opposition party in Tamil Nadu today”, had opposed the ONOE idea while in power but was supporting it now, while being in the opposition, Mr. Stalin said: “The goat would not know that it was being sacrificed. The AIADMK would become a scapegoat.”
If the idea came to force, not only his DMK but “no political party would be able to function. It would become ‘one man show’ and he could even go on to announce ‘one nation, one leader, one president’,” Mr. Stalin contended.
As the DMK government elected to power in 2021 had two and a half years of its tenure left, Mr. Stalin asked if the ONOE idea came to force, “Would you dissolve this government? What about Kerala and West Bengal? Would you dissolve them as well? Would he dissolve the government in Karnataka too?”
The Chief Minister also questioned the proponents of the ONOE idea about the different scenarios. “What would you do if no political party gets the majority in any one of the States? You would impose the President’s rule till the next parliamentary elections?”
In a social media post on Sunday evening, Mr. Stalin charged that the Union BJP government’s push for ‘One Nation - One Election’ was a “blatant attempt to undermine” the federal structure.
“It’s a move towards centralised power that goes against the essence of #INDIA, a union of states. This abrupt announcement and the subsequent high-level committee formation only fuel suspicions. #OneNationOneElection is a recipe for #dictatorship, not #democracy,” Mr. Stalin said.
CAG report
Referring to one of the reasons given for ‘one nation, one election’ that it would reduce the expenses over elections, Mr. Stalin emphasised: “Whether you are reducing the election expense, reduce your siphoning funds. What has CAG report said? ₹7.5 lakh crore!”
As the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has released reports with evidence and on how funds were siphoned off in laying roads, in collecting toll from tollgates, Mr. Stalin said: “If the Prime Minister is not worried about this and is not able to give a reply to this, we should put a full stop to this government.”
The BJP was nervous about the support for the INDIA bloc and hence has called for a special session of the Parliament, Mr. Stalin charged.
