The story so far: The Union government on September 2 set up a committee under the leadership of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind to look into the feasibility of simultaneous polls to State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. The eight-member High-Level Committee is set to examine the ‘one nation, one election’ idea and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country.
The members of the committee include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chairperson of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari. Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal shall attend the committee’s meetings as a ‘special invitee’.
Indian National Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has however declined to be a part of the committee, calling the exercise a ‘total eyewash’ and saying that the committee’s terms of reference were prepared in a manner so as to guarantee its conclusions.
