TMC opposes 'One Nation, One Election'; calls it move to establish Presidential 'dictatorship'

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress leaders told the high-powered committee on 'One Nation, One Election' on Tuesday that the move smacks of a "hidden agenda" to turn India into a Presidential “dictatorship,” from a federal parliamentary form of government.
The Mamata Banerjee led party also told the panel that it should first look into “strengthening of the anti-defection law, which is being used to fell elected governments in various states.”
Trinamool Congress leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kalyan Banerjee attended a meeting with the panel chaired by former president Ram Nath Kovind after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was to attend the meeting, cancelled her trip to Delhi, due to state budget related work.
Talking to media after the meeting, Bandopadhyay said they referred to a letter written by Banerjee to the panel and expressed opposition to the idea. "We appeared before the committee headed by the former President. We referred to the letter written by our leader Mamata Banerjee. We have said very categorically that we are opposing the idea of the 'One Nation, One Election.' There is a hidden agenda to form a dictatorship government in future," Banerjee said.
"Earlier there were practically two national parties which had political operations all over India. Now so many regional parties have come. The Constitution itself says so far as state legislature is concerned, it is the people’s will, to choose their government for five years. Similarly, people will choose the central government for five years. These two articles are the basic structure of the Constitution," Bandopadhyay said.
"These constitutional provisions cannot be interfered with and the power of people cannot be curtailed by bringing the concept of 'One Nation One Election'," Bandopadhyay said.
"Let's assume that a state government has fallen. That's happening now everywhere. In that case, would that state government continue or for the rest of the period President's rule will be imposed? In that case people's choice will be compromised... This idea is really interfering with the federal structure of the country itself," he said.
"For the last few years, the opposition parties have been saying that the central government is interfering with the federal structure of the country. Therefore, we are opposing this idea," the TMC leader added.
TMC chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, wrote to the high level committee on 'One Nation, One Election' last month, saying she does not agree with the concept as framed by them. She said, she disagrees with their "formulation and proposal." She questioned the meaning of 'One Nation' in the context and added that unless the "basic enigma" of where the concept came from is solved, it is difficult to arrive at any firm view on the catchy phrase.
Later, a three-member CPM delegation met the committee. The meeting comes days after CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, in a letter to the panel had raised objections to the idea of 'One Nation, One Election', saying it "runs against both the letter and spirit of our Constitution".
The meeting of the delegation comprising Yechury, Nilotpal Basu and Muralidharan with the panel was subsequent to the detailed submission made by the party voicing its serious objections, according to a statement issued by the CPI(M).
The government had in September last year notified the panel under former Kovind to examine and make recommendations on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.