Qvive: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has voiced her objections to the idea of “One Nation One Election” by highlighting that it is not explicitly mentioned in the Indian Constitution. She asserts that any fundamental changes to the electoral process should be brought about through proper constitutional amendments, rather than by circumventing the existing framework.
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This famous adage by Lord Acton emphasizes the potential dangers of concentrating power in the hands of a single entity. Implementing “One Nation One Election” without parliamentary deliberations and constitutional amendments may lead to an undue concentration of power, compromising the democratic fabric of the nation.
The Parliament plays a pivotal role in amending the Constitution and shaping the nation’s legal framework. By involving the Parliament in the decision-making process, the concerns and perspectives of various political parties and stakeholders can be taken into account.
“One Nation, One Election” without the approval of Parliament is the fact that it is not mentioned in the Constitution of India. The Constitution provides a detailed framework for conducting elections at the national and state levels, but it does not explicitly address the concept of simultaneous elections. By bypassing parliamentary proceedings, the proposal goes against the established democratic principles enshrined in our Constitution.
Mamata Banerjee’s objections rightly highlight the necessity of parliamentary discussions and constitutional amendments before implementing such a significant change.
Hans India: ‘Not mentioned in Constitution’: Mamata outlines objections to ‘One Nation, One Election’
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to the Secretary of the High-Level Committee on One Nation, One Election, Niten Chandra highlighting her objections to the proposed system. In her letter, not as the Chief Minister, but in her capacity as the Chairperson of Trinamool Congress, she argued that the Constitution conceives of the Indian nation in a federal manner hence resulting in a system of parallel existence of one Union government and several state governments.
“If the framers of the Indian Constitution did not mention the concept of ‘One Nation, One Election’, how have you arrived at the concept of ‘One Nation, One Election’? Unless this basic enigma is sorted, it is difficult to arrive at any firm view on the catchy phrase,” she wrote in the letter, a copy of which is available with IANS. In the letter, the Chief Minister also raised the point of an eventuality where the Lok Sabha is subjected to untimely dissolution while the state Assemblies have unaffected longevity.
“Instability of a government at the Centre and consequent impact on the Parliament should not destabilise the State legislatures, to be sure! How does your esteemed committee propose to navigate these questions?” she asked. According to her, it seems that the Union government is attempting to impose a structure that is against the spirit of a truly democratic and federal structure as laid down in the Indian Constitution.
“We object to the most unrepresentative composition of the Committee and point out that no Chief Ministers are taken on board for fear of receiving practical objections,” she wrote. Banerjee also said that she doubts if the high-level committee is seriously interested in analysing the demerits of the case.
“I further suspect that it fails to consider that Parliamentary elections and state Legislative elections are substantially different in nature,” the Chief Minister said.
Source: Hans India, Twitter, Uttarbanga sambad and Hindustan times-image
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