Congress Lashes Out At Centre On Simultaneous Polls

Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy today criticized the BJP government at the Centre for "misleading" the public by employing diversionary tactics in the name of One Nation, One Election.

Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan, Reddy urged the Union government to clarify the details of the report of former President Ram Nath Kovind, which recommended simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies as a first step, followed by municipal and panchayat elections in a second phase.

He said that these recommendations should be thoroughly discussed.

Reddy also said that the Ram Nath Kovind Committee had failed to specify who was consulted or where meetings were held, and left many critical facts unaddressed in the report.

"To conduct simultaneous elections, 18 amendments are required. Currently, holding simultaneous elections in even four States is not feasible - how can it be done for the entire country?" he asked.

He added, "While One Nation, One Election sounds appealing, it necessitates numerous amendments. Similar to demonetization, the Union government is attempting to implement this without proper communication."

Reddy further said that conducting simultaneous elections was impossible without State consent, as the necessary equipment, staff and other arrangements essential for the execution of the election needed to be provided by the States.