Thiruvananthapuram: The central government’s slogan of “One Election” is a plan to undermine the diverse nature of Indian parliamentary democracy, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He also stated that this is a covert attempt by the Sangh Parivar to push India’s electoral politics towards a presidential system. He further added that the hidden agenda behind this is to give unlimited power to the central government.
The Chief Minister’s response came following the central cabinet’s approval of the recommendation for ‘One Nation, One Election.’ The approval was given to the report of the high-level committee, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, which was appointed to study the issue of ‘One Nation, One Election.’
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s press release:
The stance of ‘One Nation, One Election’ is a concealed agenda to weaken India’s federal system and grant absolute power to the central government. Despite the setbacks faced in the Lok Sabha elections, it seems the BJP is not ready to learn its lessons. It was after Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently announced that the ‘One Election’ plan would be implemented during this government’s tenure that the central cabinet approved the report of the Ram Nath Kovind committee.
The Sangh Parivar is engaging in a covert attempt to shift Indian electoral politics towards a presidential system. The “One Election” slogan is designed to stifle the diverse nature of Indian parliamentary democracy. Each state has its unique circumstances and contexts. Ignoring these and conducting elections mechanically, or otherwise imposing central rule by undermining the people’s mandate, will destroy democracy. The democratic community of the country must come forward against these efforts by the Sangh Parivar to sabotage India’s parliamentary democratic system and the very idea of India itself.
