Will the idea of ‘one nation, one poll’ work in India? – By Anuradha Raman
One of the reasons the ruling party puts forth [to hold simultaneous elections] is the huge expenditure involved in the election process. In a democratic country, it the right of the people to exercise their franchise. It is the discretion of the people to elect or unseat a government. Citing expenses incurred in elections is not such a big issue in a country as vast as ours.
Our main contention is that as long as we have Article 356 in the Constitution, which allows any State government to be removed by the Central government, how can you be sure that the Centre will not unseat a State government for its own personal reasons by using Article 356 if simultaneous elections are held? What will happen to the remaining tenure of that elected Assembly? As long as Article 356 is in the Constitution, no State government is assured its full term of five years. Will somebody give us an assurance that Article 356 will be removed from the Constitution?
…The point on the issue of expenses is, who spends this money? The money that the Government of India and the Election Commission spend, which is public money, is minuscule compared to the money that political parties and candidates spend. If political parties and candidates want to reduce expenditure, they can do that.…
SEE ALSO:
- One nation, one election? Perish the thought – By Yusuf Begg (Jun 22, 2019, India Today)
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/one-nation-one-election-perish-thought-1553953-2019-06-22 - ‘One Nation, One Election’ – is it a wise idea? – By Anuradha Raman (Jun 27, 2019, The Hindu)
https://www.thehindu.com/podcast/one-nation-one-election-is-it-a-wise-idea-parley-podcast/article28182427.ece - The Establishment Has Sent a Hard Core Message to Dissenters and Critics – By Sidharth Bhatia (Jun 25, 2019, The Wire)
https://thewire.in/rights/the-establishment-has-sent-a-hard-core-message-to-dissenters-and-critics - Official apathy, rise of hooliganism in Kolkata – By Milinda Ghosh Roy (Jun 23, 2019, The Hans India)
https://www.thehansindia.com/hans/opinion/official-apathy-rise-of-hooliganism-in-kolkata-540280
