"What Is 'One Nation'?: Mamata Banerjee Questions Concept Of Simultaneous Elections, Calls Centre's Decision "Unilateral Top-Down"

West Bengal Chief Minister wrote to the secretary of the high-level committee on 'One Nation One Election' on Thursday (11 January) and objected to the concept.

Questioning "What is 'One Nation'?", the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said that our constitution is based on federal structure and when there is no concept of 'One Nation, One Government', how it can have 'One Election'.

She asked how the parliamentary elections and state legislative elections will be made co-eval when different states have different election calendars. She said that the states should neither be forced for premature elections, nor the terms should be extended.

Questioning the methodological approach, Banerjee said it's a "unilateral top-down decision" and against the spirit of democratic and federal principles laid down by the Constitution. She alleged that the centre just wants to get over with the amendments.

The West Bengal CM also said that the Chief Ministers were not taken on board "for fear of receiving practical objections" and pointed out that Parliamentary and state legislative elections are "substantially different in character."

She asked to "not go for selective cherry-picking of reports" to support the concept, instead "why and how of simultaneous elections" should be discussed. "The issue is about plurality," she concluded her letter.