All Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday opposed the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal and termed it inconsistent with parliamentary democracy and federalism.
In a series of tweets, he said that he attended the all-party meeting on the proposal and maintained that elections at different points of time is not ‘harmful’ to the country’s unity and integrity, and underscored that as per Article 1 of the Constitution, India is a ‘Union of States’.
He sought to buttress his point on federalism by citing an apex court order. “SC’s SR Bommai judgment held that federalism is basic structure of the Constitution and it cannot be abridged. Also held that States are not “mere appendages of centre,” they are in fact “constituent political units” with their exclusive executive and legislature,” he tweeted.
In another tweet, he said, “Therefore, each State's distinct linguistic & regional identity is honoured through the VII Schedule of the Constitution. To make government formation of one State contingent on the election schedule of another State makes a mockery of both principles of democracy and federalism.”
Mr. Owaisi argued that constitutional framework cannot be ‘sacrificed on the alter’ of ‘cost to exchequer’, ‘stability’ and ‘efficiency’.
“On the political side of things, #OneNationOneElection will mean the destruction of regional parties. Regional parties occupy an important space in our multi-party system and they represent the distinct cultures & languages of many Indian States,” he tweeted.
