After meeting with parliamentary panel, Punjab ministers say govt completely rejects ONOE proposal
Chandigarh: Underlining the opposition of the AAP-led Punjab govt to the 'One Nation, One Election'(ONOE) proposal tabled by the BJP-led Centre, Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday described it as a direct assault on the fundamental structure and spirit of the Constitution of India as framed by BR Ambedkar.
Speaking to media persons after attending a meeting convened by the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) led by PP Choudhary, Cheema said that he, along with AAP state president Aman Arora, "completely rejected" the move. He added that it would be closely watched if the Congress would oppose the bill in Parliament or decide to lend its covert support to the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Cheema said, "The AAP govt and the party will also oppose this bill in writing to protect the rights of the states against centralised overreach. The bill's clauses indicate the
BJP
is conspiring to abolish BR Ambedkar's Constitution, its preamble, and its basic structure.
The bill clearly states that if an assembly election isn't held as per schedule in any state due to a natural calamity or constitutional machinery breakdown, the state govt's term will be reduced accordingly."
He claimed that the proposed amendments would effectively render the tenures of the state assembly subject to the discretion of the Centre, an alarming overreach incompatible with the federal framework enshrined in the Constitution.
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He said that this bill will further encourage the misuse of Article 356 and 360 by the Centre.
Cheema also alleged that the bill was BJP's "calculated move" to eliminate regional parties that represent diverse cultures, languages, and regions, and serve as the backbone of Indian democracy.
Citing section 5 of part 2, the Bill, Cheema said, "It says that, 'If the Election Commission is of the opinion that the election to any legislative assembly cannot be conducted along with the general election to the House of the People, it may make a recommendation to the President to declare by an order that the election to the legislative assembly can be held at a later date.'
The following clauses add that the term of the assembly will coincide with that of Parliament.
"
Cheema said, "But in case there are deflections in the legislative assembly of a state or the state govt falls, there will be a mid-term election. However, the election would only be for the remainder period, and not a full five-year term. This is in sharp contrast to the BJP's initial claims that it wanted to bring down the expenditure on multiple elections and it wanted to ensure that developmental works are not stalled due to frequent imposition of code of conduct.
"
He added that the BJP's ONOE concept would ultimately backfire, as it would enable the Centre to conduct state elections at its convenience a year or two after general elections, rather than fulfilling the purpose of the proposal as being publicised.
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