'One nation, one election' not possible under present Constitution: Chidambaram

Chandigarh: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday lashed out at the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre over the ‘one nation, one election’ issue, saying it is not possible under the present Constitution and requires at least five constitutional amendments.

Replying to a question on reports that the BJP-led NDA government would implement ‘one nation, one election’ within its current tenure, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the numbers to place those constitutional amendments either in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

In his Independence Day address last month, the prime minister made a strong pitch for ‘one nation, one election’, contending that frequent polls were creating hurdles in the country’s progress.

Addressing reporters here, Chidambaram said, “‘One nation, one election’ is not possible under the present Constitution. It requires at least five constitutional amendments.” “Mr Modi does not have the majority to put those constitutional amendments in either in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha,” the former Union minister said.

He asserted that there were greater constitutional obstacles to ‘one nation, one election’. “It is not possible. The INDIA bloc is totally opposed to ‘One Nation, One Election.” To a question on PM Modi recently alleging that the Congress wanted to end reservation, Chidambaram rejected the charge. “Why should we abolish reservation?” he asked rhetorically.

“We are the ones who are saying that the reservation ceiling of 50 per cent must be removed. We are the ones who are asking for a caste census. We are saying reservation must be according to the population. Do not believe everything the prime minister says,” he told the reporters.

At a rally in Kurukshetra on September 15, Prime Minister Modi had lashed out at the Congress, alleging its “royal family” intended to end reservation for Dalits and asserted that as long as he was there, he would not let even a fraction of reservation given by B R Ambedkar be looted or removed.

At the media interaction here on Monday Chidambaram was asked if the Congress would announce its chief ministerial face for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls. He said that normally, the Congress does not announce a CM candidate before the polls.

“The practice is that elections take place, MLAs gather and their preferences are asked. Then the high command announces who will be the chief minister. I think the same practice will be followed in Haryana,” he said.

The senior Congress leader hit out at the BJP government in the state over several issues, including unemployment, agriculture and state debt.

He appealed to the people to vote for the Congress in the Assembly elections and promised that his party would bring back Haryana’s growth rate, give a fillip to development, agriculture, and industry, and tackle issues of unemployment and inflation.

“The BJP boasts of a double-engine government. One engine is without fuel and the other is completely broken down. What is the use of such a double-engine government? The time has come to junk the two engines,” Chidambaram said.