PM Modi chairs all-party meet; Congress, 6 Oppn leaders skip

New Delhi: The Congress will skip the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ‘one nation, one election’ issue as it is opposed to the idea of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, sources said on Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s top leaders in the Parliament after consultations with various other parties.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee and BSP chief Mayawati are among the host of Opposition leaders who will skip the all-party meeting on the issue of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The Samajwadi Party is also opposed to the idea and will skip the meeting, a source said.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, DMK supremo M K Stalin will also not attend the meeting, sources said. TDP president Chandrababu Naidu is likely to skip the meeting of party chiefs, while the Left parties are likely to attend, the sources said.

MP from Guntur Jayadev Galla is likely to represent the TDP at the meeting. Working President KTR will attend the meet on KCR’s behalf.

Modi has invited the heads of all the political parties that have at least one member either in the Lok Sabha or in the Rajya Sabha for today’s meeting that he will chair to discuss several issues, including the ‘one nation, one election’ idea.

On Tuesday, KCR while addressing a press conference had said, “What is there to discuss there? We will only maintain constitutional relations with Centre. I still back my federal front. No use talking to Centre. We didn’t even get Re 1 for state. I have already stated that Modi runs a fascist government. It’s a fact on record.”

On Tuesday, Banerjee had written a letter to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and informed him about her inability to join the meeting called to discuss the issue of ‘One Nation, One Election”.

“Response on such a sensitive and serious subject like ‘One Country and One Election’ in such a short time would not do justice to the subject it deserves,” she had said in the letter.

The TMC chief had also said that the matter required consultations with the constitutional experts, election experts and all the party members.

With ANI inputs…