Chennai: Senior Supreme Court advocate Kapil Sibal and former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi, have criticised the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, asserting that it would harm the states and erode their regional significance.
They shared their perspectives during a panel discussion at the DMK Legal Wing Conference in Chennai on Saturday.
The panel also featured senior journalist N. Ram.
The third state conference of the DMK Legal Wing was inaugurated by the party’s general secretary, Duraimurugan, at St. George’s Anglo-Indian School.
During the discussion, Kapil Sibal remarked, “India is a union of states — this is enshrined in the Preamble of our Constitution. By advancing this proposal, you are undermining the states and attempting to dismantle the foundational structure of our democracy.”
He elaborated, “One nation, one vote. One nation, one religion. One nation, one language. One nation, one political party. This is the direction you are heading towards. You are eroding the essence of our Republic.
“This idea is being forced upon us without a national debate or consultation with political parties. However, I believe the people of India will not accept this, and I am confident that Tamil Nadu will strongly oppose it.”
Sibal, who is also a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, emphasised that the ‘One Nation, One Election’ policy would negatively impact the federal structure of India.
He questioned how state governments’ performance could be fairly assessed under a uniform electoral system, given the diversity of challenges faced by individual states.
“For example, the issues in Tamil Nadu’s education sector are vastly different from those in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Duraimurugan, who is also Tamil Nadu’s Water Resources Minister, noted that DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin would address the conference later in the evening.
Senior journalist N. Ram also voiced his concerns, criticising the Central government for promoting the policy despite lacking a clear majority.
“The union government survives only because of the support it receives from N. Chandrababu Naidu’s party in Andhra Pradesh. If Naidu withdraws his support, this government will collapse, leading to political instability and horse-trading as seen in the past,” he observed.
S.Y. Quraishi, the former Chief Election Commissioner, refuted the claim that ‘One Nation, One Election’ is needed to prevent policy paralysis caused by the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
“This argument is completely baseless,” he said, urging attendees to study the MCC.
“The code only restricts the announcement of new schemes. Why do politicians suddenly conceive new schemes two weeks before an election? They have had four years and eleven months to implement their ideas,” he noted.
The event brought together legal experts, journalists, and political leaders to discuss the potential consequences of the controversial proposal, with Tamil Nadu’s leadership strongly opposing it.
(IANS)
