One nation, one poll idea not pragmatic, says Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress on Monday said the idea of one nation-one election was not pragmatic and asked how long govt would survive by “releasing hot air balloons” to test the waters. Other opposition parties including TMC and CPI slammed govt and said it was not possible under the Constitution & described BJP ’s plan as a “gimmick”.

“Where is the draft of this plan? No one in govt has spoken to Congress on this. There has been no discussion,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said.

“You quoted govt sources, here I am the official spokesperson of Congress laying threadbare the many failures of Modi govt. How long is this govt going to survive by leaking selective information and by releasing these hot air balloons to test the waters?” she asked.

“The reality is that there is no draft, there has been no discussion, there are assemblies in progress and govt has made no attempt to speak to us. It is absolutely not pragmatic to do this but the govt has to have a conversation,” Shrinate said.

TMC MP Derek O’Brien added, “One nation-one elec tion is just another gimmick from anti-democratic BJP.”

CPI general secretary D Raja said his party is not in favour of one nation-one election. He said Union govt could not snatch all powers from state govts. Raja emphasised that govt must ensure a level-playing field.