CPI opposes ‘One Nation, One Election’

CPI opposes 'One Nation, One Election' Bill, warns of threat to democracy and federal structure, urges INDIA bloc to resist.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has vehemently opposed the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill. The party also urged the constituents of the INDIA Bloc to oppose it to save democracy, secularism, and the country’s federal structure.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, December 17, CPI National general secretary D. Raja said that the One Nation, One Election Bill violates the spirit of federalism and could potentially pave the way for dictatorship in the future. Simultaneous elections are impractical in a country as diverse and complex as India and clarified that the CPI firmly opposes the Bill.

The RSS-BJP alliance persistently pursued a theocratic State and Hindu Rashtra. The simultaneous elections were a step in that direction. They ultimately want to drive home the idea of one nation, a one-party structure, he said. If the bill were passed, the spirit of the Indian constitution, the Union of States, would be lost. The constituents of the INDIA bloc should oppose it tooth and nail, he said.

Mr. Raja said that the CPI’s National Conferences will take place in Chandigarh from September 21 to 25 next year. The CPI’s centenary celebrations will begin in Kanpur on December 26 this year. They will be held nationwide for a year and culminate with a closing ceremony in Khammam, Telangana. Emphasizing the principles of secularism and democracy, Mr. Raja said that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, envisioned a nation that upholds these values.

CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna, assistant secretaries Muppala Nageswara Rao, J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy, National Council Members Ravula Venkaiah, Akkineni Vanaja and others were present.