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BJP National Secretary, Anil K Antony on Friday slammed both Congress and the ruling Left Democratic Front for passing the "anti-national, anti-people" resolution in the state assembly to oppose the Centre's 'One Nation One Election' proposal.
He said that the Kerala Assembly legislators seemed to have lost their sense of history. "The Congress and the Left are again and again proving very clearly that they are in an opportunistic alliance at the national level. But in Kerala, they both are involved in a mock fight to hoodwink the people of the state," Antony told ANI. "Whenever it comes to any issue of public interest, they come together to unanimously oppose it. This shows their anti-people, anti-India attitude. The Kerala Assembly legislators seem to have lost their sense of history. It is very disappointing to see Kerala Assembly take this kind of anti-national, anti-people stand," he added. Kerala Legislative Assembly passed the resolution introduced on Thursday. The resolution opposes the central government's push for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies, a move that the Kerala government believes undermines the democratic process. The Assembly stated that such a reform would disregard India's social, cultural, and political diversity. According to the resolution, the proposal to conduct simultaneous elections threatens to weaken the multi-party democratic system that has been developed since India's independence. By holding all elections together, the Assembly fears that it would curtail the autonomy of state governments and local governing bodies, thus centralizing power. Notably, the high-level committee appointed by the central government to study the reforms has recommended shortening the terms of state assemblies that do not complete their full tenure before the next general elections. The resolution said that this would violate the democratic rights of citizens who elect their state governments for a full term. "The proposal for simultaneous elections reflects an undemocratic mindset that sees elections as a mere cost, ignoring the deeper value of electoral democracy," the resolution stated. The resolution further criticized the central government's plan as a move towards a centralized, unitary governance model, driven by the RSS-BJP's agenda to undermine federalism and democratic decentralization in India. The Kerala Assembly unanimously passed the resolution, calling for an immediate rollback of the "One Nation, One Election" initiative, emphasizing that it threatens the constitutional values and the democratic participation of the people. Earlier in September, the Union Cabinet approved the 'One Nation, One Election' proposal, which proposes simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, with urban body and panchayat polls to be held within 100 days. The High-level Committee on Simultaneous Elections, constituted under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind, submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu earlier this year. The government said that the report, comprising 18,626 pages, is an outcome of extensive consultations with stakeholders, experts, and research work of 191 days, since its constitution on September 2, 2023. (ANI)
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