Bhubaneswar: BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain on Friday demanded an assembly resolution against ‘One Nation, One Election' as he claimed the proposal is inconsistent with the essence of the Constitution and against constitutional values.
"It is fundamentally undemocratic and undermines the parliamentary democratic system envisaged in the Constitution. Instead of enabling democratic decentralisation, it leads to extreme centralisation of power to realise a centralised unitary system of governance in the country. It is clear that this is an attempt to implement the agenda," said Swain.
He said the high-level committee recommended that ‘One Nation One Election' will cut costs. But other simple measures can be taken to cut costs and streamline administration. "Centre is advancing the idea of One Nation, One Election as an anti-democratic reform process that undermines the rights of the states and challenges the sovereignty of the people," he added.