A three-member delegation of the CPI(M) on Tuesday met the high-level committee formed to explore the feasibility of simultaneous polls and put forth its views on the issue, according to the party.
The meeting comes days after CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was part of the delegation, in a letter to the panel had raised objections to the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election’, saying it “runs against both the letter and spirit of our Constitution”. The government had in September last year notified the panel under former president Ram Nath Kovind to examine and make recommendations at the earliest on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.
The meeting of the delegation comprising Yechury, politburo member Nilotpal Basu and central secretariat member Muralidharan with the committee on invitation was subsequent to the detailed submission made by the party voicing its serious objections, according to a statement issued by the CPI(M).
“The committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind heard the views of the delegation and some queries were also raised to which the delegation responded,” the Left party said.
In his letter to the panel on January 7, Yechury had said that “the proposal for simultaneous elections runs against both the letter and spirit of our Constitution, and is inherently anti-democratic and negates the principles of federalism”.
He had also said the terms of reference of the panel make it amply clear that a decision on simultaneous elections has already been taken and it is only a question of its implementation.
Earlier, in a note submitted to the Law Commission in July 2018, the CPI(M) had said holding the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections together would require tampering with the Constitutional scheme of accountability of the government to the legislature.
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