Punjab: AAP, Congress, SAD oppose 'One Nation One Election' proposal - Hindustan Times
Jun 15, 2025 07:40 AM IST
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Opposition Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal registered strong objection to the ‘One India One Election’ proposal during a meeting with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), chaired by PP Choudhary, which is in Punjab.
Addressing the media after attending the JPC meeting in Chandigarh on Saturday, Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and AAP state president Aman Arora termed the proposal a direct assault on the fundamental structure and spirit of the Constitution of India, framed by Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
Stating that the Punjab government and AAP have completely rejected the proposal, and would also give it in writing, Cheema said, “The One Nation, One Election bill, proposed by the BJP, is a calculated move to eliminate regional parties that represent diverse cultures, languages, and regions, and serve as the backbone of Indian democracy.”
He added that the bill, if passed, would render the state assemblies’ tenure at the discretion of the Union government. Cheema said the bill will further encourage the misuse of Article 356 (President’s Rule) and 360 (financial emergency) by the Union government.
The state finance minister said the concept will ultimately backfire as it would enable the Centre to conduct state elections at its convenience a year or two after general elections.
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also said the proposal goes against the basic concept of federalism guaranteed by the Constitution of India.
Pointing out that Parliamentary and assembly elections are held on entirely different issues, Warring said, “The idea of imposing simultaneous elections to the Parliament and the state assemblies will mean imposing dictatorship by default.”
The regional and local issues, which get prominence during the assembly elections, will be ignored and crushed, the PPCC chief said, adding that regional and local aspirations will get muzzled down.
SAD urges JPC to recommend dissolution of Article 356
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), meanwhile, urged the JPC to recommend dissolution of Article 356, which allows for the imposition of President’s Rule in the state, saying that it was the root cause for disruption of simultaneous elections in the country.
The SAD delegation, led by Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Balwinder Singh Bhundar, briefed the JPC that in case Article 356 was not done away with, the election schedule would be disrupted again.
The delegation also opposed the insertion of Article 82 A, Clause 5, which empowers the Election Commission of India (ECI) to defer elections of legislative assemblies. “This can be misused against opposition parties anytime,” they asserted.
Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Balwinder Singh Bhundar also demanded a solution to constant byelections. Stating that bypolls were turning out to be the root cause of election malpractices, they proposed that if a legislator expired, the party should be given the right to nominate another leader of the party for the remaining period.
The SAD delegation also highlighted the federal concerns of the bill and said it would cause more harm than improvement.
