In an interview which attempts to analytically cover not just the arguments in favour or against One Nation One Election but also the constitutional amendments necessary to make it happen and function property, former law minister Kapil Sibal says that “One Nation One Election will be the downfall of the Modi government”. He said the Modi government is playing with fire and they will not simply singe their hands but destruct the government.
In an interview to The Wire, Sibal also criticised former President Ram Nath Kovind for agreeing to chair a government-appointed committee to study One Nation One Election. Sibal said from his knowledge of Kovind as a lawyer, the latter does not have the necessary constitutional expertise to chair such a committee. More importantly, Sibal said that in agreeing to do so Kovind has denigrated and diminished the image of the high office he once held. Even former presidents are expected to stay aloof from politics and keep above the political fray. Sibal said this is a mistake made by the former president.
Sibal dismissed the main arguments in support of One Nation One Election. First, he said the claim that this would be cheaper shouldn’t be a significant concern for a country that boasts that it is the mother of democracy. He said the saving is minimal when you bear in mind the size of the Indian economy.
Second, Sibal said the claim that One Nation One Election would limit the restrictions of the model code of conduct is irrelevant for two reasons. First, the model code of conduct only applies nationwide when national elections are held but during state elections it is limited to the concerned state alone. Second, the model code of conduct is ignored and breached by all political parties and is not enforced effectively by the Election Commission, particularly when the transgressor is the BJP government at the centre.
Sibal was asked about constitutional amendments that are necessary to create One Nation One Election i.e. to synchronise elections. Then he was questioned about constitutional amendments to handle a situation if a government loses its majority for whatever reason before five years are over. In each case Sibal argued that One Nation One Election would create a situation that would require horse-trading and that would enhance political corruption and diminish and badly damage India’s democracy.
One point that Sibal made is that the real intention of the Modi government in pursuing One Nation One Election is that they want to create through this mechanism a one-party state and, thereafter, convert India, officially and constitutionally, into a Hindu rashtra.
