“Constitutional amendment in Parliament is not issue, approval needed from states”: Kamal Nath on ‘One Nation, One Election’

Neemuch (Madhya Pradesh) [India], September 1 (ANI): Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and state Congress chief Kamal Nath has reacted to ‘One Nation, One Election’ and said that the constitutional amendment in Parliament is not an issue, approval needed from the states.
Nath made the remark while addressing media persons in Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch district on Friday.
“There is no issue of amendment in the constitution in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, approval will have to be taken from the states. But wherever there is a BJP-ruled state, they can dissolve their assemblies. They (BJP) want Lok Sabha elections to be held along with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and other states. But one cannot cut the time period short of any assembly in the states,” Nath said.
The union government has constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of 'One Nation, One Election' which envisages the holding of general election and state Assembly elections simultaneously.
Sources said that the committee will explore the possibility of bringing legislation regarding it. A parliamentary standing committee, the Law Commission and Niti Ayog had earlier examined the 'One Nation, One Election' proposal and submitted reports on the subject.
The government has decided to call a Special Session of Parliament from September 18-22 where it is speculated that the government could bring a bill for this proposal to take effect.
With five states going to the polls later this year and a few more to go to polls with the General Elections due in 2024 there is speculation that One Nation, One Election could become a reality very soon.
Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party said in its 2014 election manifesto that it would seek to evolve a method of holding the elections simultaneously to both state assemblies and the Lok Sabha. In December 2022, the Law Commission had sought the opinion of political parties, the Election Commission of India, bureaucrats and other experts on the proposal to hold simultaneous elections in the country.
Meanwhile Kamal Nath also crticised the Shivraj Chouhan led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government and said that Madhya Pradesh has been made into a corrupt state.
“Today every person in the state is either a victim of corruption or a witness to corruption. There is a system of corruption from top to bottom. Madhya Pradesh has been made a corrupt state,” he alleged.
"Due to the system of corruption, investment has not come to the state and there is severe unemployment. I am worried about the youth of the state who will build the state tomorrow. If the future of the youth remains in darkness like this, then how will the future of the state improve," Nath said. (ANI)