Adhir Ranjan Declines To Be a Part of Centre's 'One Nation One Election' Panel

The panel to give recommendations on the centre's One Nation One Election proposal was notified on Saturday.

Congress MPs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Gaurav Gogoi during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Friday, July 21, 2023.

(Photo: PTI)

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday declined to be a part of the 'One Nation One Election (ONOE)' panel constituted by the Centre.

In a big move, the Ministry of Law and Justice notified the 8-member panel on Saturday to give recommendations on Centre's ONOE proposal.

Why did Adhir Ranjan decline to be a part?: In a letter written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday, Chowdhury called the formation of the committee a "total eyewash".

"I have no hesitation whatsoever in declining to serve on the Committee whose terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions. It is, I am afraid, a total eyewash," he said in the letter.

"Moreover, the sudden attempt to thrust a constitutionally suspect, pragmatically non-feasible and logistically unimplementable idea on the nation, months before the general elections, raises serious concerns about ulterior motives of the government," Chowdhury wrote.

"Furthermore, I find that the current LOP in the Rajya Sabha has been excluded. This is a deliberate insult to the system of Parliamentary democracy. In these circumstances, I have no option but to decline your invitation," the Congress leader wrote.

What the Centre's resolution said: The resolution, dated 2 September, stated that as "in the national interest it is desirable to have simultaneous elections in the country, the Government of India hereby constitutes a High-Level Committee to examine the issue of simultaneous elections and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections in the country."

Who are the other members?: The panel consists of Shah, ex-MP Ghulam Nabi Azad, ex-chairman of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Dr Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari are the other members of the committee.