New Delhi : Congress on Wednesday said that it is opposed to the proposal of 'One Nation, One Election' and elections need to be held as and when required for democracy to survive. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that 'One Nation, One Election' cannot work in a democracy.
He was responding to queries on the decision of the Union Cabinet to accept recommendations of the high-level committee on 'One Nation, One Election'. "We don't stand with this. One Nation One Election cannot work in a democracy. Elections need to be held as and when required if we want our democracy to survive," he said.
Congress leader KC Venugopal said that the proposal is not practical. "It is not practical in this country. They want to divert attention from present issues," he said.
Responding to a query on Kharge's remarks, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. who briefed the media on decisions of the union cabinet, said the opposition might start feeling internal pressure.
"The opposition might start feeling internal pressure (about One Nation One Election) as more than 80 per cent of respondents who responded during the consultation process have given their positive support, especially the youth, they are very much in favour of this," Vaishnaw said.
The High level Committee on Simultaneous Elections constituted under the Chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu earlier this year. The government said that the Report, comprising 18,626 pages, is an outcome of extensive consultations with stakeholders, experts and research work of 191 days, since its constitution on September 2, 2023.