NEW DELHI, Dec 12: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came out swinging Thursday after the Union Cabinet cleared two bills - including one that will amend the Constitution to permit simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls - and bring the BJP's 'one nation, one election' dream one step closer to fruition.
The Trinamool leader - a vocal critic of the proposal she earlier called "a design to subvert the basic structure of the Constitution - this evening slammed the "anti-federal" exercise and labelled it "an authoritarian imposition designed to undermine India's democracy and federal structure".
"Our MPs will oppose this draconian legislation, tooth-and-nail... Bengal will NEVER bow to Delhi's dictatorial whims," she said. "This is about saving India's democracy from the clutches of autocracy!"
Banerjee's fierce attack today underlines her long-standing opposition to the conduct of simultaneous elections. In January she wrote to the centre-appointed panel - led by ex-President Ram Nath Kovind, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah a member - to red-flag her concerns. She said she had "basic conceptual difficulties with the principle".
The issues raised were - constitutional and structural implications of the term 'one nation', and the timing of parliamentary and Assembly poll, particularly if there is a big gap in existing poll cycles. —NDTV
