"Fear of defeat.." Kerala CM Vijayan slams Centre on 'One Nation, One Election'

Sep 05, 2023

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], September 5 : Amid a huge uproar over the ‘One Nation One Election’, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday in a statement slammed the Central government, and said it is a part of an agenda to bestow unhindered power to the Centre.
In an official statement, the Chief Minister said that the severe threat over the idea of India and its parliamentary democracy looms large, and the ‘One Nation, One Election’ slogan being raised by the Sangh Parivar intensifies this threat.
The statement claimed that there is a hidden agenda to grant unrestricted power to the Centre by toppling the federal system of the country, and to destabilise the state governments which refuse to bow before the Centre’s diktats, and find shortcuts to grab power in such states.
"It raises questions over the significance of the Rajya Sabha, which acts as one of the mainstays of the Indian parliamentary system. It is the assembly election conducted at varied times, which regularly renews the position of various political parties in the Rajya Sabha", CM Vijayan added. 
According to the Kerala CM, any move to impose simultaneous conduct of Lok Sabha and assembly elections would erode the political diversity of Rajya Sabha.
Further, the CM said, “It is clear that the Sangh Parivar has rushed to such a move due to the fear of defeat in the five state assembly elections to be held this year. They are alarmed by the political reality that a setback in these states will affect the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and that the NDA will not be able to hold on to the sway at the centre.”
He said that the Constitution of India and the parliamentary democratic order will not allow the country's electoral system to be dismantled.
"Attempts by the Sangh Parivar to overthrow India's very existence as a democratic nation must be resisted in every sense", Kerala CM said.
The Chief Minister concluded that the democratic forces of the country should come forward against measures aimed at destroying the diversity of the parliamentary democratic system by undermining constitutional values.