‘Modi has no majority to…’: Chidambaram says ‘one nation, one election’ not possible under current Constitution | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Former minister P Chidambaram on Monday raised doubts over the implementation of ‘One Nation, One Election’ by the BJP-led government, saying the initiative is not possible under the current Constitution and will require at least five amendments to the Constitution.
The Congress leader alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the majority to push through constitutional amendments in either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
“‘One nation, one election’ is not possible under the current Constitution. At least five amendments to the Constitution are required. Mr. Modi does not have the majority to push through those amendments in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha,” Chidambaram said.
This comes days after Prime Minister Modi spoke about the initiative during his Independence Day speech last month, in which he said frequent elections pose obstacles to the country’s progress. Chidambaram, however, rejected these claims, saying there are major constitutional hurdles in the way of implementing such a policy.
The Congress leader confirmed that the INDIA block opposes the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal.
Chidambaram, meanwhile, also refuted Prime Minister Modi’s claim that the Congress wanted to end reservations made during a rally in Kurukshetra on September 15.
“Why should we do away with reservations? We are the ones who are asking for caste census and population-based reservations. Don’t believe everything the prime minister says,” he said.
Chidambaram also appealed to voters to support the Congress in the upcoming Haryana elections.
Chidambaram hit out at the BJP’s slogan of ‘double engine government’ and said, “One engine is out of fuel and the other is completely broken. It is time to demolish the two engines.”