All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday expressed his opposition to the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election’, saying that the proposal will be a “disaster” for Indian democracy and federalism and that it is a “solution searching for a problem”.

In a letter to Niten Chandra, secretary of the high-level committee, led by former President Ram Nath Kovind, that has called for suggestions for implementation of the idea, Owaisi said that simultaneous elections are neither constitutionally permissible nor necessary, nor viable.

“I write to you to oppose the proposal of “One Nation, One Election” in my capacity as Member of Parliament and President of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. I have appended my substantive objections to the proposal based on constitutional law. The same objections were also conveyed to the Law Commission of India on June 27, 2018 when it had sought suggestions on the issue. I have also appended an article that I had authored for Hindustan Times dated March 12, 2021 on the issue,” Owaisi wrote.

Reiterating his objections, Owaisi said every consultation on this issue has “sidestepped” the first requirement of lawmaking in democracies of justifying why a policy needs to be made and added that no rationale has been provided by the government.

“Neither have the Parliamentary Standing Committee, NITI Aayog or the Law Commission demonstrated why such a step needs to be taken,” Owaisi said in the letter, adding that the discussion instead has been focused on how it can be implemented,” the AIMIM chief wrote.

He further alleged that unfortunately, the “same flaw” exist in the high-level committee and that the focus is on the “creation of an appropriate legal and administrative framework for holding simultaneous elections on a permanent basis”.

“More importantly, it has not been explored if such fundamental changes to India’s democratic structure are constitutionally permissible in the first place,” he noted. “This is a solution in search of a problem”.

Owaisi also said that elections are not a mere formality and voters are not rubber stamps. He said elections cannot be subject to such “weak” considerations as administrative convenience or economic viability.

“If constitutional requirements were subject to financial or administrative considerations, then it would lead to absurd consequences: should one do away with permanent civil services or police because of costs? Should one stop recruiting judges because of pendency?,” he asked in the letter. “I urge the HLC to duly record the finding that simultaneous elections are neither constitutionally permissible nor necessary, nor viable,” Owaisi added.

Last week, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also rejected the idea of ‘one nation one election’, saying that even though the phrase sounds dramatic and sensational, it is against the country’s federal structure.

The committee on ‘one nation, one election’ headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind has invited suggestions from the public “for making appropriate changes in the existing legal administrative framework to enable simultaneous elections in the country”.

The government constituted the high-level eight-member committee, headed by Kovind, earlier last year.