Asaduddin Owaisi opposes 'One Nation-One Poll', pokes holes in the 'underlying premise'. Here's his argument

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has elaborated on his reasoning for opposing the implementation of 'One Nation-One Poll' - simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies - over which an all-party meeting was chaired by The Prime Minister on Wednesday.

In a twitter thread, Owaisi, the only MP from his party, stated his reasons for not agreeing with the initiative. He said that the move was against democracy and federalism which violate the structure of the Constitution. Owaisi further rubbished the premise of 'One Nation-One Poll' and said that the Constitution is made by taking into account the position and a union of all states, thus making it diverse and resulting in pluralism.

WATCH: PM Modi To Constitute Committee To Explore 'One Nation-One Poll' Reform, 24 Of 40 Invited Parties Share Views. Details Here

Proceeding to elaborate on why the states are not appendages of Centre and are not bound just by the Centre's decisions, Owaisi asserted that they are 'constituent political units':

"Each state's distinct linguistic & regional identity is honoured through the VII Schedule of the Constitution. To make government formation of one state contingent on the election schedule of another state makes a mockery of both principles of democracy & federalism."

Owaisi also added that each legislature has a five-year tenure to carry out the responsibilities in a democracy. A term can't be extended for more than five years, there are only fresh elections he said:

READ | Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Favours 'One Nation-One Poll' Reform Amid PM-chaired All-party Meeting, Says 'BJD Will Support It'

He argued against some of the potential benefits of the proposed reform that are widely cited:

Earlier, Biju Janta Dal (BJD) chief Navin Patnaik had supported the idea. Speaking to the media, Patnaik said:

"Our party is supporting the idea of One Nation-One Election. We also discussed the celebration for the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. We proposed that non-violence should be included in the preamble of the country."

Speaking to the media, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that:

"Many party leaders have given their opinions about the One Nation, One Poll initiative. There are slight differences and questions from the CPI (M) on the implentation of this initiative. However, they did not oppose it either."

READ | From Improving Parliamentary Efficiency To 'One Nation-One Poll', PM Modi Shares The Issues Discussed In The All-party Chiefs' Meeting

The Minister of Defence also said that for a proper decision process, a committee will be formed where all parties will give their ideas and solutions, based on which the outcome will be decided. The committee will be formed by the Prime Minister. The PM has frequently spoken in favour of 'One nation-One poll', which has been pitched by the government ever since coming to power. He stated that it is the need of the hour due to various issues.