Simultaneous poll is 'unconstitutional', being brought with political motive: TN Minister Ponmudy

CHENNAI: The Centre’s initiative of 'one nation, one election' was ‘unconstitutional’ and was being brought with a political motive, DMK senior and Tamil Nadu Forests Minister K Ponmudy said on Saturday.

Speaking at the DMK legal wing’s third state conference that began here, he said "the move is unconstitutional and is being brought with a political motive."

Terming the move to enforce simultaneous poll as an attempt to dispense with the five-year term of assemblies and downsizing the states to union territories, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said states will not be in the picture at all if one nation, one election law was enforced.

“It will destroy the very federal structure of our country. The preamble of the Constitution says that India is a union of states. You have diminished the states,.. you are destroying the basic structure of the state, and trying for one nation, one poll, one language, political party, one religion,” Sibal said during a discussion on the topic.

“The move amounts to destroying the essence of democratic functioning of our republic. Cronies support the idea without a national debate on it. I don't think the people of India and Tamil Nadu will tolerate it,” Sibal said and claimed that it would also affect the education, health and other state specific issues.

Replying to a question from T K S Elangovan, former MP, he said if this became a law, then the five-year term of 17 states will be truncated. But five-year term was the basic feature of the Constitution, he added.

Former CEC S Y Quraishi pointed 'with great anxiety' that what happened in Kashmir could happen anywhere. “With one stroke, Kashmir became a union territory. Can they not do it to Tamil Nadu tomorrow?” he asked.

Senior journalist N Ram said the Centre’s attempt should be seen in a wider context of ‘Hindutva authoritarianism’ and what the BJP government has done and was doing to institutions and to citizens' freedom.

“It is an assault on the diversity and pluralism of India and India's civilisation because we are multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-everything. It is an assault on federalism. It is to impoverish the diversity and pluralism of India that this plan is being worked out,” Ram said during the panel discussion on the 'one nation, one election' initiative of the Centre.

The simultaneous elections proposes aligning the election cycles of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. This would allow voters to cast their ballots for both tiers of government on the same day in their constituencies, though voting could still occur in phases across the country, the Centre had said.

By synchronising these electoral timelines, the approach aims to address logistical challenges, reduce costs, and minimise disruptions caused by frequent elections, it had said.

Earlier, Ponmudy said he had faced several cases in the past including those filed with political motive during the erstwhile AIADMK regime under late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. "They filed a case against me for visiting a civil supplies godown and on then opposition leader and now Chief Minister M K Stalin and myself for visiting the Queen Mary's College," Ponmudy said at the conference.

But these cases were successfully won by meticulous presentation and sound arguments by the DMK advocates in the courts. “The DMK’s legal wing, especially senior advocate N R Elango, who has been handling my cases, should be appreciated for the good work,” he said.

Party General Secretary and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan who inaugurated the conference at the St George's Anglo Indian School, said he studied law and began practise in his younger days but took to full-time politics.

“Like me Ponmudy and S Regupathy (state Law Minister) are advocates but they seldom go to courts. But, Ponmudy goes to the court to appear in his cases,” Duraimurugan said in a lighter vein.

He however, pointed out that there were dedicated advocates in the party who devoted their time and efforts in successfully handling the legal cases.

Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP, N R Elango, spoke.

DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin would address the event later in the evening.

Several ministers and senior DMK functionaries participated in the inaugural session. The conference would also discuss other issues, including "Dravidam and economic transformation."