Joint polls imperative of time: Annamalai

COIMBATORE: BJP state president K Annamalai on Wednesday said ‘one nation, one election’ is an imperative of time.

Addressing the media in Coimbatore, the BJP leader said the polls for assembly and Lok Sabha were held simultaneously from 1952 to 1967 in India.

“This system changed as Congress dissolved the state governments 91 times so far. Of that, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi alone had dismissed 50 state governments,” he said to media in Coimbatore, while replying to a query on Chief Minister MK Stalin moving a resolution against ‘one nation, one election’ in the assembly.

Further, Annamalai said former chief minister M Karunanidhi in his book ‘Nenjukku Neethi’ had penned in 1970’s that ‘one nation, one election’ will be convenient for functioning of the government machinery.

“Didn’t his son MK Stalin read that book? At one point of time, the DMK even had ‘one nation, one election’ as their party’s principle. It will definitely be implemented in the future,” he said.

Claiming that another resolution against delimitation of constituencies passed in the Assembly lacks clarity, Annamalai said population alone will not be considered as the sole criteria for bringing the delimitation exercise. “A decision on alliance will be taken at the right time,” he said.

The BJP leader also took a jibe at AIADMK leaders for calling those who switched loyalty to BJP as aged and retired persons. “Several leaders of other parties are joining BJP during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our party does not ask anyone to join us and they come willingly. What is the age of ‘Edappadi’ K Palaniswami and Dindugul Srinivasan?” he said.