Congress dares BJP, says party ready to go ahead with simultaneous elections if need arises
Daring the BJP to dissolve the Parliament if it intends to hold simultaneous polls, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said that the party is prepared in case the elections are preponed. The Congress's reaction comes at a time when the government is trying to explore simultaneous polls in as many as 11 Assemblies along with the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
"We are prepared, and will be happy to go ahead if Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in these states are preponed. But in order to do that, Modiji will have to dissolve the Parliament. There is no other way. To bring in simultaneous polls, a constitutional amendment is required," said Gehlot.
He said that the BJP's way of going about the process was wrong from the very start. "They could have spoken to parties across the country, and brought about a consensus if they were truly worried about the country. But they did not approach this with honesty and the talk of rising expenditures is tactic to extract political mileage out of this exercise," said Gehlot.
Taking a swipe at BJP president Amit Shah, he said the BJP is worried about losing in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, and so, they have initiated the exercise. He also said that the simultaneous elections will be welcomed by the people as the BJP's tenure has been marred by instances of sectarian violence, hate and fear.
"A senior BJP leader like Ghanshyam Tiwari, who has recently resigned from the BJP has said that the current political climate is worse when compared to the Emergency, and Tiwari was in jail during the Emergency. The people will give a befitting reply to BJP's misrule," said Gehlot.
Senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Tankha said that if the BJP attempts to postpone elections in these three states, the Congress will approach the court.
"In the three states, the schedule for election has to come before the term comes to an end. We are confident that we are going to win these three states. So, if there is any attempt to postpone elections in these states, of course we will go to court," he said. He added that a constitutional amendments will be needed to bring in simultaneous polls.
‘May Move Court’
Senior Congress leader and SC lawyer Vivek Tankha said if the BJP attempts to postpone elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the Congress will approach the court.
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 "Ashok Gehlot, Vivek Tankha, Sachin Pilot")
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