Adhir Chowdhury Refuses To Be Member Of 'One Nation One Election' Committee

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury refused to be a part of 'One Nation One Election' headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind as a protest against the idea of conducting Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously.

Adhir Chowdhury expressed no hesitation in a letter written to Union Minister Amit Shah who has also been included as a part of eight-member committee.

In the letter addressed to Shah, Adhir wrote, "I have no hesitation whatsoever in declining to serve on the committee whose terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions. It is, I am afraid, a total eyewash."

He also expressed his anger over exclusion of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and inclusion of former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in the committee.

"Furthermore, I find that the current LOP in the Rajya Sabha has been excluded. This is a deliberate insult to the system of Parliamentary democracy. In these circumstances, I have no option but to decline your invitation," the Congress leader added.

The government decided to form a committee to examine the possibility of 'One Nation One Election'. Union Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad were included among the eight-member committee.

The other members of the committee included former 15th Finance Commission chairman NK Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.

The main motto of the committee was to look into the feasibility of holding not only Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously, but also elections to municipalities and panchayats, according to the gazette notification.