On the first day of the meeting of the newly formed Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Hyderabad on Saturday, it has rejected Narendra Modi-led government’s move for `One Nation, One Eleciton’.
Addressing the media after the first day deliberation, former union minister P Chidambaram dubbed the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election’ being projected by the Centre an “assault on the Constitution” and said that the party rejects it.
“The One Nation, One Election is an assault on the Constitution. We reject it. It is an attack on Federalism. It will require at least five Constitutional amendments. The BJP knows that it does not have the numbers to pass these Constitutional amendments. Yet if it puts forward this mirage of One Nation, One Election, it is only to divert attention from the pressing issues and to create a false narrative,” he added.
In the resolution adopted, the CWC mentioned the need for conducting a caste census. The Congress’ top decision-making body expressed grave concern at “increasing unemployment and continuous rise in prices, especially of essential commodities”.
“The prime minister’s so-called Rozgar Melas are a hoax to cover up the abject failure to create, as promised, two crore jobs a year. The failure to conduct the decennial Census, due in 2021, is a national and an international shame,” the resolution said.
“The CWC also underlines the stubborn refusal of the Modi government to conduct a caste census. This refusal in the face of a universal demand has exposed the BJP’s lack of commitment to social and economic justice and its bias against the backward classes, Dalits and tribal people,” it alleged.
One of the focus areas was the security threats faced by the country, both internally and externally. The CWC extended sympathies to the families of security personnel who lost their lives in the recent encounter in Kashmir.
“It is inexcusable and an insult to their sacrifice that while this tragedy was unfolding and the nation mourning, the BJP and the prime minister were indulging in a celebratory extravaganza in the national capital congratulating themselves on G20,” read the resolution.
Through another resolution, the CWC demanded the removal of Manipur chief minister and the imposition of the President’s rule in the state.
In his opening remarks at the CWC meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The entire nation is witnessing the tragic events still unfolding in Manipur. Modi government allowed the fire of Manipur to reach Nuh in Haryana. These incidents tarnish the image of modern, progressive, and secular India.”
The CWC condemned incursions by China into India-held territory and called upon the government to come clean on the border dispute.
