Stalin terms joint polls ‘misadventure’

In the representation submitted before Justice BS Chauhan, Chairman of Law Commission of India, through party Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchy Siva, DMK working president MK Stalin described the proposal to hold simultaneous polls a “complete misadventure” which “goes against the basic tenets of the Constitution and established principles of democratic functioning.”

Referring to paragraph 11 of the April 17, 2018, dated working paper published on the website of the Law Commission, which proposes the possibility of synchronising state elections with 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Stalin has faulted the Commission with overseeing the possibility of the Lok Sabha being dissolved before its fiveyear tenure and not lending clarity on dissolving legislative assemblies to synchronise the electoral process if the Lok Sabha gets dissolved.

“State legislatures have a distinct constitutional identity and derive their powers from Chapter III of the Constitution.

Though the Parliament is empowered to amend the Constitution - in accordance with Article 368 - there are basic features of the Constitution which cannot be abrogated,” he added.

Citing Golak Nath vs State of Punjab and Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala cases, in which the Supreme had held that federalism was one such basic feature, the DMK working president, who is also the Leader of Opposition, contended that the any proposal to amend these fundamental tenets in turn threatens to tear apart the fabric holding the nation together.

Adducing Constitutional provisions Articles 83(2) and 172(1), which specify the tenure of the Parliament and state legislatures and Articles 174 and with Article 356 which detailed the powers of Governor and President to dissolve the legislature, Stalin said the powers have been circumscribed by a seven-judge bench of SC in State of Rajasthan vs Union of India (1977) and any alteration of these powers by the Centre of the Election Commission may run the risk of altering the basic structure of the Constitution and directly impinging on its federal character.

Taking exception to the suggestion of the Law Commission that 10th Schedule may be diluted for formation of stable government, Stalin said that dilution of provision of antidefection, which were enacted to prevent elected representatives from switching sides, would directly aid horse-trading among legislators while destroying the root of political party system. “Casual treatment of the 10th Schedule in this working paper is a cause for alarm and no justification can ever be advanced to abet defection among elected representatives,” he observed. 

Recalling the failed attempts of the Centre on the issue, including the one undertaken during the tenure of AB Vajpayee-led BJP government and 79th Report of Parliamentary Standing Committee in 2015, which concluded that “gaining consensus of all political parties may be difficult” and “holding simultaneous elections may not be feasible in 2016 or even in a decade,” 

Stalin said that redundant exercise of producing a duplicative report, which has no chance of being legislated, was useless in both legal and political standpoint given the scepticism raised by an earlier Law Commission on implementing the idea. Making a cost comparison between simultaneous polls, which would require Rs 10,000 crore (recurring every 15 years) to procure EVMs and VVPATs alone and 2014 LS Elections (only Rs 3,870 crore was incurred), Stalin wondered how this can be considered “huge” or “massive” or how spending thousands of crores more would be more “efficient.”