One nation, one election will damage idea of parliamentary democracy, says AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday, 19 January said "holding simultaneous elections in the country will damage the idea of parliamentary democracy and the basic structure of the Constitution".

It will not be able to deal with hung legislature and will actively encourage anti-defection, the AAP said.

The remarks of the AAP, a constituent of the INDIA bloc, came a day after the Congress, also part of the same grouping, strongly opposed the idea of holding simultaneous elections in the country, saying it goes against the guarantees of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution.

In a statement on Saturday, the AAP said, "'One nation, one election' will damage the idea of parliamentary democracy, the basic structure of the Constitution and federal policy of the country. It is unable to deal with hung legislature, will actively encourage the evil of anti-defection and open buying-selling of MLAs and MPs."

It added that the cost sought to be saved by holding simultaneous elections is a mere 0.1 per cent of the Central government's annual budget.

The AAP further stated that the tenets of the Constitution and democracy cannot be sacrificed for "narrow financial gains" and administrative convenience.