Cong, many opposition parties skip all-party meet on simultaneous polls

Opposed to the idea of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, several opposition parties, including the Congress, on Wednesday skipped an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of 'one nation, one election'.

Those joining the Congress in not attending the meeting included the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the DMK, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Trinamool Congress.

Sources said the NDA constituent Shiv Sena did not attend the meeting as it was the party's foundation day.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was invited at the meeting, wrote back to the government expressing his inability to attend. He also wrote a note to the government, the contents of which were not known.

The Congress took the decision of staying away from the meeting after consultations with other parties on the issue. The party had convened a meeting of all opposition leaders Wednesday morning to discuss the issue but it was cancelled in view of Rahul's birthday.

Congress spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi later slammed the BJP over the issue alleging it is an attempt at "diverting attention" of people from real issues. He also accused the ruling party of remaining inconsistent on the issue. He said a party that cannot hold simultaneous assembly polls to two states or for two Rajya Sabha seats has no right to talk about holding all elections together.

The Left parties, represented by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI's D Raja, attended the meeting but vehemently opposed the idea, saying it is against the spirit of federalism. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi also opposed the idea for being against the federal structure.

The "one nation, one election" proposal is fundamentally anti-federal and a "backdoor way of replacing our parliamentary democracy", Yechury said.

The meeting was held in the library building of Parliament.

Asked why the Congress did not attend the all-party meeting, Gogoi said, "We have explained that the Congress president expressed regret regarding 'one nation, one election' meeting."