Adhir Ranjan gave consent to be part of 'One Nation, One Election' committee before retracting: Sources
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who declined to serve on the panel formed by the Centre to examine 'one nation, one election' had given his consent to be part of the committee before notification with names came out, a source in the government said on Sunday.
Notably, Chowdhury, who was named a member of the High-Level Committee (HLC) constituted by the Centre on Saturday to examine 'one nation, one election' has declined to serve on the panel, saying its «terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions».
Chowdhary on Saturday wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah refusing to be a part of the committee.
«The sudden attempt to thrust a constitutionally suspect, pragmatically non-feasible and logistically unimplementable idea on the nation, months before the general elections, raises serious concerns about the ulterior motives of the government», the letter read.
The Union Law Ministry on Saturday named eight members to the committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, that will examine the issue of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, Assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.
Apart from the Chairperson, the committee will include Home Minister Amit Shah, Chowdhury, former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission chairperson NK Singh, senior advocate Harish Salve, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
The committee has been set up months before assembly polls in five states and ahead of Lok Sabha polls next year.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had informed about the constitution of the committee on Friday.
With five states going to the polls later this year and
