Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury gave consent to be part of ‘one nation, one election’ panel before withdrawing: Report
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who on Saturday (September 2) declined to serve as a member on the panel formed by the Centre to analyse the issue of ‘one nation, one election’, gave his consent to be a part of the committee before the names of members came out, news agency ANI reported citing a government source.
He retracted from the panel saying that its “terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions”.
He wrote a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday, questioning the Centre’s motives in forming the committee.
“I have just got to know through the media and a Gazette notification has appeared that I have been appointed as a Member of the High-Level Committee on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabhas. I have no hesitation whatsoever in declining to serve on the Committee whose terms of reference have been prepared in a manner to guarantee its conclusions. It is, I am afraid, a total eyewash,” Chowdhury said.
He called the move by the Centre as “constitutionally suspect, pragmatically non-feasible”.
“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 ulterior motives of the government,” he said.
)
US vs China over South China Sea: Washington backs Philippines, Beijing hits back
)
Bigg Boss 20: Isha Rikhi evicted after three weeks in Salman Khan’s show
)
Musk plans to more than double xAI's chips to over 1.2 million Nvidia GPUs by year-end
)
After JU, clash erupts at SRFTI: BJP’s ‘Dimagi Naxal’ jibe sparks political firestorm after students protest RSS-linked event
)
‘Anti-social elements spreading false rumours’: LPU issues statement amid massive unrest over alleged rape
)
LPU students go on rampage, vandalise campus amid widespread protest: What's happening
)
Trump asked Xi to pressure Iran. China did not say yes — here’s what Beijing wants
)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hails global crackdown on Iranian banks and airlines
)
An OpenAI agent escaped its locked test cage again, by hiding questions in DNS lookups
)
'Our video was trimmed': LPU girls who featured in rape-denial video make U-turn
)
3 males killed, four others injured in shooting after fight at strip club in Detroit
)
'Victory for low-budget consumers': Raghav Chadha hails 30-day telecom recharge rules
)
Claude rebuilt the 1989 game 'Prince of Persia' by reusing the original's own code
)
Beyond metros: How Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities could drive India’s next AI wave
)
Tesla builds first Cybertruck with its own refined lithium: Elon Musk's $1 billion Texas bet pays off
)
IndiGo flight suffers tail strike in Bengaluru while landing; DGCA to probe incident
)
The US and China set up an AI 'red telephone', but skipped the rulebook
)
‘Terror suspects arrested near UK air base were looking to do big damage’: Trump
)
Russian envoy claims US tactics to contain India were revealed in ‘Freudian slip’
)
IND vs WI 1st ODI: Kohli breaks Sachin's most runs in one country record with unbeaten 139 as India thump West Indies by 8 wickets
)
Researchers rebuilt exactly how 700 AI agents hacked Hugging Face: a 900-link chain trick
)
‘Olympic inclusion is our major target’: WPA President Ishaun Singh on pool’s global ambitions
)
Nations League: Spain sink England at Wembley; Modric shines for Croatia
)
Why has Iran released no proof of life of Mojtaba Khamenei? Araghchi reveals...
)
'What kind of confession is this?': Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s 'terrorists would be roaming New York' remark goes viral, raises alarm online. Watch
)
South Korea demands apology from Ukraine over North Korean prisoners' transfer
)
Beyond BrahMos: India targets Rs 50,000 crore in defence exports with unmatched price edge
)
Sri Lankan Tamil migrant worker gets death sentence in Saudi Arabia, help sought from India
)
Muslim marriage cannot shield sex with minor wife from prosecution under POCSO: Delhi HC
)
'Can't help but draw painful parallels to Nirbhaya case': SC on latest incidents of rape cases in Delhi-NCR
)
99.9% more powerful - Scientists find boy who can recall memories from just 3 months of age
)
'FIRST LOOK from inside Noah’s Ark': Researchers share video from inside mysterious mound in Turkey
)
UNSC reform momentum grows: Russia, Portugal, Mauritius push for India's permanent seat bid
)
8 US marines injured in Iranian missile attack on vessel in Strait of Hormuz: Report
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
New OTT releases this week (September 28-October 4, 2026): Dupahiya 2, Pooja Meri Jaan, Ohh My Dog- 5 titles coming on Netflix, Prime Video and more
)
Afghanistan says 28 fighters killed in clash near Pakistan border, Islamabad denies
)
Ceuta migrant crisis: Protesters take to streets as Spain grapples with migrant challenge
)
LPU suspend classes, postpones exams as violence escalates over rape claims: What's happening
)
New York City wants a 'kill switch' on every AI, and will pay whistleblowers who report violations
Also read: Naresh Goyal arrest: Jet Airways founder sent in ED custody till Sept 11 in loan fraud case
He also raised objections to the exclusion of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge from HLC.
“I find that the current LOP in the Rajya Sabha has been excluded. This is a deliberate insult to the system of Parliamentary democracy. In these circumstances, I have no option but to decline your invitation,” he said.
The committee comprises former President Ram Nath Kovind, who is also the Chairman, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh, former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, Senior Advocate Harish Salve and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
As per a statement by the government, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will attend the meetings of the High-Level Committee as a special invitee.
(With inputs from agencies)
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.