New Delhi,
A day after President Ram Nath Kovind called for a sustained debate and political consensus on the idea of “one nation, one election”, the Congress shot it down as a mere “slogan” with former Finance Minister P Chidambaram saying it cannot be done under the present Constitution.

Speaking at a discussion following the launch of his book “Speaking Truth to Power” by former President Pranab Mukherjee this evening, Chidambaram said, “Just like ‘one nation, one tax’ was an election jumla, ‘one nation, one election’ is also an election jumla. It can’t be done under the present Constitution. The Constitution does not give a fixed term to any state government or the Central Government. What if the government was to fall in a year? Would you have President’s rule for the rest of five years. This cannot be done.”

Earlier, Mukherjee warned his Congress colleagues against parliamentary disruption, describing ruckus as a betrayal of people’s mandate.

“Many don’t agree with me, but parliamentary disruption is a betrayal of the commitment to the people. Each MP seeks, rather begs for the vote whether from the general electorate or from a selected electorate. Even the President of the Republic seeks a vote. After seeking votes, if you draw a theoretical conclusion that disruption is a parliamentary tool, I don’t agree.