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‘Lot could be saved’: Anurag Thakur on benefits of imposing one nation, one election
A political slugfest erupted after the announcement between the Opposition and the central government.
A lot of time is consumed to conduct elections in the country every year which could be invested mindfully in development of the nation, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Monday said on the Centre's prospect of conducting simultaneous elections in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipal bodies and panchayats under the one nation, one election drive. Pointing out the benefits of such move, Thakur said thousands of crores of rupees of contending parties from both sides spent on elections every year which could possibly be evaded.
Also read: ‘What’s in it for us?': Kejriwal's counter on one nation, one election; suggests equal education, healthcare instead
"In elections, a lot of time is consumed every year. If that time is invested mindfully in the development of the nation, then the country will get the benefit. The government and the candidates spend thousands of crores on conducting elections. If it happens at the same time, then a lot of money could be saved. All in all, it is for the benefit of the nation. If the opposition has a better solution, they can give it," the Union minister told reporters.
Earlier, Centre announced an eight-member committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to deliberate on the possibilities of implementing the one nation, one election drive. The Kovind panel will explore the feasibility and the mechanism of going back to having Lok Sabha and state assembly polls simultaneously. These polls were held together until 1967. A political slugfest erupted after the announcement between the Opposition and the central government.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi earlier hit out at the Centre's the move calling it an attack on the Indian union and all its states. “INDIA, that is Bharat, is a Union of States. The idea of ‘one nation, one election’ is an attack on the 🇮🇳 Union and all its States”, Gandhi posted on X, formerly called Twitter.
Apart from Kovind, the panel named Union home minister Amit Shah, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former leader of opposition Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chairman of 15th Finance Commission NK Singh, former Lok Sabha general secretary Subash Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former chief vigilance commissioner Sanjay Kothari. Arjun Ram Meghwal, MoS law, will attend the meetings of the high-level committee as a special invitee.
