President for simultaneous polls |
Indias President Ram Nath Kovind on Jan 29 backed the idea of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, and said frequent polls impose a huge burden on human resources and impede development due to promulgation of the model code of conduct. He said this in his address to the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament on the first day of the budget session. Indian has discussed `one nation one election` idea for many years, starting with a Law Commission suggestion in 1999. A 2015 report by Parliament`s standing committee too suggested holding simultaneous election to save public money and end policy paralysis because of the impact of the model code of conduct. It pegged the cost of holding elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies at Rs 4500 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too is a supporter of this idea. Conducting the election after every 4-6 months in different states is very hectic and costly. There needs to be a wider debate on conducting the election at one time throughout the country, the PM had said during an event to mark National Law Day in November in 2017.
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