Newsroom Team: The cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for One Nation One Election in India. The cabinet approved the proposal to hold simultaneous elections in the country in a meeting held on Wednesday. It will be presented in Parliament in the winter session. Let us tell you that the Kovind Committee has given a report on this. Let us tell you that the committee led by former President Ramnath Kovind had submitted its report in March on the possibilities of One Nation One Election. According to the suggestions given in this report, as a first step, elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies should be held simultaneously. The committee has further recommended that local body elections should also be held within 100 days of the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections being held simultaneously. This will enable elections at all levels to be conducted across the country within a fixed time period. Currently, elections to state assemblies and Lok Sabha are held separately. At the same time, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said on the cabinet meeting that the Union Cabinet has accepted the report of the Kovind panel on one nation, one election. This will reduce the burden of expenditure in elections. The Union Minister said that Venus Orbiter Mission, extension of Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan-4 mission have also been approved in the cabinet meeting. Earlier, on the completion of 100 days of the third term of the Modi government, Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing a press conference, had said that one nation, one election will be implemented in the country before the completion of this term. Let us tell you that earlier this year, a high level panel headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind had also recommended the preparation of a common voter list and voter ID card by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in consultation with the state election officials. Currently, the ECI is responsible for the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, while the local body elections for municipalities and panchayats are managed by the State Election Commissions. It had recommended holding simultaneous elections for both the state assemblies. For this, the panel also suggested 18 constitutional amendments, most of which do not require approval of the state assembly but will need Parliament’s approval in the form of a Constitutional Amendment Bill.
Got support from 32 political parties
The committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind had contacted 62 parties on this issue. Out of these, 47 political parties had given their opinion, while 15 parties did not give any response. Out of the 47 parties that responded, 32 supported the idea of holding simultaneous elections, while 15 parties opposed it.
Benefits of One Nation One Election
Holding simultaneous elections across the country will save crores of rupees. Also, the Election Commission will be relieved from holding elections again and again. By holding simultaneous elections, the focus will not be on elections but on development. Also, there will be no need to impose code of conduct again and again. This will also help in curbing black money.