Union Cabinet approves proposal to hold Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls simultaneously across India.
The Union Cabinet meeting on Wednesday passed the recommendation of the committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to implement the ‘One Country One Vote’ policy. As a result, it is believed that the Center will be active on the side of the Bill to implement this policy in the session of the Parliament.
This proposal states that to continue the pace of development of the country and to prevent wastage of money, polling of local administrations like Lok Sabha, various state assemblies and municipalities-panchayats should be held simultaneously. According to the proposal, if these polls are held in phases within 100 days, a democratic country like India will save a lot of money. Development work will also not be interrupted.
The Modi government formed a committee headed by Kovind on September 1 last year regarding the implementation of ‘Ek Desh Ek Bhot’. Before the Lok Sabha polls, the Kovind Committee submitted its 18,000-page report divided into eight parts, recommending holding elections to the Lok Sabha and all the Vidhan Sabhas at the same time to President Draupadi Murmu on March 14. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other members of the committee were present there.
According to the report, opinions of various political parties, Supreme Court and High Court judges, lawyers, Election Commission and constitutional experts have been taken.
However, 15 political parties, including the main opposition Congress, opposed the proposal. In order to introduce the ‘one country one vote’ policy, the constitution needs to be amended first. That requires two-thirds support for the bill. BJP and its allies do not have that support. It is also mandatory to pass amendments to the constitution in the state and union assemblies.
