NEW DELHI: In a significant move towards implementing its long-standing plan of "One Nation, One Election," the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved a constitutional amendment Bill to facilitate simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, sources revealed.
While members of the ruling government and its allies welcomed the move, several leaders and MPs of the Opposition questioned the move. Opposition leaders, including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, criticised it as an assault on parliamentary democracy and India's federal structure.
Two draft legislations were greenlit by the Cabinet, including a constitutional amendment Bill and a supplementary Bill to amend laws related to three Union territories with legislative assemblies-Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir - to align them with the broader constitutional changes. However, the Cabinet decided to exclude local body elections, such as those for municipalities and panchayats, from the purview of simultaneous polls for now, sources said.
Prime Minister Modi underlined the importance of simultaneous elections for bolstering development initiatives and accelerating overall growth. Since his first vigorous pitch for the concept in 2016, he has consistently argued that frequent elections disrupt governance and development activities.
The BJP’s manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections reaffirmed its commitment to this idea.
This story is from the December 13, 2024 edition of Millennium Post Delhi.
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This story is from the December 13, 2024 edition of Millennium Post Delhi.
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