New Delhi, Mar 9: Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday strongly supported the proposal of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and said such a move will be in the interest of the country, will save time, improve governance and expedite development.
Appearing before the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the bills seeking to introduce simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, Azad also said that he has been a supporter of simultaneous polls since 1983, when the Indira Gandhi government was in power.
“I have been a supporter of the one nation one election for a long time. In 1983, when the Indira Gandhi government was in power, the Election Commission had suggested that the issue of simultaneous elections could be considered. I have supported that idea,” he told reporters after appearing on the panel, which is headed by BJP member P P Chaudhary.
The former chief minister of Jammu Kashmir said the number of elections has increased many old since then and as the general secretary in-charge of many states of the Congress, he had to get involved with the series of elections in the states.
Azad said simultaneous elections would be in the interests of the country.
Chairman Chaudhary said Azad had spoken “in the interest of the country” and suggested that everyone should come together for the initiative keeping aside party lines.
He said time will be saved and government resources will be saved if a single election for both the assembly and the Lok Sabha is held with a single voters’ list.
Chaudhary said even some opposition members sought a single voters’ list.
“Today’s meeting was held in a very cordial manner. I want to thank Azad Saheb,” Chaudhary said.
Chaudhary said governance does not get priority when elections are held at different times, and members too have realised that ‘one nation one election’ initiative is in the interest of the country, not for any political party.
Chaudhary said former Union law minister and former chief minister of Karnataka M Veerappa Moily was supposed to appear before the committee on Monday but could not do so as he was indisposed.
The Joint Committee on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was constituted after the two proposed legislations were introduced in the Lok Sabha in December, 2024. (Agencies)
