Special Correspondent
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member raised the issue of “One Nation, One Election” in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday adding that continuous elections were a drain on country’s resources.
Lt. Gen .(retd) D.P Vats made a Zero Hour submission in the Upper House that after 1967 using the provisions of Article 356 the State governments run by the Sanyukt Vidhayak Dal (non-Congress parties) were arbitrarily dismissed mid–term following which the country went into “many election mode” or “permanent election mode”.
“The permanent election mode is a drain on resources. Keeping the national interest in mind, I would request the government as well as the Opposition parties to reach a consensus on the issue...be it extending the duration of State Assemblies, so that the country is not always in an election mode,” the BJP member said.
He said he read a news report that after COVID-19, when many multinational companies started leaving China their destination was Indonesia, Vietnam and India. “But it was said about India that it is always in an election and agitation mode. I would like to request in national interest that elections should be held every five years for Assemblies, Parliament and municipal corporations,” he said.
Members of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Biju Janta Dal also associated themselves with the issue.
