New Delhi, March 8: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke exclusively to IANS on a range of topics including One Nation One Election (ONOE). Sharing his views on the One Nation One Election, Rajnath Singh said, “This should have been done a long time ago. I believe there has been a significant delay in this matter. However, Prime Minister Modi truly deserves appreciation for making the decision to introduce this bill. The process of One Nation, One Election should begin in India. The government will save an enormous amount of money — running into lakhs of crores. While I cannot provide an exact figure at the moment, the savings will be substantial.”
“Another major aspect is time. Currently, elections are held throughout the year — sometimes for panchayats, sometimes for municipal bodies, sometimes for MLAs, MPs, district boards, or district panchayats. If a fixed schedule ensures that Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections are conducted simultaneously, along with local body elections, it will not only save a significant amount of money but also a considerable amount of time,” he added.
The One Nation, One Election Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha on December 17 last year. The JPC has been constituted to review the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ legislation. Its primary task will be to examine the feasibility and framework for conducting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
The committee will also evaluate proposals for synchronising elections in Union Territories, including Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir, with the Lok Sabha elections. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chaired by BJP’s P.P. Chaudhary, comprises 39 members, with 27 from Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha.
Among the members of the JPC are Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress), Anurag Thakur and Anil Baluni (BJP), as well as other opposition leaders such as Kalyan Banerjee (TMC), and Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party). The committee’s discussions and recommendations will be the key to shaping the future of India’s electoral process.
Lok Sabha MPs in the committee are P.P. Chaudhary, C. M. Ramesh, Bansuri Swaraj, Parshottam Rupala, Anurag Singh Thakur, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Sambit Patra, Anil Baluni, Vishnu Datt Sharma, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Dharmendra Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee, T. M. Selvaganapathi, GM Harish Balayogi, Supriya Sule, Shrikant Shinde, Chandan Chauhan and Balashowry Vallabhaneni. While the government argues that simultaneous elections will streamline governance and reduce costs, opposition parties have raised concerns about its impact on the federal structure. IANS