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Shimla, June 19 (IANS) Expressing reservations on the proposal of ‘One Nation, One Election’, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader Sukhvinder Sukhu on Thursday said the party “opposes the Bill, but still we have communicated some suggestions to the committee intending to strengthen the democratic fabrics of the country.”

“We have suggested that a provision be made for holding by-elections in a year to uphold democratic values,” the Chief Minister told the media here after meeting the visiting Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, of the proposal of One Nation One Election (ONOE).

The committee, chaired by P.P. Choudhary, was welcomed by the Chief Minister and was honoured along with other members with traditional Himachali caps and shawls. The Committee engaged in deliberations on the proposed framework. Chief Minister Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri shared views of the government during the discussions. Member of Parliament from Hamirpur, Anurag Thakur, also attended the meeting as a member of the committee.

A delegation of the state BJP, led by state chief Rajiv Bindal, met the committee and gave a report to the committee and informing that 1,287 proposals in the state were in favour of the electoral process.

Bindal said in 2010, during the tenure of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, a private members’ resolution was passed in the Himachal Assembly on 8 April 2010 in this regard.

“It’s our clear opinion that from the time when the Constitution was made till the 1970s, the parliamentary, assembly, local urban body, and Panchayati Raj Institutions elections used to be held simultaneously,” he said.

“With changing times, when the Emergency was imposed in the country in 1975, the time of elections changed, and with this, the process of breaking the elected governments started, due to which elections are held every day. In a year, elections are held in two to three states at different times. Similarly, the elections of local bodies are also held at different times, even in the same state, the elections of local bodies are held at different times. Owing to this, the day-to-day work of the government is badly disrupted,” Bindal explained.

He said that if the elections of Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, local urban bodies and Panchayati Raj are held in the whole country at one time, a huge amount of expenditure will be saved.

“The lakhs of people who work in the elections will also save their labour force. Similarly, as soon as the election code of conduct is imposed, development work stops for a long time. Decisions are affected due to the repeated imposition of the election code of conduct. Therefore, the amendments of One Nation, One Election are very important to further accelerate the pace of India, which is moving ahead at a fast pace,” he said.

He said the state BJP unit formed a team of its own, and they have received about 1,500 proposals from Panchayati Raj Institutions and local bodies and which are in favour of ‘One Nation, One Election’.

--IANS

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