New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will set up a committee for giving “time-bound” suggestions on the issue of ‘one nation, one election’, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday.
Addressing mediapersons after the all-party meeting on the issue, Singh said most parties supported the idea of holding simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
He said though parties such as the CPI and the CPI-M had “difference of opinion” on how the exercise of joint elections will be held, they were “not opposed (to the idea)”.
Asked about the composition of the proposed committee, Singh said the prime minister will take a call.
Also read: Modi’s simultaneous polls plan is like changing river course to control traffic on bridge
Simultaneous elections is not a bad idea as is being drummed by critics who in any case would not support an idea that comes from Modi. So first they have to be ignored and there is nothing wrong for ignoring them as their objectives have been to play the politics. Next get the acts right this time i.e. use the lessons from implementing GST and also demonetisation. As no secrecy is to be maintained in this case, public debate should be taken care of.
Today I listened to the Shekhar Gupta’s views on this topic. He has not been as serious in this as he usually is. His quote from Yadav’s analogy of shifting river’s path to solve the traffic problem on river bridge is at the best is a joke on such a serious matter as helding elections together. Shekhar’s arguments that follows afterwards don’t analyse the arguments in completeness for both sides. Shekhar can provide an unbiased analysis by presenting the two sides for each argument. For example regional parties would be at disadvantage financially. Sekhar should explain the financing of regional parties in both the cases i.e. with and without, which aspect of financing would be affected and why?
Left liberals and intellectuals have one more opportunity to throw away their masks and explain to people without taking sides as people can see it through. Otherwise take it for granted people would ignore them.