Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the opposition to ‘one nation, one election’ was premature since the Centre was planning to implement it only in 2030.
Chennai:Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the opposition to ‘one nation, one election’ was premature since the Centre was planning to implement it only in 2030. In Tamil Nadu, already the AIADMK and PMK had extended their support to the plan, while Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is opposing what his father M. Karunanidhi had supported, she said.
Speaking at a seminar on ‘one nation, one election’ at the SRM University, Chengalpet district, she said the President would take a call on the scheme only after the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. “We have planned to implement the proposal only in 2030 and why are you opposing it now,” she asked.
She said a lot of money was spent each time an election was held and the country had faced 400 elections since Independence. The finance minister said about Rs. 1 lakh crore was spent for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and conducting simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and assemblies would reduce the expenditure by Rs. 12,000 crore, which could be used for people’s welfare.
Nirmala said the economy of the nation would improve by the ‘one nation, one election’ plan and several groups had expressed good opinion about it. Frequent elections result in the stoppage of all infrastructure work, including laying of roads, for three months, affecting the people, Nirmala said, adding that even ambulance transport is affected during an election campaign.
The minister said the government has been speaking about the idea for the last 10 years. “Everyone should know what is required for the nation and see why the idea is facing opposition.”
In 2019, an all-party meeting was conducted on ‘one nation, one election’ and it was attended by 19 parties, of which 16 accepted the idea. The DMK, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party expressed opposition to the plan, she recalled. In the next all-party meeting, 47 parties took part and 32 of them supported the proposal. Those who supported the idea included the BJP, AIADMK and PMK.
The minister further said Stalin was opposing the idea while his father Karunanidhi had written in support of the idea in his autobiography ‘Nenjukku Needhi’. Those who were opposing the plan had supported it earlier, the minister said, adding that they were doing it for political gains. She requested the support of everyone for the plan, since it was necessary for the nation.
