Parliament panel holds consultation with state’s stakeholders on One Nation, One Election
Panaji/Margao: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), as part of its deliberations on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative, held stakeholder consultations in Goa on Friday to discuss the proposal for simultaneous elections across the country.
The committee is examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the initiative is development-oriented and would benefit the state.
“A synchronised electoral cycle has the potential to provide stability, enable governments to focus on long-term development, optimise public resources and further strengthen the spirit of cooperative federalism while fully upholding the constitutional values of our nation,” Sawant told the JPC chairperson.
Sawant said that this is another step towards Viksit Bharat. “In the past, when there was discussion on One Nation, One Tax, there were some who opposed it. But it is important to remember that the nation comes first,” he said.
The chief minister said that, from the government’s side, they have placed before the committee the impact this initiative will have on a small state like Goa.
The committee, headed by Member of Parliament P P Chaudhary, met Sawant and cabinet ministers Digambar Kamat, Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar, Subhash Phal Dessai and Subhash Shirodkar.
Consultations were also held throughout the day with senior state government officials, the Chief Electoral Officer, representatives of national and regional political parties, academicians, legal experts, industry bodies, public sector undertakings and other eminent personalities.
“The frequent conduct of elections affects many aspects of a state and the nation. Every year, elections are held in around five or six states. It may not be in Goa, but tourists planning to visit Goa from those states may have to postpone or cancel their travel because of elections in their home state,” said Chaudhary, adding that this can affect Goa’s tourism.
He said that, from an economic perspective, the impact is not confined to one state but extends to others as well.
He said the country incurs an estimated loss of around Rs 7 lakh crore due to frequent elections.
“In the education sector, every election requires repeated preparation of electoral rolls, staff training, census-related work and policy implementation. These responsibilities involve government school teachers and affect students. In other states too, civil society is of the opinion that elections should be held at one time,” he said.
Congress, Goa Forward & AAP oppose ONOE before JPC
Margao:Opposition parties, during their interaction with the Joint Parliamentary Committee strongly opposed the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative.
Representatives of Congress, GFP, and AAP attended the meeting held during the day and presented their views on it. Though the delegations, bound by JPC rules, did not disclose the details of their objections, Congress leaders said they had strongly opposed the proposal.
The Congress delegation included South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar, and Congress Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira among others.
“We have given our submission in writing along with the representation of the South Goa MP. It is up to them whether they will accept or reject our suggestions. Since it is a parliamentary committee meeting, we have been told not to speak about our recommendations made to the committee,” Chodankar said.
Ferreira said that all Opposition parties opposed the move. “I broke it down clause by clause. We are bound by JPC rules, so we cannot disclose our objections, but we have strongly opposed it.”
Fernandes said that BJP’s alliance partners are also unhappy and shaky on this. “They know they will not have any say. We have to respect the federal structure that was put in place by the founding fathers when the Constitution was implemented,” he said.
The GFP delegation led by vice president Dilip Prabhudesai, Adv Ashma, Dr Renuka Dennis Da Silva and joint secretary Vikas Bhagat urged the panel to reject the One Nation, One Election Bills in their present form. They said that the bills undermine federalism and weaken Goa’s independent political voice.
“India’s democratic strength lies in preserving the people’s independent mandate at every level of government and not in conducting all elections simultaneously,” said GFP.
‘Strengthen anti-defection law first’
Panaji: Power Minister and senior Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar on Friday said the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ reform should be preceded by stronger anti-defection and disqualification laws.
He said the concept of simultaneous elections would lose its meaning if elected representatives continued switching political parties.
Dhavalikar said the anti-defection provisions must first be amended to ensure political stability and uphold the spirit of the proposed electoral reform.
Claiming more than 25 years of unwavering party loyalty, the senior MGP leader said he is the only legislator who has never changed political parties during his career.
While backing the proposal, Dhavalikar reiterated that simultaneous elections would be effective only if legal reforms prevent political instability caused by defections.
He was speaking against the backdrop of the ongoing Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) consultative meeting in Goa.
