‘One Nation, One Election’: Kovind committee meets economists, Owaisi

Seeking to hold wider discussions on the paper, the Kovind panel sought the comments and responses of economists in a brainstorming session, an official statement said.

Those who participated in the meeting included Prof Chetan Ghate, Director, Institute of Economic Growth, Dr Deepak Mishra, Director and Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Prof Indira Rajaraman, Non-Resident Honorary Distinguished Fellow, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR).

Related: Tamil Nadu adopts resolution against Delimitation exercise, ‘One Nation, One Election’

Owaisi presents AIMIM views

The panel also held an interaction with Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) who presented his party’s views on the issue of simultaneous election before the committee.

Owaisi had in September last said the idea of “One Nation, One Election” would be disastrous for the nation’s multi-party parliamentary democracy and federalism.

Continuing with its consultation with the State Election Commissioners, the committee met Sanjay Prasad, State Election Commissioner, Gujarat.

Prasad highlighted various logistic and legislative requirements needed for holding simultaneous elections for local bodies along with the state Assemblies and the Lok Sabha.

The committee had held two rounds of discussions with state election commissions.

(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)