M Chuba AO, BJP national vice president
How has Narendra Modi guided India in the last nine years and more? What would 'One Nation, One Election' signify? In short, we can keep the response three folds – textual, contextual and historical. Well, as a lieutenant of Prime Minister Modi and a BJP Karyakarta, I can say, India is ‘Ready’ for revolutionary changes. And we should be Steady and have Faith in the Prime Minister.
It is pity that the Congress and other opposition parties have played the politics of Negativism and hence today they stand cornered; and even looking for relevance.
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| Chuba's article in 'Sikkim Express' |
Sikkim Express
His tenure marks a watershed in India's contemporary history. His government has handled multiple critical responsibilities and overcame the challenges. Shri Modi has created a framework in which our economy can grow. His government has discouraged bad business practices including corruption and also reduced the deficit. We should become world's third largest economy soon.
PM Modi is not taking rest and the move for 'One Nation, One Election' has to be welcomed in that perspective. Firstly, it is linked to essential Electoral reform and thus could be called 'the mother' of all reforms.
Former President, respected Ram Nath Kovind ji, is heading the panel. We also have learned lawyer Harish Salve and also political stalwarts including the likes of Home Minister Amit Shah and former CM J&K and ex Union Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad. Simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections is something we practiced in India between 1952 to 1967.
India as a nation is now expected to be matured enough as we have already crossed 75 long years as an independent and modern entity in every sense. Look around India's neighbourhood; Pakistan is today struggling to tackle the economic challenges.
Prime Minister Shri Modi is convinced and so are we. Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct.
The present election system has brought in a caste-ridden system and encouraged corruption and nepotism. Many Bills across Indian states and also in both the Houses of Parliament have been passed without thorough scrutiny. If polls are held every five years the political parties also will not invest so much money and spoil the voters' mindset. In northeast we know the menace of power in elections.
We can mention here that the idea of conducting simultaneous elections was advocated in 1999 by the Law Commission headed by Justice B P Jeevan Reddy. Just to recall, the cycle of simultaneous elections was first broken in 1959 after the Congress government under Jawaharlal Nehru invoked Article 356 to dismiss the communist government in Kerala.
Our Prime Minister’s indomitable spirit is an asset. The world is looking towards Modi and how he will host and steward the G-20 Summit in Delhi. He has been a doer - from day one - May 26, 2014 and has been steadily trying to perform and give his best round the clock.
His tenure marks a watershed in India's contemporary history. His government has handled multiple critical responsibilities and overcame the challenges. Shri Modi has created a framework in which our economy can grow. His government has discouraged bad business practices including corruption and also reduced the deficit. We should become world's third largest economy soon.
PM Modi is not taking rest and the move for 'One Nation, One Election' has to be welcomed in that perspective. Firstly, it is linked to essential Electoral reform and thus could be called 'the mother' of all reforms.
Former President, respected Ram Nath Kovind ji, is heading the panel. We also have learned lawyer Harish Salve and also political stalwarts including the likes of Home Minister Amit Shah and former CM J&K and ex Union Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad. Simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections is something we practiced in India between 1952 to 1967.
India as a nation is now expected to be matured enough as we have already crossed 75 long years as an independent and modern entity in every sense. Look around India's neighbourhood; Pakistan is today struggling to tackle the economic challenges. Prime Minister Shri Modi is convinced and so are we. Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct.
The present election system has brought in a caste-ridden system and encouraged corruption and nepotism. Many Bills across Indian states and also in both the Houses of Parliament have been passed without thorough scrutiny. If polls are held every five years the political parties also will not invest so much money and spoil the voters' mindset. In northeast we know the menace of power in elections.
We can mention here that the idea of conducting simultaneous elections was advocated in 1999 by the Law Commission headed by Justice B P Jeevan Reddy. Just to recall, the cycle of simultaneous elections was first broken in 1959 after the Congress government under Jawaharlal Nehru invoked Article 356 to dismiss the communist government in Kerala.
At present even without any change in law, the assembly polls in two northeastern states Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and also in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are due to be held together with the Lok Sabha elections by May 2024. Among the benefits of new proposed system, I will count following points too. Holding elections at specific periods will reduce defection and horse-trading among elected representatives. State finances will see improvement. Frequent elections lead to governments taking policy decisions to woo the electorate at every election. The frequency with which governments and political parties have to announce freebies will come down. Frequent elections have led to a situation where many state governments are in financial crisis and yet they keep announcing one free/concession scheme or the other. The finance in these states could improve.
G20: The blossoming of Moditva
The term 'Moditva' is a political phenomenon across India especially since 2014. But it had started on a sound footing in Gujarat earlier. Today, the G20 Summit is the flavour of the season. All global political stars such as Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak (UK) and leaders from Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Israel, UAE and Japan will join PM Modi.
India and its friends will now have a greater chance to push for necessary reform in the running of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions. Brazil and South Africa will succeed in taking the G20 Presidency in 2024 and 2025. Of course the relevance of the UN will be determined by its ability to adapt to the 'realities' of today’s world, which is different from what it was 75 years ago.
Of course, hosting of G-20 came to India by rotation. Many countries have hosted it in the past. In 2022 it was Indonesia’s turn. But PM Modi has able to give India’s G-20 Presidency a new meaning and purpose.
G-20 has been democratised and taken to people. At the end of the Summit 2023, India will have hosted over 220 meetings in 60 cities across all 28 states and 8 Union Territories of India. We had successful gatherings and brainstorming sessions in Kohima to Jammu and Kashmir. It is no small achievement in the history of G-20 that in all these G20 meetings, more than one lakh participants from 125 nationalities would witness the skills of Indians.
In today’s world, economy guides diplomacy. G-20 is precisely a structure for that. PM Modi and other global leaders including President Biden will chalk out strategies to work at the international level especially in the context of Russia-Ukraine war and post-Covid world.
Some benefits at the global stage are already being spoken about and this will show emergence of ‘New India’. The effort towards greater inclusion for the Global South is a welcome step. The importance of Africa in global affairs has gained momentum.
Thanks to Modi ji’s visionary leadership and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar’s works, people admit today that India’s G20 Presidency has planted the seeds of confidence in poorer countries. Prime Minister Modi also has stated that the world will soon have to move faster towards a more representative and inclusive order.
This is what we cherish about ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future’. It is not just a slogan but a guiding philosophy. We must note, the world has taken note of India’s human-centric model of development and governance of a welfare state. There is a greater awareness of the progress India has made in economic growth and also technological progress and social infrastructures.
Next two decades and half as we will approach 2047, India will be 100 years old and a new catalyst at the global stage.
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| UK PM, Rishi Sunak, arrives Delhi with his wife |
Ends
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