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This was the first time the joint parliamentary committee invited a chief minister to share their views on the One Nation One Election legislation
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde both spoke in support of One Nation One Election. (Image: News18)
Advocating for One Nation One Election, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde on Monday appeared before the joint parliamentary committee examining the crucial legislation.
This was the first time the joint parliamentary committee invited a chief minister to share their views on the One Nation One Election legislation. The panel is on a multi-city tour and is in Mumbai now.
Speaking on the Bill and its impact, Devendra Fadnavis said it will allow focus on governance. He cited the example that multiple elections at multiple levels led to close to a year of governance due to the model code of conduct and election process in place. He gave the example that Mumbai was the financial capital of India, and frequent elections had severely affected its economy.
Eknath Shinde said this was a much-needed legislation and stressed that there is no reason for regional parties to be fearful. He pointed out that the public knew which party they should vote for and cited the example of the Shiv Sena.
He said the public has always rewarded a desire to serve the people and brought them to power. Hence, concerns over the relevance of regional parties were not true.
Shinde further said it was important to understand that once the government at the Centre was elected, its influence had a bearing on the states going to election. But, in case of common elections, the states will focus on local issues while national issues will feature on the list for the Lok Sabha elections, he said. Its quick implementation will be more cost effective and focus will remain on good governance, he added.
Several other financial organisations and members of the Port Trust appeared before the parliamentary panel. Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narvekar was also present before the committee to express his views in support of the legislation.
The panel was announced during the last winter session of Parliament after the Centre said it was keen on sending the Bill for parliamentary scrutiny after its introduction in the Lok Sabha. It is headed by former minister and Lok Sabha MP PP Chaudhary and has 39 members, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The panel has a number of eminent lawyers like MPs Manish Tewari, P Wilson and Kalyan Banerjee. Other opposition MPs, who are part of the panel are Supriya Sule from the NCP, Randeep Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik from the Congress, Anil Desai from Shiv Sena (UBT).
On the ruling side, members include former union minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Baijayant Panda, Bhartruhari Mahtab and Anil Baluni from the BJP. Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena and Harish Balayogi from the TDP among others are also part of the JPC.
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