Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday used his address to cadets on NCC Day to make a pitch to the youth of India to "participate in the debate” around one nation one election and cited the example of the United States, which follows a presidential system of governance.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate in December last year, with the Opposition terming the move dictatorial.
“Another important issue related to the future of the youth is the electoral system of the country,” Modi said during his speech to NCC cadets at the Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi, as translated in a PIB release.
“Just two days ago, we celebrated National Voters' Day. Many of you have become first-time voters. The purpose of Voters' Day is that the maximum number of voters should participate and use their right. Today, the world's biggest elections are held in India, but another aspect of this is that elections keep happening in India every few months,” he said.
“After Independence, it used to happen for a long time when Lok Sabha and Assembly elections used to be held simultaneously. But then this pattern broke, the country has suffered a lot due to this. In every election, the voting list is updated, a lot of work is done, and you must have seen that our teachers are often put on duty in this, due to which studies are affected, preparations for exams are affected.
“Due to frequent elections, there are also difficulties in governance,” he continued.
“Therefore, a very important debate is going on in the country these days. Everyone is giving their views on this subject and this deliberation is very necessary in democracy, everyone should express their views, this is necessary, and what is debate – One Nation One Election. Lok Sabha and Assembly elections should be held together, and every five years when the time is fixed, it should be held. So, there will be relief from the new works that get stopped in between.
“Today, I especially request the youth of India, I request the NCC cadets, I request the volunteers of MY Bharat, I request the NSS comrades, wherever we are, we should conduct this debate, take the debate forward, lead the debate, we should participate in this debate in large numbers. This is a subject directly related to your future,” he said.
Citing the example of the US, he said: “Even in a country like America, the date of formation of a new government is fixed, there elections are held every four years. In your own college or school also, the student council elections are completed in one go. Just think, if elections keep happening every month, will it be possible to study in a university or college? Therefore, you should lead the debate on One Nation One Election; there should be a nationwide discussion so that the country can decide to move in the right direction.”
He also pointed out to the youngsters how his government had changed the country.
“In 2014, you would have been 10 or 12 or 14 years old, just ask your family what the situation was earlier, for example, attestation of documents. Earlier, whether it was admission, examination, recruitment, filling any form, one had to get the documents attested by a gazetted officer, and there used to be a lot of running around in this. Our government removed this difficulty of the youth, and trusted you, now you can verify your documents by self-attesting,” he said.
“...There used to be a lot of manipulation in the scholarship money, the money did not go to the children's accounts. Now the single window system has eliminated all the old problems.
“...Earlier there was another big problem regarding the selection of subjects. If you took a subject while studying after the board, then it was difficult to change it. Now the new National Education Policy gives you the flexibility to change subjects as per your wish.
“There was a time 10 years ago when young people could not get bank loans easily…. We started the Mudra Yojana which gives loans without bank guarantee,” he said.
