BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has extended support to the call for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“We have been elected to do people’s work. Having elections throughout the year disturbs people’s work. Therefore, we support the appeal by the Prime Minister for simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies,” the Chief Minister told mediapersons here on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Law Commission of India has invited the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for discussion on the issue at New Delhi either on July 7 or July 8. “While the Commission has reached out to the public already, it would like to solicit the views of the political parties as well. With this intent, the Commission would like to interact with your party either on July 7 or July 8, as is convenient to you, in the conference room of the Law Commission of India,” Chairman of the Law Commission of India, Justice BS Chauhan said in a letter to the Chief Minister on June 14. The letter was released on Tuesday.
Justice Chauhan has also requested the Chief Minister to send his opinion to the Commission latest by June 30 and participate in the interaction. “I would request you to participate in the interaction and share your valuable thoughts and suggestions, which could enable us in weighing the pros and cons of the subject,” he said and added, “In the event you are not able to attend, nominate a representative of your party who can place the views before the Commission on your behalf.”
Holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislatures have been engaging the attention of political parties, government organisations, academia and intellectuals of the country in the recent times. In his valedictory address during the Law Day Celebration, 2017 organised by the Commission in association with the NITI Aayog on November 17-18, 2017, the Prime Minister had given a call to start a constructive discussion on the subject.The Commission in its meeting held on April 17, 2018 decided to make a public appeal along with a summary of the work done so far and placed it in public domain to elicit the view of the stakeholders.