Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday welcomed the delegation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Parliament, which had come to study the two amendment bills related to One Nation, One Election, at the Delhi Secretariat. This committee has come to Delhi to study with the aim of obtaining suggestions from states and other stakeholders on various provisions of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Welcoming all the members of the committee on their arrival at the Delhi Secretariat, the Chief Minister said that this initiative of the Central Government to receive suggestions from various states with the aim of making the democratic system more effective, well-governed and administratively efficient is highly commendable. Delhi Government will also provide its detailed suggestions to the committee with full seriousness and positive outlook on this important subject.
The delegation led by committee chairman and MP P.P. Chaudhary included Union Minister Purushottam Rupala, MP Vishnu Dayal Ram, Bhartrihari Mahtab, Dr. Sambit Patra, Vishnudutt Sharma, Sukhdev Bhagat, GM Harish Balayogi, K. Radhakrishnan, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Kavita Patidar and Sanjay Jaiswal were present. During the meeting, the committee held detailed discussions with the Chief Minister on the constitutional, legal and administrative aspects related to both the amended bills. In the discussion, many topics including coordination of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, integration of electoral cycle, possible impact on Delhi National Capital Territory Government Act, administrative preparations etc. were discussed in detail.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that holding simultaneous elections in the country is the need of the hour. There can be no better arrangement than this. If the elections for the Lok Sabha and all the Legislative Assemblies are held simultaneously in the entire country, there will be a huge saving of energy, time and resources of the country. Due to frequent elections, the administrative system remains busy in the electoral process for a long time. Due to the implementation of the code of conduct, development work gets affected and a large part of the government machinery gets involved in election responsibilities. Especially in a small state like Delhi, many public services including the education system are affected due to the duty of a large number of government employees during elections.
The Chief Minister said that due to continuous elections the tenure of the governments is also affected. In the national interest, a system should be developed so that governments can work wholeheartedly for the development of the people without unnecessary interference. In the context of Delhi, he said that the election schedule of the national capital is held at a gap of about one year from the Lok Sabha elections. If necessary adjustments have to be made in the tenure of Delhi to establish coordination at the national level, then the Delhi government is ready to consider it with a positive mindset. If there is a need in the national interest, Delhi can be included among the leading states to cooperate in this direction.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that Delhi is such a metropolitan city of the country where citizens of almost all the states reside. Therefore, the study of many specific aspects related to electoral behavior and voting also holds special importance here. During the meeting, the Chief Minister said that the Delhi Government will formally conduct a detailed study on all the subjects asked by the committee and will also present its written suggestions so that the committee can take proper care of the constitutional and administrative circumstances of Delhi while preparing its final recommendations.
The Chief Minister said that the Delhi Government supports every such reform which strengthens good governance, administrative efficiency and the democratic system, and it is also necessary that during any change, the basic spirit and democratic principles of the Constitution should be completely protected. At the end of the meeting, the Chief Minister again expressed his gratitude to the Joint Parliamentary Committee and said that the Delhi Government is fully committed to provide positive cooperation on this important national subject and hopes that the committee will comprehensively study all the constitutional, legal and administrative aspects and present appropriate recommendations in the national interest.
