Simultaneous polls need of the hour: President Kovind
New Delhi: Noting that frequent elections in various parts of the country have impacted the pace and continuity of development, President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday urged parliamentarians to seriously consider the "development-oriented" proposal of holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a brain storming session with heads of 21 political parties on holding simultaneous polls.
After the meeting, the prime minister announced setting up a committee to give time-bound suggestions on various issues related to the proposal of 'one nation, one election'.
Addressing the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, Kovind said, " 'One Nation Simultaneous Elections' is the need of the hour, which would facilitate accelerated development, thereby benefiting our countrymen.
With such a system in place, all political parties, according to their respective ideologies, will be able to better utilise their energy towards development and public welfare."
He urged all members of Parliament "to seriously ponder over this development oriented proposal of One Nation - Simultaneous Elections."
He said, during the last few decades, due to frequent elections being held in some part of the country or the other, "the pace and continuity of development programmes have been impacted."
"Our countrymen have demonstrated their wisdom by delivering a clear verdict...One Nation Simultaneous Elections is the need of the hour, which would facilitate accelerated development, thereby benefiting our countrymen.
With such a system in place, all political parties, according to their respective ideologies, will be able to better utilise their energy towards development and public welfare," he said.
Last August, the Law Commission had recommended holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to save public money.
The draft, submitted to the Law Ministry, however, cautioned that holding simultaneous elections is not possible within the existing framework of the Constitution.
The Centre has been toying with the idea for quite some time now.The government think-tank, NITI Aayog, had last year suggested synchronised two-phase Lok Sabha and Assembly polls from 2024 to ensure minimum campaign-mode disruption to governance.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
