Sumitra bats for Modi's one nation, one election plan
Shimla, Sep 22: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Saturday favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi's concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the country, saying time and again the election code of conduct hampers development.
Mahajan was speaking at the conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Region-IV here, attended by Vidhan Sabha Speakers, Deputy Speakers and legislators from Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat, and host Himachal Pradesh.
"We are just sharing our views to take our concerns forward. We are not here to take any decision," she said.
"India had earlier followed the system of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabhas. We need to ponder over the issue. In the midst of elections one after another in the country, the election code of conduct normally hampers the development process and the schemes get stuck," she said, adding "in the process, much money is also spent".
Mahajan said only after proper debate and taking into consideration all issues, including constitutional aspects, the country has to take a decision.
"The idea of 'one nation, one election' would undoubtedly save money and time, but the constitutional hurdles in its way need to be addressed first," she said.
Jammu and Kashmir Speaker Nirmal Singh favoured consensus.
Gujarat Speaker Rajendra Suryaprasad Trivedi said the simultaneously elections would not only save money, but time also.
"We have one election after another in our states. Every time, teachers are put on election duty, which disturbs the education system. We can avoid that as well as frequent deployment of security forces in case of one-nation-one-election," he said.
Haryana Speaker Kanwar Pal said the election of different bodies continues for five years, and the public representatives don't get enough time to perform.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said 'one nation, one election' is the need of the hour. "The country has done the required debate and we must take the step forward now."
Congress leader and state's Leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri said it would be "unconstitutional and impractical to hold simultaneous polls".
"We can neither change the time of assemblies, nor decrease them. It will be against the spirit of the Constitution," Agnihotri added.
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Jamshedpur man among crew of LPG vessel back from West Asia, family heaves sigh of relief
Jamshedpur (PTI): A family in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur heaved a sigh of relief after learning that the Indian-flagged LPG vessel Shivalik, on which their son was working, had safely reached Gujarat's Mundra port after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia.
Mithilesh Tripathy said his only son, Ansh Tripathy, who serves as the second engineer on the vessel, was responsible for monitoring the ship's technical operations during the journey through the strategically crucial maritime corridor.
Tripathy said he last spoke to his son over a WhatsApp call about four to five days ago, when the vessel was leaving Qatar.
"They were instructed to maintain a safe distance from the Strait of Hormuz until they received the green signal from headquarters. The Indian government was negotiating with Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage," Tripathy told PTI.
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A former flight engineer with the Indian Air Force, Tripathy later worked at Uranium Corporation of India in Jadugora near Jamshedpur. He now lives in a residential society near Pardih in the city.
Speaking about his son, Tripathy said Ansh completed his schooling in Jamshedpur and Jadugora, pursued mechanical engineering at BIT, and later graduated as a marine engineer from Kochi. He joined the Shipping Corporation of India around 2014-15.
"Before leaving Qatar, Ansh told me they were heading towards the Indian Ocean. That was all he said," he added, noting that he did not discuss the number of crew members on board.
Tripathy said the family remained anxious after hearing about the war in West Asia.
"We were extremely worried about Ansh and the crew members since the war broke out in the region. We were glued to the TV for updates," he said, expressing relief after hearing that the ship had reached Mundra port safely.
"It was a very painful time, but we were confident that if my son and the crew returned safely, it would be due to the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar," he said.
Tripathy said that while people may hold different views about the tensions in West Asia, his experience in the Air Force helped him understand the realities of operating in a conflict zone.
Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, with 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG, crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday following negotiations between India and Iran.
Shivalik arrived at the Mundra Port on Monday with 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG ordered by Indian Oil Corp Ltd, officials said.
While 20,000 MT will be unloaded at Mundra, 26,000 MT will be unloaded at Mangaluru, they said.
Nanda Devi is scheduled to reach Gujarat's Kandla port on Tuesday, they added.
These two ships were among the 24 ships stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.
Besides the 24 on the west side of the strait, four others were stranded on the east side.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of its natural gas and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies.
