No Problem Till 1967: Chirag Paswan To NDTV On "One Nation, One Election"

Chirag Paswan said, "The system continued till 1967. If there was no ill effect on Federalism then, who should it happen now? Nehru-ji (Jawaharlal Nehru) was there then"

Simultaneous election took place in India till 1967 and there was no problem at the time in terms of federalism or any other factor, Union minister Chirag Paswan said today, questioning the Opposition's resistance on the issue. Speaking at NDTV's Yuva Conclave, Mr Paswan, one of the youngest Central ministers, enumerated the reasons why the country needs "One nation one election" now. 

The frequent elections, he said, are not just a financial liability, they also are a drain on manpower needed for the country's security system, he said. People from the army or paramilitary forces are constantly deployed to states where elections are due, all the year round. 

Citing an example, he said this year, the country has witnessed the Lok Sabha and a string of state elections in May-June. "Now we are having the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana and after that it would be the turn of Maharashtra,' he said.