One Nation One Election committee holds meeting with delegation of CII, HAM political party

New Delhi: The High Level Committee (HLC) on One Nation One Election, chaired by Ram Nath Kovind, former President of India, on Friday, held a consultation round with delegation from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) comprising Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, R Dinesh, President, Sanjiv Puri, President Designate, Marut Sen Gupta, Deputy Director General, Amita Sarkar, Deputy Director General, Binoy Job, Executive Director, and G Srivastava, Chief Economic Strategy and Project Coordination.

The delegation made a presentation before the committee in which the views of the industry on ONOE and its impact were highlighted, after which they presented a formal memorandum.

Ram Nath Kovind, Chairman HLC also held an interaction today with Dr. Santosh Kumar Suman, Minister Government of Bihar & National Chairman, Hindustani Awaam Morcha (HAM), who presented the view of his party on holding simultaneous elections.

The fifth meeting of the committee was attended by NK Singh, former Chairman of 15th Finance Commission, Dr Subhash C. Kashyap, former Secretary General, Lok Sabha and Sanjay Kothari, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner.

Ram Nath Kovind on February 1, 2024 also held interactions with Rahul Shewale, MP, leader of Shiv Sena party (Eknath Sambhaji Shinde) Lok Sabha, Rajendra Gavit, MP, Shrirang Barne, MP and Ashish Kulkarni, as part of his consultations with political parties, who gave their considered opinion on the subject.

Kovind also held consultations yesterday, with Justice Prakash Shrivastava, former Chief Justice Calcutta High Court, Justice R D Dhanuka, former Chief Justice Bombay High Court and Justice Ajit Prakash Shah, former Chief Justice Delhi High Court to understand their views on holding simultaneous elections in the country.

Earlier on January 30, former President Kovind met Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and sought his views on the subject.

On January 27, Ram Nath Kovind, held consultations with Justice U. U. Lalit, former Chief Justice of India and Justice Sanjib Banerjee, former Chief Justice of Madras High Court and Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman of the Bar Council of India, who gave their considered opinion on the subject.

Recently, the Committee had also met a delegation of Lok Jan Shakti Party, comprising members including Pashupati Kumar Paras, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, President Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), Prince Raj (Member of Parliament, Samastipur, Lok Sabha), Sanjay Sarraf, Spokesperson, Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), and Ramji Singh, General Secretary, Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP).

The committee had also held the consultations with eminent jurists Justice Dilip Bhosale, former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, and Justice Rajendra Menon, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, who gave their considered opinion on the subject.

Initiating discussions with financial and economic experts, Ram Nath Kovind also held interactions with Ajay Singh, President of ASSOCHAM, and Chairman and Managing Director of Spicejet Airlines, who was also accompanied by the Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General of ASSOCHAM. Ajay Singh put forth his views in detail on the economic advantages of holding simultaneous elections for the nation.

The High-Level Committee relating to the holding of simultaneous elections in the country has initiated a consultation process under the chairmanship of Ram Nath Kovind, former President of India.

The High-Level Committee recently also sought public opinion regarding the one nation, one election issue. The public notice issued stated,

"Notice for inviting suggestions from members of the general public for making appropriate changes in the existing legal administrative framework to enable simultaneous elections in the country."

Earlier, the High-Level Committee held its preliminary meeting under the chairmanship of Ram Nath Kovind, Amit Shah, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation; Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Law and Justice; Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha; N. K. Singh, former Chairman, 15th Finance Commission; Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap, former Secretary General, Lok Sabha; and Sanjay Kothari, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, attended the meeting. Harish Salve, Senior Advocate, joined the meeting virtually.

One Nation, One Election was constituted through a notification dated September 20, 2023.