The Observer Issue 26

The Observer An IIJNM Publication

Magrath Road hopes the BBMP will save it from hanging cables | P2

Vol 18, Issue 26

@theweeklyobserver On the web: issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs/the observer

Alternative therapy heals people through dance and music | P2

Cong, BJP make light of overtures by JD(S) Say it cannot win assembly polls on its own

High-rises block sun, ventilation in old homes Can suffocate people and cause illnesses

Ayushi Singh

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Rayan Mitra

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he possibility of the JD(S) aligning with the Congress to form a post-poll alliance in a hung assembly have disappeared. After being deprived of a chance to win a Rajya Sabha seat in March, it threatened to have a tie-up with the BJP. Spurning overtures by the JD(S), both national parties say that it is incapable of being voted into office on its own.

In the Rajya Sabha elections held last month, chief minister Siddaramaiah forced a contest for the fourth seat of the upper houses and destroyed hopes of the JD(S) wining one seat. The JD(S) accused the Congress of using unfair means. The Election Commission dismissed the complaint.

The Congress further upset the JD(S) when its president Rahul Gandhi termed JD(S) a ‘B’ team of the BJP. Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying, “The ‘S’ in JD(S) no longer stands for ‘Secular’. It now stands for ‘Sangh Parivar’. The JD(S) is actually Janata Dal Sangh Parivar.”

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Commitee (KPCC) general secretary L. Hanumanthaiah, a former MLC, said: “The Congress has the capability to make it to office for a second consecutive time. The Rajya Sabha elections were fair. I don’t understand why they created a ruckus. They never had any chance.”

BJP functionary Tejashwini Gowda informed The Observer: “The JD(S) was devastated after its MLAs rebelled. They failed to manage their candidates, who voted for the Congress, which won three seats.”

“Kumaraswamy used the BJP brand to threaten the Congress after the Rajya Sabha humiliation. In return, the Congress challenged their secular status to secure their Muslim vote bank,” said Tejashwini, who joined the BJP five years ago.

Monday, April 9, 2018

The Observer

The JD(S), headed by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, is accused of being a family concern. Critics say only Deve Gowda and his son H.D. Kumaraswamy matter in the party. | Courtesy: KPN

JD(S) functionary Prabhakar S says: “The state needs a secular party in power. We can see how both BJP and Congress are dividing people on several lines.

The people of Karnataka know only we can change their fate.”

But Bharati Shetty, spokesperson for BJP, accuses the JD(S) of being politically unstable. “Once they go with the BJP; the other time they go with INC. They cannot be trusted. They have never been able to control their MLAs.” Karnataka Congress secretary Chalvadi Narayanaswami informed The Observer: “They are no longer a secular party. Even on some very communal issues, they are not making any effort to attack the BJP. They very well know they alone can never come to power. Their blackmail politics will not work.”

B.M. Farooq, the JD(S) candidate for the Rajya Sabha, said: “We will fight this election on our own. We are planning to win at least 100 seats.”

To Rahul Gandhi’s statement that the JD(S) is the BJP’s ‘B’ team, Farooq said with a chuckle: “New to politics, he is trying to learn. He took tips from Siddaramaiah, is confused and acting like this.”

The JD(S), which never had a pre-poll tie-up with any party, announced that it would contest this year’s assembly elections in alliance with the BSP and the NCP. But any hopes of gaining from that alliance seem to be fading. BSP president Mayawati has shown little interest in Karnataka after Samajwadi Party candidates, backed by her party, won by-elections to the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats. NCP president Sharad Pawar has, meanwhile, called for an end to blind antiCongressism.

The JD(S), an offshoot of the Janata Dal, has always contested more than 200 seats in Karnataka. Its best performance was in the 2004 assembly elections when it won 59 seats, a number that plunged to 28 in the 2008 polls. The party won 40 seats in the 2013 assembly elections.

Reacting to Siddaramaiah’s statement that the JD(S) would not win more than 25 seats in 2018, state JD(S) president and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy claimed his party would win 113 seats in the assembly and secure at least 25 seats in Karnataka in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. rayan.m@iijnm.org

ith new multi-storeyed buildings coming up, old ones are increasingly being starved of proper ventilation. Not only does lack of ventilation cause suffocation; absence of sunlight due to the new buildings causes adverse health effects.

“I have lived in this area for the past 40 years and seen new buildings come up around my house. Not only have these buildings blocked sunlight but also made ventilation difficult. We can’t leave our homes because of these new buildings. There is no proper planning in the way they are constructed,” R. Thammaiah, a resident of Koramangala ST Bed Layout, informed The Observer.

Doctors say lack of sunlight and ventilation in houses makes the air inside more dangerous than the carbon dioxide outside.

Minimum or no sunlight and ventilation also make the walls of homes prone to dampness.

“We used to get enough sunlight before this huge apartment block came up. Due to lack of vitamin D in my body, my doctor has asked me to sit in the sun for some time every morning.

Now getting enough sunlight for clothes to dry has become a problem,” said Prema N. a resident of Mantri Square, Sampige Road, Malleswaram.

Uma Srinivas, who lives in Adugodi, said: “I have a small kid in the house, and it’s important for the house to have proper ventilation in order to avoid diseases, but new buildings around my house have completely blocked the flow of fresh air and sunlight. We worked hard to build a house and do not have the money to shift elsewhere.”

Asked about the matter, Rajiv Singh, an architect in UB City, Vittal Mallya Road, said: “We try and give maximum output in the provided area. Because limited space is available, the customer wants maximum utilization…, which results in tall

Closely built adjacent buildings leave no space for proper ventilation | Credit: Ayushi Singh buildings and closely built ones that end up blocking ventilation and sunlight for others.”

A report by World Health Organisation said 4.3 million people every year die prematurely from illnesses attributable to household air pollution caused by the either inefficient use of solid fuels for cooking or lack of ventilation. Among these deaths: •12% are due to pneumonia •34% are caused by stroke •26% by ischemic heart disease •22% by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease •And 6% by lung cancer “Everybody should make sure that their houses have adequate ventilation and sunlight as lack of either of the two can result in serious health effects.

Specially people with small children should take care that their houses are properly ventilated and receive adequate sunlight so that the kids are not prone to diseases from the beginning,” Shalina Ray, a physician at Manipal Hospitals, HAL Airport Road, said.

Gundappa GNS, a resident of Koramangala 8th Block, said: “We have seen the city develop rapidly. With so many people coming from other states in search of employment, the city has become overcrowded, leaving no option but to construct buildings close to each other.

This results in blockage of ventilation and sunlight.” ayushi.s@iijnm.org

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The Observer Monday, April 9, 2018

CITY

Magrath Road hopes BBMP will save it from cables first

New regulations promise an end to OFC menace Athul M.

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ven as the BBMP plans to penalize violators of its optical fibre cable (OFC) regulations, shopkeepers on Magrath Road, central Bengaluru, hope the crackdown will begin in their area first. Wires dangling from trees and hanging overhead cables are hazards for people using the road.

According to the new BBMP regulations, any government organization that violates the OFC cable regulations will be slapped with a fine of Rs 25 lakh. If the offender is a member of the public, the penalty will be Rs 10 lakh.

Any organization or individual who digs up a road without permission from the authority, or an entity that has taken permission but does not fill up the pit within 96 hours of laying OFC cables, will be penalized.

The civic body’s assistant engineer, OFC, B.C. Bharath informed The Observer: “Yes, the BBMP is going to be very strict with OFC cables from now on.

We imposed various fines for

OFC cables continue to pose great danger on passersby at Magrath Road| Credit: Athul M any breach of the laws in place.

As for the hanging cables on Magrath Road, it’s the responsibility of the contractors in the divisions. In the coming years, the BBMP plans to lay all OFC cables underground. Work is in progress in various parts of the city.”

As reported by The Observer

NGO gives libraries to Bengaluru govt schools Its goal is to make students read G. Manashaa

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fter setting up libraries in government schools in Mandya and Mysuru, Kalisu Foundation, a Mysurubased NGO, has set up two libraries in Bengaluru. The libraries have come up at the Byatarayanapura Government School and St Joseph’s Private School, a government-aided institution.

Nikhilesh, co-founder of Kalisu Foundation, informed The Observer: “The two libraries... are yet to be inaugurated as we were told not to open them until the elections. The reason for setting up libraries in government schools is to ensure that ... kids who study in government schools enjoy the benefits of reading books.”

The libraries will be formally inaugurated on May 25.

“It was shocking to know that fifth-grade children could not differentiate between capital letters and small letters, and seventh-grade children could not read even the first line from their English texts. Our main aim is to make students read.

For us, a library is an environment where children, even if they enter for five minutes, will learn something. It is not about just keeping books in the library.

We are building a library culture in schools, and the system has to be sustainable. We saw the gap between children and reading.

That’s when we came up with the idea of keeping books of all the languages. Usually, schools have Kannada books. Since they have few reference books, we have kept encyclopaedias,” Nikhilesh added.

Principal N Ravindranath of Byatarayanapura school said: “About 3,000 books have been placed in our school library, apart from syllabus books. No one had imagined a government school would have a library.”

Kalisu Foundation works to improve the quality of education in government schools from grades 1 to 7 in Mysuru, impacting more than 6,000 students in 15 government schools through various programmes.

“We saw a lot of positive changes like enrolment in schools increasing. Dropouts decreased, and there was overall development of the child. Reading is a habit that we need to cultivate,” M M Nikhilesh said. manashaa.g@iijnm.org

in its February 8 edition, cables and wires travel from tree to tree on Magrath Road, forming U-like shapes wherever they slump. They make circular loops and are coiled around trees, creating hazards for people and trees.

The wires are a mishmash of electricity, television and tele-

phone cables.

Pedestrians say they have seen sparks emanating from the wires.

According to Sundar Poojari of a paan Shop, “the situation remains the same. Once the rainy season comes, it’s going to get worse”.

Jayanti, customer relations manager, Bescom, informed The Observer: “We are aware of the new regulations of BBMP related to OFC cables. Regarding the OFC cables on Magrath Road, we are still working on it.”

BSNL general manager, Karnataka, Gubbi Ramachandra Ravi said: “All hanging cables of BSNL will soon go underground. Work is happening in phases across the state. Right now, works is under way on the Bengaluru-Mysuru national highway.”

Imran, manager of Delsy India Pvt. Ltd, a shop in the vicinity, said: “Neither the authorities nor our building management has found a solution. It’s a major inconvenience for our customers and pedestrians.”

It seems Magrath Road’s hanging cables will remain a threat to motorists and pedestrians till the time the government agencies fulfill their assurances. athul.m@iijnm.org

Twitterati’s Take on Karnataka Assembly Polls @mac_thimmaiah BJP Blunder Fire brand leader N R Ramesh denied ticket from Chickpet.

N R Ramesh was known from exposing Congress & its scams.

He may quite the party & go independent which means he will break BJP vote bank #KarnatakaElections2018 @dp_satish All big faces fielded again by @ BJP4India in #KarnatakaElections2018 . B S Yeddyurappa, K S Eshwarappa, Jagadish Shettar, R Ashok to contest @MrsGandhi After meticulously planning & plotting communal, divisive strategies & getting the Congress battle-ready, @siddaramaiah himself panicking about where to position himself?? His constituency no longer seems like a safe proposition. #KarnatakaElections2018 @Tall_Dreams The best thing about having elections around the corner are the newly laid roads, that last for a full three weeks. #KarnatakaElections2018 @rose_k01 Karnataka: 6-time MLA and OBC leader Malikayya Guttedar joins #BJP ahead of assembly elections. #KarnatakaElections2018

Healing through dance and music But CMT lacks awareness, training facilities Manikankana Sengupta

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ocusing on healing the mind through movement of the body, Creative Movement Therapy (CMT) is emerging as an alternative to regular therapy.

Devika Mehta, co-founder of Synchrony, a group involved in CMT, informed The Observer: “In the US, it is called Dance Movement Therapy, and in the UK, it is called Dance Movement Psychotherapy. In India, it is generally referred to as CMT, It is about using your body in motion to bring in a creative process. In most psychotherapy counselling sessions the process is based on verbalization.”

There is, however, little awareness about CMT. Few training options are available for dance therapists. Mehta said: “We do not have proper training programs available yet. So what is happening is people are getting to experience only 10% of what CMT has to offer. Gradually, a few people who have been trained abroad are coming back and building more programs. I

Creative Movement Therapy uses dance to treat various mental health issues| Courtsey: Sharmila Mukherjee have realized it is important to build training programs. The interest is there; we have to provide more options.”

Asha Sarella, a dance therapist at the Leela Center for Dance and Movement Therapy in Akshaya Nagar, said: “I got into this field in 2001. I had met a 10-year-old girl called Durga, a special-needs child who refused physiotherapy. She was autistic, had multiple disabilities, delayed speech development and a lot of physical issues. When I started teaching dance, I saw a gradual improvement. Her speech improved, and she showed an overall development. I can’t forget how happy her mother was.”

“When it comes to specialneeds children, it is effective since there is music involved.

You are doing something that

is making you happy and at the same time having a positive effect on the body. That is the main difference between this and regular therapy,Sarella added.

Monica Ganguly, a consultant at the Studio for Movement Arts and Therapies in Ulsoor, said: “We run a one-year program to train people in the skill of expression through expressive arts therapy. It includes dance, drama, theatre, and music.

There is a need for professionals. It is gaining awareness, but not much. A lot of mental health facilities like NIMHANS are now engaging with alternative forms of therapy in combination to therapy and counselling. But they do not have a separate movement therapy department.” manikankana.s@iijnm.org

The Observer Monday, April 9, 2018

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CITY

As Aircel shuts down abruptly, distributors plan to protest No signals, users unable to port out Pracheta Panja

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ircel distributors in Karnataka will stage a protest against the mobile operator shutting down without giving them any prior notice.

Nagrakshan VH, Aircel distributor and owner of Om Sai Communication, told a press conference on Monday: “We did not know anything about the company going bankrupt. We are in deep water.”

There are 150 Aircel distributors in Karnataka.

Vijay Kumar V Nayak, president of Indian Liberal and Revolutionary Citizens of Karnataka, said: “We have given a letter to the state governor regarding this. We are expecting a meeting with him in 3-4 days. If we do not get any response from the government within seven days,

150 Aircel distributors have called for a protest within 7 days if there is no positive response from the government | Credit: Pracheta Panja we will stage a protest in front of Vidhana Soudha.”

Aircel, founded in Tamil Nadu, was a private telecom company that provided 2G, 3G and 4G services. It offered services in 22 circles across India. In December 2017, Aircel, with a subscriber base of nearly 85 million, was the country’s sixth largest mobile service provider.

“After the company became bankrupt, we did not receive any notice from them. On April 4, we received a mail from NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) saying we had to submit all our distributorship documents

by March 28. We tried to contact

This clinic saves ailing and poisoned trees in Bengaluru Pracheta Panja

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esides cutting of trees to widen roads, Bengaluru is contending with a sinister issue: Tree poisoning. A tree clinic has stepped in to save ailing trees and those reported to have been poisoned.

Says urban conservationist Vijay Nishanth, popularly known as Tree Doctor: “The government is not bothered about how the deforestation is hampering the environment. Bengaluru was known for its cool weather, but now it is rapidly changing.

It’s all because of deforestation and urbanization.”

Creator of ‘Project Vruksha’, Nishanth has been a volunteer for the BBMP’s Forest Cell for more than 10 years.

He treats trees suffering from diseases and those affected by poisoning.

Asked how he does this, Nishanth informed The Observer: “People inject poisonous harmful chemicals, especially mercury or sulphuric acid, into big trees so that they die fast. I first clean the infected area, remove the infected wood properly, and put liquid bandage, made with bee wax and orange oil, over it.”

“Last month, we found such cases in Jayanagar.” He added.

His project Vruksha.com is ad-

dressing tree-related problems in Bengaluru.

“We are trying to spread awareness among citizens through various projects since 2002. People are responding quite spontaneously. We are involving CSR (corporate social responsibility) groups to spread awareness. But the government doesn’t seem eager to think about environmental loss. They should take some initiative,” he said. Thirty-six sandalwood trees have been stolen from the Indian Institute of Science campus in the past one year. There have been similar thefts from the premises of other wooded campuses.

Environmentalists complain that people don’t have qualms about chopping trees to make place for parking vehicles.

Suresh Arjuna Jayaram, a BSc student of Karnatak University, said: “A few days ago, my house owner got a big tree chopped for car parking.”

Digangana Mookherjee, a homemaker who lives near Hebbal, said: “I have been here for a long time but did not experience such heat before. I stay in the outskirts of the city where we can still see greenery, but when one enters the city, one sees only high-rises.” pracheta.p@iijnm.org

the NCLT office in Bengaluru, but they asked us to contact in the head office in Gurugram. But they did not respond,” said Nagrakshan, another distributor.

“We just want back the money we invested,” said Dhananjay T.S., another distributor.

Aircel’s problems have left its subscribers, too, in the lurch.

They have no connectivity and are unable to port to other operators. The company’s customer care service is not working and all service centers in Bengaluru are closed.

“Customers are calling us for porting their numbers. We do not have any answer for them,”

said distributor Jagjendra J. “I am not getting network for two weeks. I tried to call Aircel customer care many times but no one picked up,” said student Sayani M. “This number is registered with all my important documents and places. If I change my number, I’ll have to change it everywhere which is next to impossible.”

Another Aircel user, Raju L.M., said: “It seems we need not have believed the SMS they sent us to port (to other operators).

Their signals just vanished.”

Arpita Chatterjee, who works for a private company, said: “I used Aircel since it came into operation. Three weeks ago, I have received an SMS saying the rumour about Aircel closing down operations was completely untrue and false. They continued to provide service as usual.

But suddenly their network vanished.” Aircel, with a debt of Rs 15,500 crore, filed for bankruptcy in February. The NCLT has accepted the telecom operator’s petition. pracheta.p@iijnm.org

YMCA’s 34th summer camp to start in city on April 10 Athul M.

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he 34th annual summer camp of YMCA, Bengaluru, will be held from April 10. The theme of the month-long camp is ‘Soar high for excellence’. The camp aims to engage children in useful activities during their summer vacations and bring in them overall growth of body, mind and spirit. The other attractions of the camp are a free health check-up, Talents Day and cultural programmes.

“The camp will provide a platform for students to express their talents. These days when families are becoming smaller and there are fewer grounds in the city for children to play, the importance of such camps rises. We plan to give children training in disciplines like cricket, football and karate. We will identify children from the streets and train them as well,” YMCA general secretary Antony Issac informed a news conference on Monday.The camp will be inaugurated by former Karnataka Ranji Trophy captain and coach for the state’s under19 team Yere Goud at YMCA on April 10.

Camp coordinator A. Malques said: “The camp will happen across different parts of Bengaluru, even in places like Kum-

YMCA volenteers demonstrating the banner of their ‘2018 Summer Camp- soar high for excellence’ to be held between 10 th April 10th May | Credit : Athul M balgodu where we have our branches. We are hiring expert coaches.” YMCA has been conducting annual summer camps for the past 33 years. The camps aim at overall development of children to make them responsible citizens. athul.m@iijnm.org

Free voice camp in Bengaluru from April 9 to 13 Rachel Dammala

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r. SR Chandrasekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing will conduct a free voice camp for all professional voice users —teachers, singers, lawyers, call centre professionals and politicians – on its campus from April 9 to 13.

Dr Anita Reddy, counsellor and professor at the institute, said at a press conference here on Monday: “We want people to understand the importance of voice and encourage them to have advanced vocal hygiene.”

Researchers believe that voice is an important ability and people often misuse it by smoking, shouting and using poor voice techniques. This year, they have decided to help spread awareness on vocal health and care around the world these camps.

World Voice Day was first observed in Brazil as Brazilian Voice Day to understand the importance of the phenomenon of voice. The concept spread in 2012. World Voice Day is observed on April 16. dammala.r@iijnm.org

NEWS IN BRIEF

National: A special Central Bureau of Investigation court has issued non-bailable warrants against diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, accused in the PNB fraud case.

International: A 5.6-magnitude quake hits western Japan early on Monday, injuring five persons and damaging buildings and roads.

Karnataka: The Bharatiya Janata Party has released the names of 72 candidates in its first list of candidates for the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections.

Business: Global advisory firm Swiss Aviation Consulting has expressed interest in acquiring Air India, says a senior official in the ministry of civil aviation.

Sports: Manika Batra won a gold medal in table tennis, beating four-time gold medallist Tainwei Feng of Singapore 3-1 in the final of the women’s team event at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

The Observer Team Editor: Manikankana Sengupta Desk: Ayushi Singh, Rayan Mitra Reporters: Athul M., Manashaa G, Rachel Dammala, Pracheta Panja

Polls

The Observer

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

Monday, April 9, 2018

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A Big-Bang Election Simultaneous elections will not only change the way India votes but the way citizens think of themselves, says Saket Tiwari

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hey say that no sooner is a US president elected to office than he starts his campaign for re-election. But being in a perpetual election mode is even truer of politics in India.

The endless cycle of general elections followed by a long string of state elections, which average five elections a year, before the next general election arrives, is exhausting, time consuming and incredibly expensive.

One solution, of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislatures, has been proffered many a time but has found few takers. But prime-minister Narendra Modi’s strong support for the idea and its endorsement by president Ram Nath Kovind in his Republic Day speech, has lent new urgency to the cause.

Kovind’s comment that “frequent elections adversely impact the economy and development,” can hardly disputed. Not only is decision making put on hold in the run up to an election under election law, the prospects of facing the electorate tends always to weigh heavily on decision makers. The president’s remarks represent a critique of Indian politics as currently practiced and the debased state of Indian democracy.

But, most politicians, are opposed to the idea. They say it is not feasible for a multiplicity of reasons.

But first the supporters:

Keshav Upadhya Spokesman, Bhartiya Janata Party, Mumbai

state to another state will be stopped or once in five years only.

Also, when elections are scattered, for the Union government it is very tough to run the government in centre and state in which legislature election is happening.

People out there are against the initiative because they think that simultaneous election will influence voters and they will tend to vote for the same party on state and centre but, in 1999 when Maharashtra had its state elections and it has coincided with Lok Sabha elections, people had chosen BJP as central government and Congress for Maharashtra.

So, the whole point is people are aware and they know how to select and who can make a right form of government. Also, there is a formula for government to dissolve the state assemblies and the new one will govern the rest of the time period remaining.

and elections need various preparations, we need force, staff who conduct the elections, various technical staff for handling the elections.

So, this is not a practical thing that our prime minister has started talking about. The central government is doing so to achieve success in coming election in Rajasthan, M.P and other places.

If he actually wants it then ask him to dissolve his own governments in most of the states and conduct elections again.

Nawab Malik

K. Kartikeyan

Nawab Malik

M. U. Anbalagan

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Vellore

Spokesman, Nationalist Congress Party, Mumbai

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trichy

I think the election should be simultaneous because it will save time, money, and create a continuous workload for the entire concerned department in the country.

And I would like to emphasize one point that simultaneous election will create a scenario where media cannot be biased in any kind.

For example, this time two election in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were held in a one-time frame but only the Gujarat election got high media coverage.

What could be the reason? The answer is still unknown to us.

The practice is not possible even if it is introduced by President

Indian election council does not have this kind of rules, so clearly

Sachin Sawant Spokesman, Indian National Congress, Mumbai

Keshav Upadhyay The first positive thing that will happen with the simultaneous election is that we will save a lot of money, which we spend unnecessarily on elections every year on various elections in different states. Diversion of the top-class official during elections from one

Sachin Sawant

Ram Nath Kovind, because India has a large area to cover and also our central government is just setting a stage for upcoming elections in various states.

This is total ignorance by the government of India towards the present situation of Indian politics.

They know how to create a sense of something new and then who is going to focus on what they have said? This is the worst phase of Indian democracy where anybody is saying anything without any research or background reports.

First of all, implementing this is not productive in any way or cannot be imposed over Indian politics because of several reasons.

Let’s assume that in India simultaneous elections held. What if the governments of states are in their mid-term and just got started? I am just saying that true- is not to just say anything and create a mess but, to research even before uttering a word.

Indian democracy is very huge

it is a violation of the rule in first place. I personally don’t like this idea because it will be very difficult for the police, election commission, people, and other staff involved in conducting the election.

I think if it happens in future then it will be a good time period for anti-national people to do all sort of dangerous activities and nobody focus on them because the whole country will be busy.

M Nagaraj Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Tiruppur The simultaneous election is a bad idea and will create a mess all over the country because the issues related to states are totally different from central government.

If the elections are held together, then the local politician will face problem in terms of their agendas and also in conducting rallies. Citizen of our country will also be confused in voting, because it is obvious according to human nature they will feel scattered and feel difficulty to choose.

Pros & Cons Advantages:• e cost of holding elections will be reduced. ere will be a huge saving on expenditure as every state election requires the election commission to devise a new poll budget and find resources to fund it. Simultaneous elections will require just one planning and budgetary exercise once in five years.

• e Model Code of Conduct imposed in the run up to elections disrupts government functioning. Under simultaneous elections, it will be necessary only once in five years and allow government to function smoothly.

• It will promote national integration as people will appreciate the distinct roles of the states and the union in governing India, understand their dual responsibilities and vote for the best people to perform each role.

• It would strengthen federalism because when the entire nation goes to the polls once every five years, it would act as a disincentive for the centre to dissolve state assemblies on frivolous grounds and misuse its power to impose President’s Rule under Article 356 of the constitution.

Disadvantages:• Election expenditure is already very high and is a major reason for the generation of unaccounted money by the political parties. Simultaneous elections will make campaigns even costlier as they will require national parties to canvass in multiple constituencies

at the same time, requiring greater transportation and logistical outlays.

• It will create logistical problems for the electoral machinery, particularly the security services, which are already stretched when conducting even a single poll in a large state like Uttar Pradesh.

• It will undermine India’s federal structure by reducing the importance of the states relative to that of the Union.

• It will ignore the diversity of the country as simultaneous elections will overemphasis national issues to the detriment of local and state related issues.