PM Narendra Modi proposes simultaneous Lok Sabha, Assembly polls

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday underlined the need for simultaneous general and state elections to spare the country from bracing for polls "throughout the year" which, he said, also interfered with decisions because of the model code of conduct that kicks in. Modi said his government was exploring the "option" of holding "Assembly and Lok Sabha elections... simultaneously" and had got support from some Opposition leaders, but didn't name any. "Earlier, we used to face the electorate once in five years," Modi said while delivering his valedictory address at the three-day all India joint conference of chief justices of high courts and chief ministers. "But these days, at times, we even face the electorate three-four times in five years due to frequent elections." The Prime Minister said conducting Lok Sabha and Assembly elections separately consumes quite a lot of time. "For 40-50 days, the decision-making process in the government is stalled in different parts of the country due to the model code of conduct," he said, adding that in "recent days, some Opposition leaders also met me and broached the subject". "They asked me to find a solution. One option is that Assembly and Lok Sabha elections can be held simultaneously, so that certain difficulties faced due to the elections throughout the year are overcome. These are some of the issues which are also facing the country and we need to find solutions...," Modi told the gathering. Modi's comments come at a time five states, including Bengal, are in the process of electing a new government. While several states voted last year, some, including Uttar Pradesh, would go to the polls next year. The next Lok Sabha elections are due in 2019. Live: Budget session resumes in Parliament While the Prime Minister's views are fodder for experts, the question is whether a country of 23.1 million voters can hold peaceful simultaneous polls, given the violence and malpractices that often mar elections, as Bengal has been witnessing despite the multi-phase vote. The Prime Minister's "off-the-cuff" remark came after Chief Justice of India (CJI) T.S. Thakur had ripped into the bureaucracy for not providing adequate infrastructure to the judiciary. Modi, who heard with rapt attention Justice Thakur's 40-minute address in English and rose to shake hands with him, responded in Hindi for a little over nine minutes without giving any categorical assurance on the issues raised. But he said he would look into them. On the CJI's assertion that India needed at least 40,357 judges - over five times more than the current strength of 7,675 - to deal with around three crore pending cases, Modi said a panel of representatives from the government and the judiciary could thrash out a solution. Also Read: Uttarakhand issue, Ishrat case set stage for battle in Parliament "There must be some strong reasons and difficulties for this situation. But we will strive to do our best to reduce the burden and move forward," Modi said. The Prime Minister called for "simple and lucid" laws, referring to a time when one general physician in a village dealt with health problems of each and every resident to make his point. Modi said things had changed a lot. "You have separate doctors for eyes, legs, heart and different organs of your body. Similarly, it is a matter of concern that we have so many problems in law... right from the stage of drafting till enactment and interpretation of law. Laws should be simple and lucid to avoid difficulties. We have innumerable laws in the country," he said and recalled his government's efforts to eliminate as many as 1,700 archaic laws. The Prime Minister was, however, all praise for the judiciary, saying the common man had absolute faith in courts. Modi said he was a regular visitor to joint conferences like the ongoing one when he was Gujarat's chief minister. He then added in a lighter vein that he had once been hauled up by judges after he spoke about the need for increasing the working hours of courts and reducing holidays. "After I made the speech some judges got hold of me and asked me 'What are you thinking of yourself?' Immediately I thought I am in danger. Since then I got scared of judges," he said to guffaws.