Former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar on Friday appealed to the Union government and all political parties to defer all elections in the country for one year or until such time when the pandemic can be controlled.
He made the suggestion a day after the Election Commission of India postponed the coming bye-elections in the wake of the COVID-19 surge.
The Congress, however, so far not made any formal statement in this regard.
“It is, therefore, only right that the election commission has deferred the upcoming bye-elections in the country. In the same spirit, Govt and political parties should accept and facilitate a deferment of all elections at different levels across the country for a period of atleast one year or till such time that the pandemic is brought under control ,whichever is earlier,” Mr. Kumar said in a statement.
An early announcement would enable political parties and their members to unitedly combat the unrelenting virus. “This is a legitimate expectation of the people reeling under an unprecedented humanitarian crisis...A limited postponement of elections in response to a grave emergency is not a denial of accountability or denting of democracy . It will be a reaffirmation of the view that peoples’ welfare is at the heart of democracy and is its defining purpose,” he said.
