ONI Bureau: As the Budget Session of Parliament began, President of India Ram Nath Kovind addressed the joint sitting of both the Houses today.
The President strongly endorsed the need to conduct simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies as frequent elections creates disruption in governance due to promulgation of Model Code of Conduct which affects development work and increase expenses.
President stressed that frequent elections not only impose burden on human resources but also impede development process. Therefore, a sustained debate is required on the subject and all political parties need to arrive at a consensus on this, Kovind stated.