Prez Murmu backs 1 nation, 1 poll; hails new criminal laws

President Droupadi Murmu today firmly backed the government’s ambitious one nation, one election agenda and lauded the replacement of colonial-era criminal codes with three new criminal laws.

New Poll plan has several benefits

The ONOE plan can promote consistency in governance, prevent policy paralysis, mitigate resource diversion and reduce financial burden, apart from offering many other benefits. Droupadi Murmu, president

Addressing the nation on the eve of the 76th Republic Day, Murmu flagged the government’s “audacity of vision” in furthering the above reforms and said the decision to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam was the most noteworthy effort towards shedding the colonial markers.

Firmly validating the one nation, one election move of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, the President said the ONOE Bill introduced in Parliament to synchronise election schedules in the country promised to redefine the terms of good governance.

“The ONOE plan can promote consistency in governance, prevent policy paralysis, mitigate resource diversion and reduce financial burden, apart from offering many other benefits,” she said, hailing the government’s engagement with national civilisational heritage by way of the Maha Kumbh and promotion of linguistic diversity.

Murmu specially mentioned the recognition of Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit as classical languages by the government and ongoing efforts to promote research in 11 classical languages. Coming after the winter session of Parliament, which saw bitter clashes between the treasury and opposition sides on the adoption of the 75th anniversary of the Constitution with BR Ambedkar at the centre of the storm, the President’s Address underlined the unifying power of the Constitution.

“The Constitution has become a living document because civic virtues have been part of our moral compass for millennia. It provides the ultimate foundation of our collective identity as Indians; it binds us together as a family. For 75 years now, it has guided the path of our progress,” she said, urging expression of gratitude to Dr BR Ambedkar, who chaired the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, which also featured 15 women.

Murmu’s speech was also dotted with generous praises of the government for policies across economy, welfare, financial inclusion, physical infrastructure, banking reforms and cutting-edge technologies.

Crediting farmers for self-sufficiency in food, Murmu said, “In recent years, the economic growth rate has remained persistently high, creating job opportunities for our youth, putting more money in the hands of farmers and labourers, and also lifting more people out of poverty.”

In her remarks, she spoke of the National Quantum Mission, Genome India Project (genome sequencing of 10,000 Indians has now been made available for further research), Indian Space Research Organisation’s many successes and the stellar performance of Indians in sports, especially D Gukesh, the youngest World Chess Champion.

The President also invoked Mahatma Gandhi to stress the need for rights and duties to go together and hoped for NRIs’ active participation in the making of Viksit Bharat by 2047.