ONOE will boost GDP by 1.5%, political lies will fall flat, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

CHENNAI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday claimed that the Centre's proposal of implementing One Nation One Election (ONOE) will increase the country's GDP by 1.5%.

"This 1.5% raise in GDP through ONOE will fetch Rs 4.5 lakh crore to the country's economy," she said at a function organised at a private college here. "If the country's economy gets strengthened, all sections of the people will benefit", she said.

Stating that more than 1 lakh crore has been spent for the conduct of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the minister said however, if ONOE will be put in place, over Rs 12,000 crore could be saved. "This could be used for people's welfare measures", she added.

She pointed out that during the last general elections, more than ten lakh security personnel were deployed for poll-related duties besides appointing 25 lakh administrative staff.

Slamming opposition parties for a ‘false campaign’ about ONOE implementation, Nirmala Sitharaman said that it not come into force in the upcoming elections. "It is a long process and the matter would go to President's approval only in 2029", she said adding that "the state Assembly elections will be first aligned with general elections.”

Recalling the series of all-party meetings conducted for the implementation of ONOE, the minister pointed out that of the 47 political parties which attended the meeting, 15 had opposed it. "The political parties which agreed to ONOE include BJP, AIADMK, Shivsena, PMK and Tamil Maanila Congress", she said. DMK, CPM, MDMK, and VCK opposed it, she added.

Claiming that even late DMK leader and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi also supported the ONOE at one point of time, the minister said "he (Karunanidhi) also wrote about it in his autobiography". She also questioned Chief Minister MK Stalin that why he is not following the footsteps of his father and opposing ONOE.

The Union minister also claimed that if the Assembly elections and general polls were conducted separately, the model code of conduct would be put in place. "Therefore, if the State government wants to implement people welfare measures, it could not be executed in time", she said. Concluding that the ONOE is not a "pet project" of anyone, Nirmala Sitharaman said the political parties should not blindly oppose it.