If festivals can be celebrated simultaneously, why not election: BJP leader

Batting for the 'one nation, one election' proposal, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Tuesday asked if festivals like Diwali can be celebrated at the same time across the country, why can not there be simultaneous polls.

He was replying to the question whether it was practically possible to hold simultaneous elections in view of different weather conditions in different parts of the country.

"We celebrate Diwali together across the country. The festivals of Christmas and Eid are also celebrated together all over the country....so why can not we celebrate the election-day together, he said.

The BJP leader termed the Congress's 'Jan Akrosh Yatra' outreach campaign as an "apology yatra" ahead of the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh that are due in November.

The previous Congress government led by Kamal Nath did not fulfil the promises made to farmers, milk producers, the unemployed youth and teachers, he claimed.

Calling the bill reserving a quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, introduced by the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day, as historic, Vijayvargiya said, "By introducing this bill, prime minister Modi's government has given a strong reply to those who only talked about women's empowerment."

On Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's statement that the bill was "our (Congress's) own", he said the Congress always tries to hog credit fraudulently.

"Once upon a time, the Congress gave the slogan 'Garibi Hatao' to win elections, but did it reduce poverty?" he asked.

Asked about senior BJP leader Uma Bharti expressing disappointment over the lack of quota for OBC women in the reservation for women, Vijayvargiya refused to comment, saying he was not fully aware of her statement.