President Ram Nath Kovind pitches for simultaneous elections, early passage of triple talaq bill

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday said the Union government believes in “empowering and not appeasing the minorities”.

Kovind hoped that Parliament would soon pass the instant ‘triple talaq’ bill, and also called for more public debate on holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

During his maiden address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Monday, Kovind focused on the reforms undertaken by the government for women and farmers in the last four years.


On simultaneous polls, Kovind said there is concern among people sensitive to governance about “the adverse impact of elections being held in one or the other part of the country”.

“Frequent elections not only entail more burden on human resources, imposition of model code also impedes the development process,” Kovind said.

Kovind said Aadhaar has helped the government eliminate middlemen and save over Rs 57,000 crore. “Aadhaar has helped in securing the rights of the poor by eliminating middlemen. At present, digital payments are being carried out in more than 400 schemes of the government,” he added.

He also added that the ‘BHIM’ application, launched by the government, is promoting digital transactions.

The President said 2,70,000 common service centres have been set up to provide low-cost digital services, even in the remotest areas of the country. On instant talaq bill, Kovind said: “For decades, the dignity of Muslim women has remained captive to political cost-benefit… the country now has the opportunity to emancipate them from this situation.”

He hoped that once enacted, the bill “will enable Muslim sisters and daughters to live a life of self-respect”.