Haridwar-based organisation to host lecture on 'One Nation, One Election' at Maha Kumbh

New Delhi: A Haridwar-based community welfare organisation has lined up a series of seven lectures on diverse themes, including one on the contentious subject of simultaneous polls, at its camp at the Maha Kumbh site in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on January 18.

The first in the series is slated to be held on January 12, a day ahead of the beginning of the mega festival that will run till February 26 in the holy city of Prayagraj.

"A total of seven lectures will be hosted by us at our camp at the Maha Kumbh starting with a lecture on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12. The lecture scheduled for January 18 is titled -- 'One Nation, One Election -- Aarthik Rajnaitik Sudhar Evam Viksit Bharat ke Sandarbh Mein'," an official of Divya Prem Seva Mission told PTI.

The official claimed that an invitation has been sent to former president Ram Nath Kovind, with a request to visit the camp and deliver the lecture on January 18.

Earlier in September 2023, a high-level committee, led by Kovind, was set up with a mandate to examine and make recommendations at the earliest on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.

The first meeting of a parliamentary panel scrutinising the two bills on conducting simultaneous polls was held on January 8, with the opposition members criticising the concept as an attack on the basic fabric of the Constitution and federalism, and the BJP MPs hailing it as reflective of popular opinion.

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill were introduced in the Lok Sabha during the recent Winter Session and referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee.

The official of Haridwar-based Divya Prem Seva Mission said the lecture series is starting on January 12 and the topic for the first lecture is 'Swami Vivekananda -- Sanatan Dharm ki Vaishvik Drishti'.

"The second one will take place at our camp on January 17 and the title is -- 'Bharat ki Gaurav Gatha banam Atmahinta ki Bhavna'. And the third one will be on January 18 on 'One Nation, One Election', followed by four more lectures, the last one being on February 6," he added.

The topics for other lectures are global terrorism, integrity of India and its challenges, gender equality and women empowerment in Indian context, and privacy and safety on social media from the perspective of youth.

Divya Prem Seva Mission was set up as a philanthropic organisation 29 years ago and it has participated in all Kumbh melas since 2001, the official said.

"We began our journey by lending service to the lepers, who were discarded by their families. Unfortunately, lepers are still facing ostracism from society and our Vande Mataram Kunj in Haridwar is a dedicated centre for their stay and care," he added.

The Mission is raising awareness even at the ongoing camp in Prayagraj about this discrimination faced by a section of the society and the steps being taken to curb it.

"A video is played at our camp and before starting of lectures also we will play the video detailing about the work done by our organisation in these nearly three decades and particularly our work for those afflicted with leprosy and their dependents who also face ostracism largely," the official said.

The main office of Divya Prem Seva Mission in Haridwar is called 'Sewa Kunj'.