Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 1 (HBTV): The Uttar Pradesh government's procurement of wheat crossed 1 lakh tonne in the first week of April this year, according to officials. A total of 20,409 farmers have sold wheat at 5,780 purchase centres so far.

Officials stated that registered farmers can sell up to 100 quintals of wheat without verification. In compliance with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's directive, the purchase centres remain open during holidays.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Chief Minister inaugurated the All India Police Handball Cluster 2024–25 in Lucknow, highlighting the role of sports in daily life.

Addressing the participants and officials, CM Yogi expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for selecting Uttar Pradesh as the host for the national-level tournament.

‘I am delighted that for the next four days, the All India Police Handball Cluster will take place in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 75 teams are participating in the event,’ he said.

He added, ‘I thank the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister for selecting Uttar Pradesh to host this tournament.’

The Chief Minister also reiterated his demand for ‘One Nation, One Election’, stating that frequent elections create instability and hinder national development.

Addressing the state-level conference on the One Nation, One Election campaign, Chief Minister Adityanath said, ‘Frequent elections in democracy put unnecessary pressure on the public, create political instability, hinder the possibilities of development in the country, and encourage corruption in public life.’

He emphasised that political stability is essential for peace, security, and development, and therefore, frequent elections should be avoided.

‘Political stability is the first condition for peace, the first condition for security, and the first condition for development. For that political stability, there should not be frequent elections,’ he said.

He further remarked that frequent elections negatively impact GDP and halt economic growth, benefiting only anti-democratic forces.

‘Frequent elections impact the GDP and halt the growth rate. They act as a barrier to ongoing development projects and reduce the appeal of elections among people. No party benefits from this, except the anti-democratic elements who want to create political instability,’ he said.

The Chief Minister asserted that repeated elections diminish public interest in the democratic process.

‘In a democracy, elections and people choosing a public representative of their choice are considered a democratic right. For this right, the proper functioning of democracy is essential. But when elections take place every six months, every year, the appeal for elections disappears,’ he said.

(ANI)