Narsimpur (Madhya Pradesh): Favouring simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today (Mar 21, 2004) accused previous Congress Governments of misusing Article 356 to force too many elections on the people.

"The first three elections were held simultaneously, but due to the misuse of Article 356 by Congress, this pattern was broken and separate elections were held," Advani told a press conference on the 12th day of his 'Bharat Uday Yatra'.

"This is a burden not only in terms of resources but also affects governance and decision-making. I will be happy if there is a consensus on holding simultaneous Parliamentary and Assembly elections in the country," he said.

On the Ram temple issue, Advani said that only a negotiated settlement could provide a lasting solution, as even a court verdict would not be "enduring".

"We made a lot of progress during the talks. I am confident the matter will be resolved shortly after the elections," he said.

"There were suggestions that we do it before the polls but we do not want to link it with elections."