'One Country, One Election' bill introduced in Lok Sabha, opposition opposed the bill, called it unconstitutional, sent it to JPC.

The 'One Nation, One Election' Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. After opposition's opposition, the government has announced to send the bill to JPC. 32 parties had shown their stand in favor of the bill, while 15 parties including Congress had announced their opposition to it. Members of the Congress and several other opposition parties on Tuesday opposed the bill related to holding simultaneous elections in the Lok Sabha, alleging that it is an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution and a step taking the country towards 'dictatorship'. He also said that the bill should be sent to a joint parliamentary committee.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday proposed to introduce the 'Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024' and the related 'Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024', providing for simultaneous holding of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the country. Placed in the lower house of the Parliament for. Opposing the bill, Congress leader Manish Tewari said there are fundamental aspects of the Constitution which are beyond the jurisdiction of this House to amend. He said that this bill is an attack on basic infrastructure and is beyond the legislative jurisdiction of this House.

He said that India is a union of states and hence this attempt at centralization is completely anti-constitutional. He urged that this bill should be withdrawn. Opposing the bill, Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav said that two days ago the ruling party took big vows during the discussion on the Constitution and now within two days it has brought this bill to destroy the basic structure and federal structure of the Constitution. Are. He claimed, “This is an attempt to destroy the basic spirit of the Constitution and a step towards dictatorship.”

The Samajwadi Party member sarcastically said that those who are not able to hold simultaneous elections for the Assemblies of two states are talking about holding simultaneous elections in the entire country. Yadav said that this bill should be withdrawn. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said that this proposed bill is an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution and is an 'alta virus'. He claimed that this bill cannot be accepted. Banerjee said that there is a need to understand that state assemblies are not subordinate to the Center and Parliament.

He said that just as the Parliament has the right to make laws, similarly the Assemblies also have the right to make laws. The Trinamool Congress MP said that this is an attempt to snatch the autonomy of the state assemblies. Taking a jibe at the BJP, she said that no party will remain in power forever, one day there will be a change in power. Banerjee said, “This is not an electoral reform, it has been brought to fulfill the ambitions and dreams of an individual.” '

DMK leader TR Baalu ​​asked that when the government does not have two-thirds majority, then how did you give permission to bring this bill? On this, Birla said, “I do not give permission, the House gives permission.” Baalu ​​said, “I urge the government to send this bill to the JPC and after detailed deliberations, it should be sent to the House.” IUML leader ET Mohammad Bashir opposed the bill, saying it was an attempt to attack democracy, the Constitution and federalism.

Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) MP Anil Desai also opposed the bill and said that this bill is a direct attack on federalism and an attempt to undermine the existence of the states. He said that the functioning of the Election Commission should also be investigated and This has become necessary in view of what happened in the Maharashtra assembly elections. Gaurav Gogoi, deputy leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, said that both these bills are an attack on the Constitution and the right of citizens to vote. He said that the limits of the Election Commission are prescribed in Article 324 and now it is being given immense power. Gogoi said that this bill will give unconstitutional power to the Election Commission.

The 'One Nation, One Election' Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The opposition strongly opposed this bill. In view of this, the government has decided to send the bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. The Union Cabinet had approved this bill on 12 December. Due to the tussle, the 'One Country One Election' bill, like the Waqf Amendment Bill, is also going to the JPC. Let us take a look at which parties in Parliament announced their support and which opposed this bill.

BJP and its allies are in support of this bill. Some non-NDA parties like Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress also support this bill. On the other hand, many opposition parties like Congress, Trinamool Congress and DMK are opposing it. A total of 32 political parties are supporting this bill, while 15 parties are opposing it. Regarding the introduction of the bill, the opposition demanded division of votes, after which voting took place. 269 ​​votes were cast in favor of tabling the bill while 198 votes were cast against it. Now the formalities of sending the bill to JPC in the House will be completed.

Earlier, Congress MP and senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in an interview to Indian Express, said that first of all, one nation, one election is a superficially attractive concept, especially for the drawing rooms and the talking classes. It appeals to our sense of order, uniformity, discipline and clockwork timing. But you cannot artificially impose such concepts on underlying basic principles like will of the people, democratic mandate etc.

The core of the Bill is the provision that if the tenure of a State or Parliamentary Assembly expires before five years, the newly elected entity after the mid-term elections shall not continue for a further five years, but on the expiry of the remaining term of the previous Assembly. It will be considered finished.

This artificial coordination is a clear threat and violation of the autonomy and existence of regional parties and directly undermines federalism, which was recognized by the Supreme Court in the Bommai case in the 1990s.

There is no evidence that there is the required two-thirds majority in Parliament or at the state level. It is necessary cumulatively as it affects the rights of the States and the legislatures. The initiative will face massive opposition from various political quarters, including many so-called BJP allies and several sections of civil society.

In fact, in the report of the high-level committee headed by former President Ramnath Kovind, it has been proposed to include a new provision, Article 82A (1), which states that the President shall, in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the general elections, “on the appointed date Will notify. It is also proposed to include Article 82A(2), which states that after the “appointed date” the tenure of the elected State Assemblies will be reduced to align with the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha.

This would mean that if the Bills are passed without amendments, the “due date” will be notified only during the first sitting of the Lok Sabha to be elected in 2029, as the first sitting of the Lok Sabha elected this year has already passed. The full tenure of the next Lok Sabha will be till 2034.

A high-level committee headed by Kovind had recommended holding simultaneous elections. The Union Cabinet had accepted these recommendations in September. The committee had recommended holding elections simultaneously in two phases. In the first phase, it was recommended to hold Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously. Local body elections (Panchayat and Municipality) were said to be held within 100 days of the general elections. The committee had also recommended making a uniform voter list for all elections.