Amid Opposition uproar, the Union government on Tuesday introduced two bills related to “one nation, one election” in the Lok Sabha after a division of votes and they were sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed discussions.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024′ and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were introduced by Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lok Sabha after members voted on it.
The first Bill is on the simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies and the second is on aligning the elections for Assemblies in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry.
However, the bills evoked sharp criticism from the Opposition, who say that not only they (the bills) target the basic structure of the Constitution but also pose a threat to country’s federal structure and aim to centralise power.
The Opposition had sought a division of votes over the introduction of the bills.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the result of the vote on the introduction of the bills. The vote showed 269 members in favour (Ayes) and 196 against (Noes).
This followed Meghwal’s formal introduction of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, on ‘one nation, one election’ and his agreement to send the bill to a JPC in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Shah said, “When the One Nation, One Election Bill was taken up in the Cabinet for approval, PM Modi had said that it should be sent to the JPC for detailed discussion. If the Law Minister is willing to send the bill to JPC, the discussion on its introduction can end.”
Meghwal also introduced a bill to amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, as per the day’s schedule. These amendments aim to align assembly elections in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry with the proposed simultaneous elections.
Opposing the bills, Congress MP Manish Tewari ,said, “Beyond the seventh schedule of the Constitution is the basic structure doctrine, which spells out that there are certain features of the Constitution beyond the amending power of the House. The essential features are federalism and the structure of our democracy. Therefore, the bills moved by the Minister of Law and Justice are an absolute assault on the basic structure of the Constitution and are beyond the legislative competence of the House.”
Echoing the same views, DMK MP TR Baalu also opposed it, stating, “I oppose the 129th Constitution Amendment Bill, 2024. As my leader MK Stalin has said, it is anti-federal. The electors have the right to elect the government for five years, and this right cannot be curtailed with simultaneous elections.”
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav, expressing sentiments expressed by other INDIA bloc members, said, “I am standing to oppose the 129th Amendment Act of the Constitution. I cannot understand how, just two days ago, no stone was left unturned to uphold the glorious tradition of saving the Constitution. Within two days, this Constitution Amendment Bill has been brought to undermine the basic spirit and structure of the Constitution. I agree with Manish Tewari, and on behalf of my party and my leader Akhilesh Yadav, I have no hesitation in saying that there was no one more learned than the makers of our Constitution at that time. Even in this House, there is no one more learned. I have no hesitation in saying this.”
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “This proposed bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution itself and if any bill affects the basic structure of the Constitution, it is ultra vires. We must remember that the state government and the state legislative assembly are not subordinate to the central government or to Parliament. This Parliament has the power to legislate law under the Seventh Schedule, List One and List Three. Similarly, the state assembly has the power to legislate law under the Seventh Schedule, List Two and also List Three. Therefore, by this process, the autonomy of the state legislative assembly is being taken away.”
The bills that pave the way for unified polls across the nation have been on the ruling BJP’s agenda for quite some time now. Once passed in the Parliament, the Lok sabha, the assembly and the Local body (urban or rural) elections will be held in the same year, if not at the same time. In fact, the first step is to hold Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together while local body polls will be held within 100 days, the panel recommended. If the Bill gets passed without any changes, the ‘One Nation,One Election’ initiative could be implemented from 2034.