Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi said that opposition members will continue to oppose the bill as “it is against the federalism of our nation”. The constitutional amendment bills for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously were introduced in the Parliament on Tuesday, with the opposition leaders heavily criticising the bill.
After the ‘Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024’ and ‘The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024’ was formally introduced, the bill was sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for a detailed discussion. As 269 MPs votes in favour of the bill, 198 members pushed against it. Moving in the Parliament premises, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi told reporters that the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill is “anti-constitutional”, adding that “it is against the federalism of our nation. We are opposing the Bill”.
Priyanka’s party colleague Shashi Tharoor said that other than the opposition from the parties, there is also a valid question of depriving people of their mandate. “They have the right to vote. The Constitution begins with the words ‘we the people’. This is about the people of India. They should have the right to determine who forms their government and imagine a situation where one government has to fall because another government falls because of an arbitrary deadline,” the Congress MP. Tharoor said that the entire bill “does not make any sense”. “In a parliamentary system, there is no way that you can have fixed terms without completely playing havoc with our democracy…Let the JPC have a detailed discussion,” Tharoor added.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said the central government’s move on simultaneous polls was an attempt to divert attention from issues plaguing the country. Further, Thackeray demanded a transparent election process before enforcing the ‘One Nation One Election’ proposal. Opposition leaders said that the bill was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attempt to bring in ‘dictatorship’ in the country. Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee also attacked the saffron party over the ONOE bill, claiming it to be an “unashamed” attack on the nation’s democracy. The TMC general secretary said that the bill for simultaneous polls will “rob the people of their fundamental right to vote regularly.” “The BJP’s brazen attempt to introduce a constitutional amendment bill today, while the constitution debate is still underway in Parliament, is nothing short of an unashamed attack on democracy. The One Nation One Election bill seeks to rob the people of their fundamental right to vote regularly,” Banerjee wrote in his X post.
Banerjee said that voting right is the power that holds the government accountable and prevents abuse of power, claiming that the ONOE bill is “rather a direct assault on the very foundation of India’s democracy”. “A right that holds governments accountable and prevents unchecked power. This is not just a bill; rather, it is a direct assault on the very foundation of our democracy built through the sacrifices of our founding fathers,” he added.
Union law and justice minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved to introduce the Constitution (129 Amendment Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, paving the way for the Lok Sabha and state elections to be held simultaneously.
