One Nation, One Election Bill was tabled in Lok Sabha by Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday. The Bill was however immediately opposed by Congress' Manish Tewari, who said the proposal was "beyond the legislative competence of this House" and demanded that it should be withdrawn.
Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav also opposed it and said, "I agree with Manish ji. The makers of the Constitution prepared the federal structure. Those who are unable to hold eight assemblies together talk about One Nation One Election. I strongly oppose this bill." The proposed bill will require a simple majority for passage in both the Houses. The government is keen on holding wider consultations on the bills and may send them to a parliamentary committee.
Two draft legislations, including one simple bill to amend provisions in laws dealing with three Union territories with legislative assemblies to align them with the Constitution amendment bill, were given the nod by the Cabinet. The proposed constitutional amendment bill would deal with making provisions for holding Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections together.
While a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous polls had also proposed holding the municipality and panchayat elections along with the national and state elections in a phased manner, the Cabinet has decided to stay away, "as of now", from the manner in which local body elections are conducted, the sources said.
BJP's manifesto
The BJP's manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls had included its commitment to the idea. Though BJP's allies such as the TDP, Janata Dal (United), and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), all of whom are represented in the Union Cabinet, are supporting the concept, the National Democratic Alliance will need backing from some of the members of the opposition INDIA alliance besides fence-sitters to ensure the passage of the constitutional amendment bill requiring support from two-thirds of the members in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The NDA's current strength in Lok Sabha, which currently has 542 members and one vacancy, is around 293 against the two-third mark of 361. The INDIA bloc enjoys support of nearly 235 MPs. In Rajya Sabha, the ruling alliance has nearly 122 members, a tally which is set to rise after the ongoing process to fill vacancies are over. The Upper House' sanctioned strength is 243.
