A proposal to hold simultaneous federal and state elections – the contentious ‘one nation, one poll’ proposal – is a long-pending piece of electoral reform and will not damage or tamper with the Constitution, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Lok Sabha Tuesday afternoon.
“Laws can be brought in for electoral reforms… this bill is aligned with the process of easing the electoral process, which will be synchronised. There will be no damage to the Constitution via this Bill. There will be no tampering with the basic structure of the Constitution,” Mr Meghwal said.
“We are not tampering with the powers of the states,” he asserted, after which he proposed that the bill be sent to a joint parliamentary committee – as was expected – for wider consultation.
Sources last night told NDTV this would happen, and that the constitution of this committee will be finalised by the end of the day. The ruling BJP, as the single largest party in the House, will hold the maximum number of seats and also lead this committee. Opposition MPs will be nominated based on the strength of their respective parties.
The Law Minister’s response followed a furious pushback from the opposition after the bill – which seeks to amend the Constitution to permit simultaneous central and state elections – was tabled.
The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was swiftly slammed as “beyond the House’s legislative competence”, “the path to dictatorship”, and an assault on the federal nature of the Indian republic.
The fracas began in the post-noon session after Mr Meghwal introduced the bill.
The Congress’ Chandigarh MP, Manish Tewari, led the opposition’s charge, denouncing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s flagship ‘one nation, one poll’ push as a violation of the principles of the Constitution – on which the Lok Sabha held a bitterly-charged and vociferous debate last week.
“Article 1 of the Constitution says ‘… India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States, affirming its federal character’. This bill, which proposes simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, directly challenges this federal framework by imposing uniformity across states,” Mr Tewari said, outlining the first of his party’s three objections.
He also pointed out the proposal to hold simultaneous polls would impact the basic structure of the Constitution – a charge that has been levied by all opposing political parties – and, consequently, “undermines the authority of elected state governments, weakens grassroots democracy, and encroaches on the autonomy of local governance”.
