Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal presented the One Nation, One Election Bill to the Lok Sabha today. The bill aims to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies across the country.
It is anticipated that Meghwal will ask Om Birla, the speaker of the Lok Sabha, to send it to a Joint Committee of Parliament for further discussions. The strength of the MPs from political parties will determine the pro rata formation of a joint panel during this process. Nonetheless, the largest party, the BJP, is anticipated to hold several member posts as well as the chairmanship. The makeup of the committee will subsequently be revealed by night today, according to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept has been fervently supported by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government, who have declared that it will “strengthen democracy” by lowering the number of elections. They contend that holding elections at the same time will save money, time, and effort and free up governments to concentrate on governance rather than perpetual election mode.
Prime Minister Modi has emphasized the lessons the nation acquired from the Emergency era (1975–77), during which the Fifth Lok Sabha’s term was prolonged under Article 352. “That period showed the importance of the separation of powers. The Constitution strengthened checks and balances among the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary, helping democracy evolve,” he said.
Congress MP Manish Tiwari has said that this bill will lead to centralism. Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has also opposed the bill. Similar criticism came from Samajwadi Party. MP Dharmendra Yadav has further said, ’I oppose the bill, BJP is tyrannical, why should people of the states suffer. ONOP is anti-constitutional, anti-Muslim and anti-democratic.’ TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee has said, “This proposed bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution.
