Congress’ “Two-Thirds Majority” Jab At BJP Over ‘One Nation, One Poll’

Congress’ “Two-Thirds Majority” Jab At BJP Over ‘One Nation, One Poll’


New Delhi:

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday held a division vote to introduce two payments to amend the Constitution and allow simultaneous federal and state polls, as a part of the ruling BJP’s ‘one nation, one election’ push.

The payments have been handed by easy majority, as required by the rulebook; 269 MPs voted in favour and 198 opposed it. However, the margin was flagged by critics of the ‘one nation, one election’ invoice, who claimed, vociferously, that it exhibits the federal government lacks assist, even at this stage, to go the payments.

“Two-thirds majority (i.e., 307) was wanted out of the entire 461 votes… however the authorities secured solely (269), whereas the opposition bought 198. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal failed to realize two-thirds assist,” Congress MP Manickam Tagore mentioned on X, with a screenshot of the e-voting system.

Mr Tagore’s colleague, Shashi Tharoor, additionally identified the obvious hole in numbers.

“Undoubtedly the federal government has bigger numbers on its aspect… however to go it (payments to amend the Constitution) you want a 2/3 majority that they very clearly do not have,” he instructed reporters after the House was briefly adjourned, “It is apparent (then) that they need to not persist too lengthy with this…”

According to the principles, these amendments to the Constitution would require the assist of two-third of members current and voting to clear the Lok Sabha. The Congress, utilizing at this time for example, identified that 461 members took half within the vote to introduce the Constitutional Amendment Bill.

If this have been a vote to go the invoice, 307 of these 461 must vote in favour however solely 269 did, prompting the Congress to say, “This invoice doesn’t have assist… many events have spoken in opposition to it.”

For now, the invoice will doubtless be despatched to a joint committee that shall be constituted primarily based on every get together’s Lok Sabha numbers. This will imply the BJP could have the utmost members and lead the committee

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was launched within the Lok Sabha this afternoon by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. The introduction was adopted by scathing assaults from the opposition.

Congress, Opposition Slam ONOP

The Congress’ Manish Tewari, the Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, and TR Baalu from Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led the cost.

The Shiv Sena faction of ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Sharad Pawar, in addition to a bunch of smaller events, together with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Indian Union Muslim League, additionally voiced opposition.

READ | “Not Tampering With State Powers”: Law Minister On ‘ONOP’

The frequent thread amongst critics of the ‘One Nation, One Poll’, or ONOP Bill, was that the simultaneous elections proposal subverts the essential construction of the Constitution and should be withdrawn instantly. Mr Yadav, in the meantime, warned the House, “This is the trail to dictatorship”.

Earlier, Trinamool boss and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee referred to as it “a design to subvert the essential construction of the Constitution and slammed the “anti-federal” train, labelling it “an authoritarian imposition designed to undermine India’s democracy and federal construction”.

READ | “Must Save Democracy”: Mamata Banerjee, Opposition Slam ‘1 Nation, 1 Poll’

Mr Baalu flagged the expenditure simultaneous polls entailed, together with the Election Commission having to spend Rs 10,000 crore on new EVMs, or digital voting machines, each 15 years. “The authorities ought to ship this invoice to the JPC (joint parliamentary committee),” he mentioned.

READ | Rs 10,000 Crore Every 15 Years – Cost Of ‘One Nation, One Poll’

“Unwavering Support” From BJP Allies

Two of the BJP’s allies – Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party and the Sena faction of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – established their backing of the invoice.

“We have seen in Andhra Pradesh (that) when simultaneous elections occur… there may be readability of course of and governance. That has been our expertise and we wish that to occur throughout the nation,” the TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu mentioned, expressing “unwavering assist”.

BJP Responds

Rising to talk after the avalanche of criticism, Mr Meghwal hit again and insisted the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal is a long-pending piece of electoral reform and won’t harm the Constitution.

“Laws could be introduced in for electoral reforms… this invoice is aligned with the method of easing the electoral course of, which shall be synchronised. There shall be no harm to the Constitution through this Bill. There shall be no tampering with the essential construction of the Constitution,” he mentioned.

What Is ‘One Nation, One Election’?

Simply put, it means all Indians will vote in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections – to select central and state representatives – in the identical yr, if not on the similar time.

As of 2024, solely 4 states voted with a Lok Sabha election – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha voted alongside the April-June Lok Sabha election. Three others – Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir – voted in October-November.

NDTV Special | ‘One Nation, One Election’: What Is It And How Will It Work

The relaxation observe a non-synced five-year cycle; Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana, for instance, have been amongst these voted at totally different instances final yr, whereas Delhi and Bihar will vote in 2025 and Tamil Nadu and Bengal are amongst these that can vote in 2026.

Can ‘One Nation, One Election’ Work?

Not with out an modification to the Constitution and that modification being ratified by the governments of all states and union territories, in addition to, probably, main political events.

NDTV Explains | ‘One Nation, One Election’. What Are Pros And Cons?

These are Article 83 (time period of Parliament), Article 85 (dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President), Article 172 (period of state legislatures), and Article 174 (dissolution of state legislatures), in addition to Article 356 (imposition of President’s Rule).

Legal consultants have warned that failure to go such amendments will go away the proposal open to assault on fees of violating India’s federal construction.

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