Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 17: Two constitution amendment bills which will pave the way for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet “One Nation, One Election” (ONOE) proposal, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and were promptly referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for detailed discussions.
The bills the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024′ and ‘The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024,’received support from 269 members and opposed by 198 on divisions demanded by the opposition on the introduction of the bills, clearly showing that the ruling alliance did not enjoy two-thirds support in the House required for getting the constitution amendment measures.
Most Opposition leaders asserted that the bill went against the basic structure of the Constitution and was “anti-federal.” As the Opposition dubbed the bills as an attack on the federal structure, the government rejected the charge, and subsequently the bills were introduced after division vote. This was the first time that the electronic voting system was used in the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament House. The proceedings were later adjourned for a little over an hour.
Following the votes, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal formally introduced the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, on ‘One Nation, One Election’ and agreed to send the bill to the JPC, in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Amit Shah said, “When the One Nation, One Election Bill was taken up in the cabinet for approval, Mr Modi had said it should be sent to the JPC for detailed discussion. If the Law Minister is willing to send the bill to JPC, the discussion on its introduction can end.”
Mr Meghwal also introduced a bill to amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, as per the day’s schedule. These amendments aim to align assembly elections in Delhi, Jammu Kashmir, and Puducherry with the proposed simultaneous elections.
Following the introduction of the bills, leading the charge from the Opposition benches the Congress member Manish Tewari said the tenure of State Legislatures cannot be subject to the tenure of the Lok Sabha. He cited the bill as a case of excessive Centralism. Mr Tewari argued, “Beyond the seventh schedule of the Constitution is the basic structure doctrine, which spells out that there are certain features of the Constitution beyond the amending power of the House. The essential features are federalism and the structure of our democracy.”
Mr Tewari denouncing the ruling BJP’s push for “ONOE” 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 polls, directly challenges this framework by imposing uniformity across states,” Mr Tewari said, outlining the first of his party’s three objections. He also argued simultaneous polls would impact the Constitution’s basic structure and “undermine elected state governments, weaken grassroots democracy, and encroach on local governance”.
“Therefore, the bills moved by the Minister of Law and Justice are an absolute assault on the basic structure of the Constitution and are beyond the legislative competence of the House,” Mr Tewari said.
DMK MP TR Baalu also opposed the Bill, stating, “I oppose the 129th Constitution Amendment Bill, 2024. As my leader (Tamil Nadu Chief Minister) MK Stalin has said, it is anti-federal. The electors have the right to elect the government for five years, and this right cannot be curtailed with simultaneous elections.”
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav, echoing sentiments expressed by other INDIA bloc members, said, “I am standing to oppose the 129th Amendment Act of the Constitution. I cannot understand how, just two days ago, no stone was left unturned to uphold the glorious tradition of saving the Constitution. Within two days, this Constitution Amendment Bill has been brought to undermine the basic spirit and structure of the Constitution.”
“I agree with Manish Tewari, and on behalf of my party and my leader Akhilesh Yadav, I have no hesitation in saying that there was no one more learned than the makers of our Constitution at that time. Even in this House, there is no one more learned. I have no hesitation in saying this,” he added.
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “This proposed Bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution itself and if any bill affects the basic structure of the Constitution, it is ultra vires. We must remember that the state government and the state legislative assembly are not subordinate to the central government or Parliament.”
“This Parliament has the power to legislate law under the Seventh Schedule, List One and List Three. Similarly, the state assembly has the power to legislate law under the Seventh Schedule, List Two and also List Three. Therefore, by this process, the autonomy of the state legislative assembly is being taken away,” he said.
Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM rose to make a brief but forceful point, asserting the proposed changes to the Constitution would violate states’ right to self-governance. Mr Owaisi also argued, as other opposition leaders have, that simultaneous elections will spell the end of regional parties.
The Biju Janata Dal will decide its stand on the issue of the simultaneous election after examining the details of the two bills on the matter that are before the Lok Sabha, party leader Sasmit Patra said on Tuesday, while the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) offered its unwavering support for the One Nation One Election bill saying that it would streamline the process of polls across the country.
NCP (SP) Supriya Sule expressed her opposition to the “One Nation, One Election” bill, calling it an attempt to centralise power at the expense of federalism and the Constitution. She further urged the government to immediately withdraw the bill or refer the bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further consultation.
“Two-thirds majority (i.e., 307) was needed out of the total 461 votes… but the government secured only (269), while the opposition got 198. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal failed to gain two-thirds support,” Congress MP Manickam Tagore said on X, with a screenshot of the e-voting system.
Mr Tagore’s colleague, Shashi Tharoor, also pointed out the apparent gap in numbers. “Undoubtedly the government has larger numbers on its side… but to pass it (bills to amend the Constitution) you need a 2/3 majority that they very clearly don’t have,” he told reporters after the House was briefly adjourned, “It is obvious (then) that they should not persist too long with this…”
According to the rules, these amendments to the Constitution will require the support of two-third of members present and voting to clear the Lok Sabha. The Congress, using today as an example, pointed out that 461 members took part in the vote to introduce the Constitutional Amendment Bill. If this were a vote to pass the bill, 307 of those 461 would have to vote in favour but only 269 did, prompting the Congress to say, “This bill does not have support… many parties have spoken against it.”
As of today the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has 293 MPs in its camp, and the opposition – the Congress-led INDIA – has 234. Even at full strength the NDA’s score is not enough – as the Congress leaders said – to push through bills to amend the Constitution. The BJP will, therefore, need support, from non-aligned parties, but there are only two possibilities here – the YSR Congress with four MPs and the Akali Dal with one. Both have already pledged support.
The Shiv Sena faction of ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Sharad Pawar, as well as a host of smaller parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Indian Union Muslim League, also voiced opposition.
The common thread among critics of the ‘One Nation, One Poll’, or ONOP Bill, was that the simultaneous elections proposal subverts the basic structure of the Constitution and must be withdrawn immediately. Mr Yadav, meanwhile, warned the House, “This is the path to dictatorship.”
Earlier, Trinamool boss and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it “a design to subvert the basic structure of the Constitution and slammed the “anti-federal” exercise, labelling it “an authoritarian imposition designed to undermine India’s democracy and federal structure”.
Mr Baalu flagged the expenditure simultaneous polls entailed, including the Election Commission having to spend ₹ 10,000 crore on new electronic voting machines (EVMs) every 15 years. “The government should send this bill to the JPC,” he said.
Rising to speak after the avalanche of criticism, Mr Meghwal hit back and insisted the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal was a long-pending piece of electoral reform and will not damage the Constitution. “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,” he said.
Mr Meghwal also pointed out the panel led by the former President Ram Nath Kovind, which had been tasked with recommending ways to make “ONOE” proposal a reality, had consulted multiple stakeholders, including various opposition parties, before submitting its report. “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.
As of 2024, only four 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.
The rest follow a non-synced five-year cycle; Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana, for example, were among those voted at different times last year, while Delhi and Bihar will vote in 2025 and Tamil Nadu and Bengal are among those that will vote in 2026.
Not without an amendment to the Constitution and that amendment being ratified by the governments of all states and union territories, as well as, possibly, major political parties. These are Article 83 (term of Parliament), Article 85 (dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President), Article 172 (duration of state legislatures), and Article 174 (dissolution of state legislatures), as well as Article 356 (imposition of President’s Rule).
