What Happened With ONOE Bill In The Parliament (screen grab from x.com/arjunrammeghwal)
New Delhi: Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) Bill in the Lok Sabha today, December 17. The 129th Constitution Amendment Bill aims to implement simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. The opposition parties including Congress, TMC, AAP and Samajwadi Party (SP) registered their opposition to the bill.
At first, Law Minister Meghwal moved motion to introduce ONOE bill in Lok Sabha, wherein Opposition MPs insisted for division of votes. Consequently, through electronic voting system, voting took place with 269 MPs voted in favour and 198 against the Bill. It is for the first time electronic voting system is being used in the Parliament.
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The Union Minister introduced the Bill, after a brief discussion, he has referred it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further consultation.
“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,” Law Minister said in the Parliament.
Continuing further, Meghwal said that the government is “not tampering with the powers of the states.”
Most of the Opposition leaders strongly stated that the ONOE bill went against the basic structure of the Constitution and was “anti-federal”. Lok Sabha witnessed uproar and ruckus from the side of Opposition demanding the withdrawal of ONOE bill.
“One Nation, One Election bills assault on basic structure doctrine of Constitution. Introduction, consideration of ONOE bills is beyond legislative competence of this House, will urge government to withdraw it,” Congress MP Manish Tewari said.
Opposing the bill, SP MP Dharmendra Yadav said that it is an attempt by the BJP to bring in “dictatorship” in the country. “It will be a direct attack on federalism and it will be undermining the entity of states…,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Desai said.
NCP (SP) Supriya Sule referred the bill as an attempt to centralise power at the expense of federalism and the Constitution. She has also demanded the government to immediately withdraw the bill or refer the bill to a parliamentary Committee for further consultation.
“One Nation One Election bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution. Article 82 and sub-article 5 is giving all the power to Election Commission. Till dooms day, one single party cannot rule ever,” TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said.
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Congress leader Gauravi Gogoi argued that “ONOE bill gives ‘illegal’ powers to Election Commission to advise the President.”
Amidst these opposing stands, Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) offered unfaltering support for the Bill, stating that it will simplify the process of polls across the country. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that ONOE bill is being introduced only to “satisfy the ego of the supreme leader.” Meanwhile, Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has yet reach a stand on the issue of the simultaneous election.
The ONOE Bill was drafted as per the recommendations of the high-level committee chaired by Ram Nath Kovind, appointed by the Law Ministry on September 2, 2023, to propose ways and amendments to enable simultaneous polls across the country.
