Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the two bills in the Lok Sabha today, December 17, paving the way for 'one nation, one election' or simultaneous elections.
The two bills approved by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet on Thursday include the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Amid opposition from the Opposition, the bills have been sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further discussion.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment Bill), 2024, proposes to amend three articles of the Constitution and insert a new article, Article 82A. One of the opposition's concerns is that the bill gives excessive powers to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee, one of the vocal opponents of the bills, said these bills are eroding the basic structure of the Constitution.
“Article 83(2) is inconsistent with the proposed Article 83(5). Article 82A(3) simply says that the term of office of the State Legislative Assembly shall depend on the term of office of the House of the People (Lok Sabha). States are not subordinate to Parliament, Banerjee said after the bill was introduced in Lok Sabha
“These bills take away the autonomy of the state legislature. The proposed Article 82(5) gives immense powers to the Election Commission of India (ECI), and the ECI will decide whether to hold elections or not. We are against these bills,” he explained. .
Congressman Gaurav Gogoi also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governments want to end India's entire federal structure and give more power to the ECI. “In the ECI, there is no role for the Supreme Court in the election of its commissioner. We opposed this unconstitutional bill today,” Gogoi told news agencies outside Parliament on Tuesday.
What is section 82A: the proposed addition
Article 82A of the Constitution is a proposed amendment in the Bill of Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment), 2024, which would allow simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and all legislative assemblies. This article is proposed to be inserted after Article 82 of the Constitution, which deals with redistricting of seats in the Lok Sabha and division of states into constituencies after every census.
The proposed article deals with adjustment of allocation of Lok Sabha seats between states after every census.
According to the first clause of the article, the President would issue a public notification on the date of the first session of the Lok Sabha after general elections to bring into force the provisions of Article 82A. The date of the notification is called the determined date.
The second clause, as mentioned in the bill, says that the term of office of all legislative assemblies elected after the appointed date and before the expiry of the full term of office of the Lok Sabha shall end on the expiry of the full term of office of the House . of the People.
This means that the terms of some state assemblies will be shortened to pave the way for simultaneous elections. This is where the opposition's concerns come from
Article 82A(3) says that the Election Commission shall simultaneously hold general elections to the Lok Sabha and all legislative assemblies.
Proposed fifth clause in the article – 82A(5)
The proposed fifth clause in the article – 82A(5) – allows the Election Commission of India not to hold a specific election to the Assembly in addition to the election to the Lok Sabha, the issue raised by Banerjee in the Lok Sabha today stated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government wants to put an end to India's entire federal structure.
“If the Electoral Commission is of the opinion that the elections to a Legislative Assembly cannot take place concurrently with the general elections to the House of the People, it may make a recommendation to the President to declare by decision that the election to the House of the People that the Legislative Assembly may be held at a later date,” reads the draft Article 82A(5).
The sixth clause of Article 82A (6) provides that if the election of the Assembly is postponed, the entire term of that Assembly shall also terminate with the entire term of the Lok Sabha elected at the general election. The opposition says this will undermine the state legislature.
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