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Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday introduced the ‘Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024’ in the Lower House, which provides for simultaneous holding of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The bill was introduced after a division of votes, with 269 votes in favor and 198 votes against. Along with this, a proposal was made to send the bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed consideration. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that when this bill was discussed in the Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recommended sending it to the JPC.
Opposition expressed fear of dictatorship
Congress and other opposition parties strongly opposed this bill. The opposition says that this is an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution and a step taking the country towards dictatorship. Congress leader Manish Tewari saw it as a violation of states’ rights and said the proposal was against the federal structure. He demanded withdrawal of the bill.
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav accused the ruling party and said that only a few days ago, an oath was taken to protect the Constitution, but now the basic principles of the same Constitution are being weakened.
Trinamool Congress’s tough stance
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee termed the bill as an ‘alta virus’ and said it is an attack on the autonomy of state legislatures. He warned that no party can remain in power forever and one day there will be a change of power.
Bill introduction process
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal re-introduced the ‘Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024’ and its related ‘Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024’ in the Lower House. After the division of votes, the way was cleared for the introduction of the bill. After this, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings of the House till 3 pm. This was the first time in the new Parliament House that electronic voting took place on a bill.
government’s side
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal rejected the objections of the opposition and said that this bill is constitutional and is not going to take away the rights of the states. He stressed that the provision of holding simultaneous elections is practical and in the interest of democracy.