‘One country, one election’ is anti-constitutional, an attack on India’s federal structure: Opposition

#News Bureau November 17,2024

Opposition parties have reacted strongly to the introduction of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill in the Lok Sabha. The gist of the reaction of the parties of the India Alliance is that this bill is anti-constitutional and undemocratic and One Country One Election is an ‘attack on the federal structure of India’.

Priyanka Gandhi told reporters, ‘This is an anti-constitutional bill. It is against the principles of federalism. We are opposing it.’ Regarding this bill, Shashi Tharoor said in the Parliament House complex that I am not the only one who has opposed the One Nation One Election Bill; most of the parties have opposed it.

Tharoor said, ‘This is a violation of the federal structure of India enshrined in our Constitution. Why should the mandate of a state suddenly be shortened because of the nation’s timetable? In a parliamentary system, you cannot have a fixed tenure. Governments fall and form, and this is bound to happen in a parliamentary system. That is why fixed tenures were discontinued decades ago. …Today’s voting has shown that the BJP does not have the two-thirds majority required to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill.’

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said, ‘This bill gives unlimited power to the Election Commission to recommend any election at any time, ending the 5-year term. This shows dictatorship.’

Gaurav Gogoi called ‘One Country One Election’ an attack on India’s federal structure. He said in Parliament that the cost of holding elections does not justify changing the basic democratic structure of the country. He said, ‘The government is arguing that crores of rupees are being spent in conducting elections, and it is trying to save money. Rs 3,700 crore is spent in conducting a Lok Sabha election. This figure was given by the Election Commission of India during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Rs 3,700 crore is just 0.02% of the annual budget.’Gogoi cited concerns about the independence of the Election Commission, saying that in order to save 0.02% of the annual budget, they wanted to abolish the entire federal structure of India and give more power to the ECI.

Gogoi said that this is the same ECI in whose commissioner’s election the Supreme Court has no role.

Akhilesh Yadav said, “In democratic contexts the word ‘one’ itself is undemocratic. Democracy favours plurality. The feeling of ‘one’ has no place for others. This violates social tolerance. The feeling of ‘one’ at the individual level gives rise to ego and makes power dictatorial.”

He further said, “The decision of ‘one country-one election’ will prove fatal for true democracy. It will also deal a big blow to the federal structure of the country. This will eliminate the importance of regional issues and the public will remain trapped in the illusion of big superficial issues which are beyond their reach.”

He said,

In a way, this is another conspiracy to destroy the Constitution. This will reduce the importance of the states as well as the Rajya Sabha. Tomorrow these BJP people will demand the dissolution of the Rajya Sabha as well and will give a new slogan ‘Ek Desh-Ek Sabha’ to bring in their dictatorship.

Akhilesh Yadav

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said, “The BJP’s brazen attempt to introduce a Constitution Amendment Bill today when the Constitution is being debated in Parliament is a brazen attack on democracy. The One Nation One Election Bill seeks to snatch away people’s fundamental right to vote regularly – a right that makes governments accountable and prevents unchecked power. This is not just a bill, but it is a direct attack on the foundations of our democracy built through the sacrifices of our founding fathers. Bengal will not sit silent. We will fight tooth and nail to protect the soul of India and crush this anti-democratic agenda.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai said that this bill is an attack on federalism. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee called the bill an attack on the Constitution and called it an ultra virus. AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi called this bill a violation of the Constitution and said that it is a violation of parliamentary democracy and also a violation of federalism.
DMK MP TR Balu called this bill anti-constitution and questioned its introduction in Parliament. He said that when the government does not have a two-thirds majority, then how was it allowed to bring this bill.

The government is bringing two bills for ‘one country, one election’. One of these is a constitutional amendment bill. A two-third majority is necessary for this. Out of 543 seats in Lok Sabha, NDA currently has 292 seats. A figure of 362 is required for a two-third majority. Whereas, out of 245 seats in Rajya Sabha, NDA currently has 112 seats and it also has the support of 6 nominated MPs. While the opposition has 85 seats. 164 seats are required for a two-third majority.