New Delhi [India], December 17 (ANI): Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, in a sharp response to the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, expressed his opposition to the government’s proposal, citing concerns about the bill’s impact on India’s federal structure.
The Congress MP said that to save the 0.02 per cent expenditure of the annual budget, the government wants to “end the entire federal structure of India” and give more power to the ECI.
He noted that the government justifies the bill by claiming that it would save money by reducing the frequency of elections.
Gogoi argued that the cost of conducting elections, such as the Rs 3,700 crores spent on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections–representing only 0.02 per cent of the annual budget–is negligible compared to the far-reaching implications of the bill.
“The government is arguing that crores of rupees are being spent in organizing elections and it is trying to save money. To conduct a Lok Sabha election, Rs 3700 crores is spent, this figure was given by ECI during the 2024 LS elections. Rs 3,700 crores is 0.02 per cent of the annual budget. To save the 0.02 per cent expenditure of the annual budget, they want to end the entire federal structure of India and give more power to the ECI,” said Gogoi.
He described the bill as unconstitutional and expressed discontent over its introduction in Parliament. “We have opposed this unconstitutional bill today,” Gogoi stated.
He also highlighted the narrow margin by which the BJP managed to introduce the bill, revealing that the NDA could not muster a two-thirds majority to pass it.
“BJP could only get through the introduction of the Bill by a margin of only 65 votes. The entire NDA could not gather a 2/3rd majority to pass the bill,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala also called the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill, unconstitutional and called for its reintroduction before being sent to the JPC.
“The bill is unconstitutional. The people of the nation have to understand that we have a federal structure and the state governments which are working on the independent clause will be affected. We want the bill to be discussed even before it is referred to JPC,” said Chamala.
TMC MP Saugata Roy also reacted to the One Election bill and said, “We opposed the bill. We want the bill to be withdrawn.”
Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to issue notices to over 20 of its MPs who were absent during the division for the introduction of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill in the Lok Sabha today, according to the sources.
The party had issued a three-line whip for the presence of its MPs stating that some important legislative agenda is on the agenda.
Opposition members had opposed the introduction of the bill. In the division, 269 members voted in favour of the introduction of the bill and 196 voted against it.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024′ and ‘The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024’, which propose simultaneous elections for both Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was introduced in the lower house today. The bills were introduced in Lok Sabha by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The bills will now be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further deliberations.
Home Minister Amit Shah said that when the One Nation, One Election Bill was taken up in the cabinet for approval, PM Modi had said that it should be sent to the JPC for detailed discussion. (ANI)
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