ONOE Bills Introduced in Parliament

New Delhi: Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move “dictatorial” and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.

          The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Meghwal after a nearly 90-minute debate, followed by a division of votes. As many as 269 members voted in favour of the Bill and 198 against it.

          Meghwal also introduced The Union Territories Amendment Bill, which seeks to align elections in the Union territories of Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir with the Lok Sabha polls.

          He said the proposed bills did not attack the “basic structure doctrine, as claimed by the opposition”.

          Principles such as judicial review, federal character of the Constitution, separation of powers, secular character, supremacy of the Constitution had not changed, Meghwal said, adding that the objections to the Bill were political in nature.

          Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had favoured referring the bills to a joint committee of Parliament for wider deliberations at every level.

          “Detailed discussions can take place in the JPC. The report of the JPC will be approved by the Cabinet. Then again, there will be a discussion on this (bills) in the House,” Shah said.