Government to Present 'One Nation, One Election' Bill in Lok Sabha Today
Click to start listening
New Delhi, Dec 17 (NationPress) The Government is set to present the 'One Nation, One Election' (ONOP) Bill in the Lok Sabha at noon on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a three-line whip to all MPs in the Lok Sabha in advance of the bill's presentation.
The 'One Nation, One Election' bill aims to facilitate simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, and is expected to be introduced during the Lok Sabha session on Tuesday.
Included in the agenda for the Lok Sabha on Tuesday is the Constitution Amendment Bill regarding simultaneous elections.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill will be presented by Union Law Minister Arjun Meghwal.
In addition, Arjun Meghwal is anticipated to introduce legislation aimed at further amending the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
This new bill is intended to synchronize elections for the Assemblies in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry for the purpose of simultaneous elections.
Following this announcement, the BJP's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), also issued a whip to all its Lok Sabha MPs, while Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) also instructed all MPs to attend the session.
The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the 'One Nation One Election' bill earlier this month.
Once introduced, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is expected to ask Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to send the 'One Nation One Election' Bill to a Joint Committee of Parliament for broader discussions. The joint committee will be formed on a pro-rata basis, reflecting the number of MPs from different parties.
While the BJP and its allies support the bill, several opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress, and DMK, are against it.
In September, the Union Cabinet accepted the recommendations from the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections, which was chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
The recommendations were detailed in a report by this high-level panel.
The panel proposed implementing simultaneous elections in two phases: first, by holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together, and second, by conducting local body elections (panchayat and municipalities) within 100 days following the general elections.
It also recommended that there be a common electoral roll for all elections.
