The Modi government introduced the bill providing for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the country in the lower house on Tuesday amid strong opposition from the opposition parties and said that it would be sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for extensive discussion on it.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal placed the 'Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024' and the related 'Union Territory Law (Amendment) Bill, 2024' for introduction in the lower house, which was strongly opposed by the opposition parties.
After the casting of votes in the House in this regard, the 'Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024' was introduced. 269 votes were cast in favor of introducing the bill, while 198 votes were cast against it. After this, Meghwal also introduced the 'Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024' after the consent of the House by voice vote. After the introduction of both the bills, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings of the House till 3 pm at around 1.55 pm.
PM Modi had expressed the intention that Bill should be sent to JPC: Shah
This was the first time that an electronic vote was taken on a bill in the new House. Amid opposition from opposition parties on this bill, Home Minister Amit Shah said that when the bill came up for discussion in the Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had expressed the intention that it should be sent for consideration of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). Congress and other opposition parties opposed the introduction of the bill, alleging that it was an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution and a step towards taking the country towards 'dictatorship'.
The major allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Shiv Sena supported the bill. Law Minister Meghwal said that the proposed bill related to holding simultaneous elections is not going to take away the powers of the states, rather this bill is completely constitutional. He also agreed to the opposition's demand to send the bill to the JPC.
This attempt at centralization is completely anti-constitutional: Cong
Opposing the bill, Congress leader Manish Tiwari said that this bill is an attack on the basic structure and is beyond the legislative jurisdiction of this House. He said that India is a union of states and in such a situation this attempt at centralization is completely anti-constitutional. Manish Tiwari urged that this bill should be withdrawn.
A step towards dictatorship: SP
Opposing the bill, Dharmendra Yadav of Samajwadi Party claimed, "This is an attempt to eliminate the basic spirit of the Constitution and is a step towards dictatorship." Yadav said that this bill should be withdrawn. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said that this proposed bill is an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution and it is 'ultra vires' (beyond legal authority). He claimed that this bill cannot be accepted.
MP Banerjee also said that it is necessary to understand that the state assemblies are not subordinate to the Centre and Parliament. He said that just as the Parliament has the right to make laws, similarly the assemblies also have the right to make laws.
The Trinamool Congress MP said that this is an attempt to snatch the autonomy of the state assemblies. Taking a dig at the BJP, he said that no party will always remain in power, one day the power will change.
Banerjee said, "This is not electoral reform, it is a bill brought to fulfill the ambitions and dreams of a person."
DMK leader TR Balu questioned that when the government does not have a two-thirds majority, then how did you allow this bill to be brought? To this, Birla said, "I do not give permission, the House gives permission."
Prakash Kumar Pandey
No comments:
Post a Comment