Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday tabled the constitutional amendment bills for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously in the Lok Sabha.

‘The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 could be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses. Follow Parliament LIVE updates.

The introduction of the bills was followed by sharp attacks by MPs of the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress.

Congress MP Manish Tewari opposed the bills for simultaneous elections in the country, saying that they assault the Constitution’s basic structure doctrine.

“Introduction, consideration of one nation, one election bills beyond the legislative competence of this House, urge govt to withdraw it,” he told the Lok Sabha.

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav opposed the bills for simultaneous polls, calling them an attempt by the BJP to bring in ‘dictatorship’ in the country.

“I am not able to understand just two days ago, no stone was left unturned in the glorious tradition of saving the Constitution. Within two days, the Constitution Amendment Bill has been brought to an end the basic spirit and the basic structure of the Constitution. I agree with Manish Tewari and on behalf of my party and my leader Akhilesh Yadav, I have no hesitation in saying that there was no one more learned than the makers of our Constitution at that time, even in this House, there was no one more learned, I have no hesitation in saying this…” the SP MP said, according to ANI.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee also criticised the bills, alleging that they are not to reform elections but just “a fulfilment of one gentleman’s desire and dream”.

“This proposed bill hits the basic structure of the Constitution itself and if any bill any actual which hits the basic structure of the Constitution that is ultra vires…We must remember that the state government and the state legislative assembly are not subordinate to the Central government or to the Parliament itself…” Banerjee was quoted as saying by ANI.

One nation, one election bill

As per a copy of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, circulated on the night of December 13, if the Lok Sabha or any state assembly is dissolved before the end of its full term, mid-term elections will be held only for that legislature to complete the remainder of its five-year term.

The bill suggests adding Article 82(A) (simultaneous elections to the House of the People and all Legislative Assemblies) and amending Articles 83 (duration of Houses of Parliament), 172, and 327 (power of Parliament to make provisions with respect to elections to Legislatures).

It states that the provisions of the amendment will come into effect on an “appointed date,” which the President will notify on the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election.

According to the bill, the “appointed date” will be after the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029, with simultaneous elections slated to begin in 2034.

It specifies that the tenure of the House of the People (Lok Sabha) will be five years from the appointed date, and the tenure of all legislative assemblies elected after the appointed date will end with the tenure of the Lok Sabha.

The proposal to align elections was a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2024 poll manifesto and has the backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but is fiercely opposed by a raft of political parties and activists who allege that it will hurt democratic accountability.

Last week, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had demanded that the ‘One ation, One Election’ bill be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.