One Nation, One Election: Centre likely to introduce bills in Lok Sabha today
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government will likely table two bills related to simultaneously holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together in the Parliament on Tuesday, media reports said.
The bills are likely to be tabled in the Parliament by Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The BJP advanced its agenda for simultaneous elections on Thursday when the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a constitutional amendment bill aimed at implementing this concept.
Two draft legislations received the Cabinet’s nod: the constitutional amendment bill and a simpler bill to amend laws governing three Union territories with legislative assemblies to align them with the proposed changes.
The constitutional amendment bill is aimed at synchronising Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections.
Although a high-level committee, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, had recommended in its 18,626-page report that municipal and panchayat elections be held parallelly national and state elections in phases, the Cabinet has opted to exclude, "as of now," the framework for local body elections.
Several INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress and AAP, have opposed the decision, arguing that it could disproportionately benefit the ruling party.
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