New Delhi, December 14: The government has scheduled the introduction of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bills in the Lok Sabha on December 16. According to the legislative business list for Monday, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will move to introduce the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill.
In addition, Meghwal is set to introduce another piece of legislation, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, which aims to amend several key laws, including the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2020.
The Constitution Amendment Bill seeks to enable the simultaneous conduct of elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country. The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill will allow for the alignment of the tenures of Union Territory legislative assemblies with those of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
On Thursday, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval for the ‘One Nation, One Election’ reform and the necessary legislation to implement it.
India held simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies until 1962. However, following the 1960s, the emergency provisions of Article 356 led to the premature dissolution of State Legislative Assemblies, disrupting the synchronized election cycle. Factors like hung parliaments, no-confidence motions, and other political developments further resulted in the staggered timing of elections. Over time, this caused a lack of symmetry between elections to the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies.
