Kolkata, West Bengal [India], December 18 : Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that the 'One Nation, One Election' Bill is an attempt by the Centre to "turn India into a presidential system of government."
Chowdhury recalled that he had categorically refused to be part of the high-level committee on simultaneous polls.
"When the proposal was mooted, I was invited by the committee led by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind. I flatly refused to participate in this futile exercise. This is logistically unsustainable and a severe infringement upon the federal structure of our country. The government has been hatching a plan for a long time to turn India into a presidential system of government," he told reporters.
"This will further undermine our age-old federal structure," he added.
Meanwhile, Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Sukhdev Bhagat, and Randeep Singh Surjewala will participate in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) deliberations on the 'One Nation, One Election' Bill, party sources said on Wednesday.
The bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, proposes simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies across India. However, the proposal has faced strong resistance from opposition parties, who have raised concerns about its potential impact on democracy.
Opposition members argue that the proposed change could disproportionately benefit the ruling party, giving it undue influence over the electoral process in states, and undermine the autonomy of regional parties.
These bills, approved by the Cabinet last week, aim to facilitate the holding of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country.
During the introduction of the bill, 269 members voted in favour, while 196 voted against it. The bills will now be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further deliberation.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled two crucial bills in the Lok Sabha: the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that when the 'One Nation, One Election' Bill was taken up in the Cabinet for approval, Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted that it be sent to the JPC for detailed discussion.