New Delhi [India], December 18 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs on Wednesday expressed support for the proposed One Nation, One Election Bill, underlining that it aligns with democratic values and would ensure the country's resources and working days are "not wasted."
Speaking to ANI, BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar defended the bill, saying, "This is totally democratic. It ensures that the country's resources and working days are not wasted... Why should we let the country suffer losses due to repeated elections? This is public money. The public wants this to happen. Congress is against the people and the country."
BJP MP Yogender Chandolia also supported the bill, saying, "The opposition is strongly opposing it, but I believe the country needs One Nation, One Election... Once the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) reviews it, the decision will be widely accepted."
Earlier, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, were formally introduced in the Lok Sabha after a vote. A total of 269 members voted in favor, while 196 voted against the bills.
The vote results were announced by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, following Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal's formal introduction of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024. He agreed to send the bill to a JPC in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement.
As part of the day's proceedings, Meghwal also introduced a bill to amend the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019.
These amendments aim to align assembly elections in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry with the proposed simultaneous elections, further strengthening the government's commitment to the One Nation, One Election framework.