Attorney General R. Venkataramani gave a statement before the Parliamentary Committee on the bill related to the ‘one nation, one election’. He clarified that this proposal does not violate any provision of the Constitution and is completely valid. According to sources, some legal experts appearing before the Parliamentary Committee discussed various aspects of the bill and shared some concerns. However, Venkatramani stressed that no amendment in the bills is required.
Opposition to opposition and Priyanka Gandhi’s questions
Opposition parties have described this bill as against the Constitution. Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court D.N. Patel, who is currently the chairman of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), discussed the positive and challenges of ‘simultaneous elections’ before the committee.
He said that this idea can be beneficial for the nation, although there is always scope for improvement in any proposed law. When Patel cited the tradition of holding elections simultaneously in other countries of the world, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned. He asked whether countries like Sweden and Belgium can be compared to India?
Lack of study on ‘simultaneous election’?
Priyanka Gandhi said that the benefits of holding elections together are only estimated, as no concrete studies have been done on it.
According to sources, Venkataramani also clarified the members that he is the Attorney General of India and not the government’s advocates. He made this comment to remove the notion that he was speaking only in support of the government.
Committee’s response
Chairman of Parliamentary Committee and BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary said that ‘simultaneous elections’ are in the interest of the country. The committee is considering the best ways to implement it.
What will be the next step?
Now it will be interesting to see what recommendations the Parliamentary Committee gives in its report and how the government further enhances this bill.
