Parliament Winter Session: The 'One Nation, One Election' Bill, seen as the long-pending electoral reform, was introduced in Lok Sabha after 269 MPs voted in favour and 198 were against it being tabled on Monday. Two rounds of voting were held in the House using electronic machines.
The first voting gave the result of 220 votes in favour and 149 against the motion, with a total of 369 members voting. After protests by the Opposition post the first round of voting, Speaker Om Birla decided to conduct another round of voting through paper slips for the members who felt their responses needed to be recorded again. This was the first time that the electronic voting system was used in the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament House.
Opposition parties dubbed the draft laws as an attack on the federal structure, a charge rejected by the government. The bill has been sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed discussions.
Congress MP Rajiv Shukla said there are many shortcomings in the Bill. "It is good that the Bill was sent to JPC. We were also demanding the same. There should be detailed discussions of the Bill in the JPC. There are many shortcomings in the Bill," he said.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra termed the Bill "anti-constitutional". "Anti-Constitutional Bill. It's against the federalism of our nation. We are opposing the Bill," she told reporters outside Parliament.