Tue Dec 17 15:57:29 UTC 2024: ## BJP to Discipline MPs Absent During One Nation, One Election Bill Vote

**New Delhi:** The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is taking disciplinary action against over 20 of its MPs for missing Tuesday’s vote on the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) bill in the Lok Sabha. The party had issued a whip mandating their presence. Despite the bill’s passage (269 in favor, 198 against), it has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further consideration following heated debate.

Opposition parties strongly criticized the bill, calling it “dictatorial” and detrimental to India’s federal structure and democratic principles. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi described it as “anti-constitution, anti-democracy and anti-federal structure.” Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, however, maintained that the bill doesn’t infringe on states’ powers or the Constitution’s basic structure. He introduced both the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Amendment Bill, the latter aiming to synchronize elections in Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu & Kashmir with Lok Sabha polls.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah explained that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to refer the bills to the JPC aims to facilitate broader discussions and deliberations before final approval. The JPC’s report will subsequently be reviewed by the cabinet, followed by further parliamentary debate.

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