No excessive power to EC in ONOE Bill
NEW DELHI: At a meeting with the parliamentary panel on One nation, one election, the Law Commission said that the proposed power to the Election Commission that seeks to lay a legal framework to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies is not excessive. However, the provision of giving unfettered power to the EC in the proposed legislation has come under criticism from various quarters. The law panel top brass briefed the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Bills on simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. During the briefing, members said the law panel also noted that the Constitution Amendment Bill does not require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the state assemblies to come into force. According to sources, Opposition MPs questioned the law commission officials on the constitutionality and adherence to the federal spirit in the Bill.The law commission officials briefed the committee members but were not able to give a satisfactory answer to the questions, an opposition MP said. Another opposition MP said during the meeting that elections at regular intervals provide a system of checks and balances, as after the Lok Sabha, the people can review their choices in the assembly elections, but this would not be there if simultaneous polls happen. The MP said that voters are the basis of democracy and elections at regular intervals strengthen democracy. According to an opinion rendered by the law commission to the joint panel, it has not even an iota of doubt that the proposed Article 82A(5) does not suffer from excessive delegation. Regarding the proposed legislations impact on the tenure of the House and state legislative assemblies, the commission argued that the bill introduces only a limited and rational curtailment, which does not infringe the basic structure in any manner. The power conferred upon the EC to recommend postponement of elections is neither arbitrary nor unbounded; rather, it flows naturally from the plenary constitutional authority that has been vested in the EC under Article 324, the law panel has said. The law panel underlined that the proposed amendment does not disturb the basic structure of the Constitution in any way. The commission said federalism as envisaged and formulated in the Indian Constitution is not that of compartmentalisation of different units; it is rather that of weaving different units together with a strong centre as the pivot.
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