Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has criticised the Central Government, stating that passing the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill as a Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority, which the BJP does not possess.

“Undoubtedly, the government has larger numbers on its side than us. In the JPC, they may even have a majority in terms of its composition. However, to pass it as a Constitutional amendment, you need a two-thirds majority, which they very clearly don’t have. It’s obvious that they should not persist too long with this,” Tharoor told ANI.

He further highlighted that the vast majority of parties in the House had strongly opposed the bill. “It has been technically introduced, but you heard the objections from a lot of parties. In addition to all the very valid points made by Opposition members, there’s also the question of depriving people of their mandate. The Constitution begins with the words ‘We the people.’ This is about the people of India. They should have the right to determine who forms their government. Imagine a situation where one government has to fall because another government collapses due to an arbitrary deadline. This whole concept makes no sense. In a parliamentary system, you cannot have fixed terms without completely playing havoc with our democracy. Let the JPC have a detailed discussion. However, from what was heard today, the vast majority of parties in the House have strongly opposed this approach,” the Congress MP added.