The Opposition raised concerns that the change could disproportionately benefit the ruling party, giving it undue influence over the electoral process in states, and could undermine the autonomy of regional parties.
Gogoi argued that the cost of conducting elections, such as the Rs 3,700 crores spent on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections--representing only 0.02 per cent of the annual budget--is negligible compared to the far-reaching implications of the bill.
Congress MP Imran Masood criticised the introduction of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 in Lok Sabha on Tuesday and said that this is a country full of diversity dubbing the process as impossible.
AAP MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer argued that the 'One Nation One Election' model is against the federal structure of the country and affirmed that his party will oppose the bill.
"Unfortunately, the NDA government is destroying the Constitution of India day by day. India is a federal country. There is a federal structure here. One Nation, One Election is undermining this federal structure," Mufti said.
Negi highlighted the potential risks to democracy and the Constitution, stating, "The BJP is the biggest threat to democracy and the Constitution in this country. They do not believe in inclusivity or federalism. They aim to centralize power, which is detrimental to India's federal structure
"Government has decided to conduct new experiments. How will this be possible in a federal structure that 29 states and Centre go together (to polls). If a State Government falls to minority or if the State Government topples due to any reason, what would be the situation? So, I don't see
His remarks come after Kerala Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution, urging the central government to withdraw its proposed "One Nation, One Election" proposal, describing it as undemocratic and detrimental to the nation's federal structure.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar expressed his disappointment with the Union Budget 2024 and said that this is an anti-federal budget and Kerala did not get anything. He alleged that the budget was prepared arbitrarily to save the alliance and should be scrapped and reforms should be introduced based
"This budget is an attack on the dignity of India's federal structure - in the greed to save power, there is neglect of other states of the country, there is discrimination against them," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on Facebook.
BJD's Debashish Samantaray thanked Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after being elected as Rajya Sabha MP. "I am elected to the Rajya Sabha and I feel grateful to my leader Naveen Patnaik. By the blessings of lord Jagannath, my name is declared," expressed Samantaray.
Following the attack on the team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in West Bengal, Union Minister Nisith Pramanik on Friday said that it is not just an attack on the central agency, rather it's an attack on the Constitution and the whole federal structure.