ONOP bill does not take away voting rights, says former CJI

Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday told a joint parliamentary committee (JPC), which is examining legislation aimed at ushering in simultaneous national and state elections, that the constitutional amendment bill did not take away the people's right to vote but only created a poll schedule.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

NEW DELHI:

Panel members also discussed a proposal that said that under the new law, if a no-confidence motion is moved in an assembly, it has to be followed up by a confidence motion to avoid any vacuum, said people aware of developments.

Gogoi, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2020, also admitted that the Election Commission was given excessive power in the Constitution (129th amendment) bill. Gogoi's appearance in front of the JPC came close on the heels of former CJI UU Lalit's deposition, during which he had cast doubts on the current plan to hold the Lok Sabha and all assembly elections in one go.

Gogoi, according to functionaries, faced a range of questions over the proposed law as well as the basic structure of the Constitution. He defended the bill and said that the legislation was not taking away the right to vote, and that Parliament will enact a law only to create a schedule.