BJP's 'Bharat', 'One Nation, One Poll’ proposals need Constitutional amendment, will face Rajya Sabha roadblock: Congress

But if the government wants to change the name of the country to only ‘Bharat’, it would require to pass the bill with a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament. They don’t have that kind of majority in the Upper House and will face a roadblock there, says Congress leader Rajani Patil. Reports ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) reported plans to push the ‘one nation, one election’ proposal and change the name of the country to only 'Bharat' will face an INDIA roadblock in the Rajya Sabha, senior Congress leader Rajani Patil said on Wednesday.

Though there is no official word from the government on the agenda of the five-day special session of Parliament from Sept. 18-22, there has been speculation that the BJP may push the two controversial plans.

"The Constitution clearly mentions the name of the country as 'India that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.' For us both the words are the same. But if the government wants to change the name of the country to only 'Bharat', it would require to pass the bill with a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament. They don’t have that kind of majority in the Upper House and will face a roadblock there. The INDIA parties will oppose the bill together,” Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajani Patil told ETV Bharat.

"If another bill to push the ‘one nation, one poll’ idea is moved, it too will meet the same roadblock in the Rajya Sabha. This is not all, any Constitutional amendment will also have to be ratified by over 50 percent of the state Assemblies. This is easier said than done," she said.

According to Patil, it was strange that the government was not coming out with the agenda but had announced the special Parliament session.

"It never happens like this. If the government decides to convene a special session of Parliament, they consult the Opposition parties in advance and circulate the agenda among the lawmakers so that they come prepared and a proper discussion can take place. But nothing of this sort is happening this time. We have no clue what the session’s agenda is but we keep reading in the media about the various proposals that may be taken up there,” she said.

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Gurdeep Singh Sappal also concurred with Rajani Patil.

“The change of name of the nation from Bharat, that is India, to only Bharat, requires a Constitution amendment. But the BJP does not have a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha. So, why is this balloon being floated?” he said.

According to party insiders, the BJP's reported proposals related to the change of the country’s name to 'Bharat' and 'one nation, one poll' were discussed in detail by the 24 parties of the Opposition alliance INDIA on September 5 during a joint strategy session chaired by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Hours before that, Congress parliamentary party leader Sonia Gandhi had chaired a meeting with senior leaders to chalk out the party’s strategy for the special Parliament session. Subsequently, the Opposition parties decided that the 'Bharat' issue should be dealt with carefully and the focus should rather be on the technical issues.

“Yes, 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States' is written in the Constitution. What we are saying is that the BJP is attacking this union of states. It is attacking the federal structure and the constitutional rights of the elected state governments. These are the issues we would like to raise during the special session,” Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh said.