India, July 13 -- During the Internal Emergency (1975-77), socialist leader HV Kamath, speaking at the inaugural meeting of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), referred to the Forty-second Constitutional Amendment and famously remarked: "They are not amending the Constitution; they are not mending it; they are ending it." His words reflected the widespread apprehension that constitutional amendments could fundamentally alter the democratic character of the Republic rather than merely reform it.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, commonly known as the "One Nation, One Election" Bill, was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024 to facilitate simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and all...