Leader of the opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn was among those calling for a debate.
The move will require a vote with a two-thirds majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) supporting the measure.
Mrs May stunned the country on Tuesday when she called for an early election to take place on June 8 with MPs due to vote on Wednesday afternoon on bringing the poll forward.
But Mr Corbyn is apparently facing an uphill struggle, with a fresh YouGov opinion poll for the Times giving the Tories a 24-point lead over Labour, despite his denial that his party's defeat is a "foregone conclusion".
The German government says that it doesn't expect a British election in June to hold up talks on Britain's exit from the European Union.
Like nearly everyone else in Britain, the election announcement caught financial markets off guard, amid concerns of the economic implications of Brexit. Labour Party leader Corbyn said he welcomed May's decision "to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first".
If she can extend her parliamentary majority, May will be able to silence critics who have opposed her own policies, not just on Brexit but also tax and education.
Labour and the much smaller opposition Liberal Democrats said they would vote in favour of the early election, all but guaranteeing May's decision will be approved.
Announcing her intention to call for a vote, May said "The country is coming together but Westminster is not".
UK's Labour vows to take on "cosy cartel" that protects wealthy
May's Conservatives now hold 330 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons . "We need a general election and we need one now". Forty-two per cent said they would vote Conservative , 40pc Labour , 2pc Liberal Democrats, 4pc Ukip and 12pc were unsure.
If Britain were to stick with the next scheduled general election date, May 2020, "the negotiations would reach their most hard and sensitive stage just as an election was looming on the horizon", May said.
In a sign of the difficulties UK PM Theresa May will face if she remains in power after the election, Tajani indicated that any agreement on the rights of EU citizens in the UK - and Britons on the continent - would be subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
"The prime minister's attempt to dodge scrutiny shows how she holds the public in contempt", he said.
May told The Sun newspaper that if Britain were still negotiating with the bloc in the run-up to a national election, "the Europeans might have seen that as a time of weakness when they could push us".
Speaking outside of Downing Street the Prime Minister conceded it was a change of direction.
Labour supported the start of the formal Brexit process last month, but has demanded certain conditions, such as retaining strong economic ties with the bloc.
A spokesman for May said Wednesday that the government is looking to dissolve parliament on 3 May which will be 25 working days before the snap general election.
"This means there will be an opportunity for United Kingdom citizens to express themselves on how they see the future relationship between their country and the European Union", he wrote, adding, "I will work with a new government for the best common future possible".
Meanwhile the Scottish National Party (SNP), which holds most of the seats in Scotland, is pushing its demands for a second referendum on independence in order to maintain close ties with the EU.
Comments