New Delhi, Jan 8 The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on One Nation, One Election will be held here on Wednesday.
The JPC is mandated to review the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aim to align elections at the national and state levels.
Wednesday's meeting is being held with a primary focus on introducing the members to the two key bills. The Committee will be briefed by Ministry of Law & Justice (Legislative Dept) officials on the provisions of the proposed laws. JPC Chairman P.P. Chaudhary has called the meeting.
The One Nation, One Election Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha on December 17. The JPC chaired by BJP's P.P. Chaudhary, comprises 39 members, with 27 from Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha.
The JPC has been constituted to review the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ legislation. Its primary task will be to examine the feasibility and framework for conducting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
The committee will also evaluate proposals for synchronising elections in Union Territories, including Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir, with the Lok Sabha elections.
Among the members of the JPC are Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress), Anurag Thakur and Anil Baluni (BJP), as well as other opposition leaders such as Kalyan Banerjee (TMC), and Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party). The committee’s discussions and recommendations will be the key to shaping the future of India’s electoral process.
The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Law Minister Arjun Meghwal following a debate lasting nearly 90 minutes. After a division of votes, the introduction of the Bill was approved with 269 MPs voting in favour and 198 voting against it. The Bills were later referred to the committee for further scrutiny.
Lok Sabha MPs in the committee are P.P. Chaudhary, C. M. Ramesh, Bansuri Swaraj, Parshottam Rupala, Anurag Singh Thakur, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Sambit Patra, Anil Baluni, Vishnu Datt Sharma, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Dharmendra Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee, T. M. Selvaganapathi, GM Harish Balayogi, Supriya Sule, Shrikant Shinde, Chandan Chauhan and Balashowry Vallabhaneni.
While the government argues that simultaneous elections will streamline governance and reduce costs, opposition parties have raised concerns about its impact on the federal structure. The JPC will play a pivotal role in addressing these concerns and building consensus on this landmark electoral reform.
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