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One Nation One Election: Parliamentary Committee to hold first meeting today
The JPC is mandated to review the Constitution Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aim to align elections at the national and State levels
New Delhi: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 PPChaudhary has called the meeting. The One Nation, One Election Bills were introduced in LokSabha on December 17. The JPC chaired by BJP’sPP Chaudhary, comprises 39 members, with 27 from LokSabha and 12 from RajyaSabha.
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 LokSabha and state Assemblies. The committee will also evaluate proposals for synchronising elections in Union Territories, including Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir, with the LokSabha elections. Among the members of the JPC are Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress), AnuragThakur and AnilBaluni (BJP), as well as other opposition leaders such as KalyanBanerjee (TMC), and DharmendraYadav(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 LokSabha by Law Minister ArjunMeghwal 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.
LokSabhaMPs in the committee are PP Chaudhary, CM Ramesh, Bansuri Swaraj, Parshottam Rupala, Anurag Singh Thakur, VishnuDayal Ram, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Sambit Patra, Anil Baluni, VishnuDatt Sharma, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Dharmendra Yadav, Kalyan Banerjee, TM Selvaganapathi, GM Harish Balayogi, Supriya Sule, Shrikant Shinde, ChandanChauhan and BalashowryVallabhaneni. 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.