In the first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the ‘One Nation-One Election’ bill, opposition members and BJP MPs exchanged views on the law. MPs attending the 39-member JPC meeting expressed their views and asked questions after a presentation by the Ministry of Law and Justice on the provisions of the bills and the rationale guiding them. While BJP MPs described the bills as necessary for the country, opposition members criticized the bills, claiming they would infringe on states’ rights.
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During the first meeting, Law Ministry officials briefed the committee members about the report prepared by the Ram Nath Kovind Committee. The officials also reportedly briefed the members about the provisions of the proposed bills. During the meeting, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi raised questions on the number of electronic voting machines (EVMs) required to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
After the meeting, more than 18,000 pages of documents were handed over to the committee members in a large suitcase. Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh shared a picture with the suitcase. “JPC on ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) has received a report running into thousands of pages. 1st meeting of ONOE JPC held today,” Singh posted on Twitter. The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill were introduced by the Center in the Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament on December 18, 2024. The bills were then sent to the JPC for review. The panel has 27 members from Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha. Many opposition MPs, including Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, questioned the claim that holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously would reduce expenditure.
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Opposition MPs also asked whether any estimation was done after the 2004 general elections when electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used for the first time in all 543 parliamentary seats. Sources said BJP MPs countered the charge that the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal violated constitutional values by requiring early dissolution of several state assemblies and locking their tenure with the Lok Sabha.
Thousands of pages of report of one country, one election have been received in JPC.
Today the first meeting of ONOE’s JPC meeting took place. pic.twitter.com/DBLkLSNon6— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) January 8, 2025
