The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill was announced on Wednesday, PTI reported.
The parliamentary panel will deliberate on the bill which proposes simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. The panel comprises 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 members from the Rajya Sabha.
Union law minister Arjun Meghwal tabled the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment Bill) 2024 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
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The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024′ and ‘The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024’, which propose simultaneous elections for both Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was introduced in the lower house today.
In the division, 269 members voted in favour of the bill’s introduction, while 196 voted against it.
Here are the 21 Lok Sabha MPs who have been named as members of the JPC:-
| S.NO | LOK SABHA MEMBER |
|---|---|
| 1. | PP CHAUDHARY |
| 2. | CM RAMESH |
| 3. | BANSURI SWARAJ |
| 4. | PARSHOTTAMBHAI RUPALA |
| 5. | ANURAG SINGH THAKUR |
| 6. | VISHNU DAYAL RAM |
| 7. | BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB |
| 8. | SAMBIT PATRA |
| 9. | ANIL BALUNI |
| 10. | VISHNU DATT SHARMA |
| 11. | PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA |
| 12. | MANISH TEWARI |
| 13. | SUKHDEO BHAGAT |
| 14. | DHARMENDRA YADAV |
| 15. | KALYAN BANERJEE |
| 16. | TM SELVAGANAPATHI |
| 17. | SUPRIYA SULE |
| 18. | GM HARSH BALAYOGI |
| 19. | SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE |
| 20. | CHANDAN CHAUHAN |
| 21. | BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI |
According to the notification issued on Wednesday, the JPC will make a report and submit to the House by the first day of the last week of the Budget Session.
Opposition slams ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill
The opposition parties including Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and others have criticised the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill, calling it “against federalism”.
“The government is arguing that crores of rupees are being spent in organizing elections and it is trying to save money. To conduct a Lok Sabha election, ₹3700 crores is spent, this figure was given by ECI during the 2024 LS elections. ₹3,700 crores is 0.02 per cent of the annual budget. To save the 0.02 per cent expenditure of the annual budget, they want to end the entire federal structure of India and give more power to the ECI,” Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi was quoted by ANI as saying.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee too opposed the bill, saying,”It hits the basic structure of the Constitution. It is contrary to Article 83 sub-article 2(1)… Thirdly, the state assembly will depend upon the desired doctrine of the central parliament. Whenever the parliament will dissolve, then all state elections have to be done. State assembly and state government are not subordinate to the Parliament and the central government.”
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
