JPC meeting on ‘One Nation, One Election’ to be held today

NEW DELHI: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill is scheduled to meet on July 30, with noted economist N K Singh set to depose before the panel.

Singh is a former Rajya Sabha member, chairman of the 15th Finance Commission of India, former member of the Planning Commission, former Revenue Secretary, and Secretary to the former Prime Minister. He will be assisted by Dr Prachi Mishra, Professor of Economics and Head and Director of the Isaac Centre for Public Policy, Ashoka University, during the deposition.

Earlier, the JPC had met on July 11 and held interactions with legal experts, including former Chief Justices of India, Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud. Following the meeting, committee chairman P P Chaudhary had described the initiative as a golden opportunity for the panel to contribute to nation-building, with all members focused on preparing robust legislation.

“…a meeting was held for the ‘One Nation, One Election’… Former CJIs Justice Khehar and Justice Chandrachud…were present before us, and we had an interaction. This is a golden opportunity for this committee for nation-building… All the members of the committee are above the party politics and are focused on preparing a good ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill”, Chaudhary had said.

He had also stated that both committee members and the experts agreed on the significance of the initiative. In addition to the CJIs, the panel had heard views from former MP and ex-chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, E M S Natchiappan.

Members present during the previous meeting included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Saket Gokhale, Shambhavi Choudhary, and Bhartruhari Mahtab.

Responding to media queries, Chaudhary noted that the panel was consulting judges as they are constitutional experts who remain impartial and are concerned solely with the legal framework. Chaudhary, a BJP MP, said the committee was examining possible amendments to ensure that the Bill stands judicial scrutiny and facilitates the implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘One Nation, One Election’.

The JPC chief also discussed the panel’s visit to five states and a union territory, noting that they received valuable inputs. He said that many political leaders, civil society members, and officials backed the proposal.

The JPC is currently examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. These bills propose aligning the election cycles of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies to enable simultaneous elections.

In September 2024, the Union Cabinet had accepted recommendations of the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind. The Committee had recommended a two-step approach to lead to simultaneous elections. It said that as the first step, simultaneous elections will be held for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

It said that in the second step, elections to the Municipalities and the Panchayats will be synchronised with Lok Sabha and assemblies in such a way that these are held within a hundred days of holding elections to the House of the People and the state legislative assemblies.

The Committee had also recommended that there should be a single electoral roll and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) for use in elections to all three tiers of government. The Committee had said that its recommendations will significantly enhance transparency, inclusivity, ease and confidence of the voters. (ANI)