The parliamentary panel tasked with examining the two bills related to simultaneous elections convened its first meeting on Wednesday. Members were briefed by officials from the Ministry of Law and Justice about the provisions of the proposed legislations. The committee, led by BJP MP and former Minister of State for Law PP Chaudhary, includes representatives from major political parties such as Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, and TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee.
The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill were introduced in the Lok Sabha during the recent Winter Session and subsequently referred to the panel. To accommodate the interest of additional political parties in contributing to the review, the committee’s size was expanded from 31 to 39 members. It now includes prominent figures like former Union ministers Anurag Thakur, Parshottam Rupala, and Manish Tewari, alongside other lawmakers such as Anil Baluni, Bansuri Swaraj, and Sambit Patra.
The panel comprises 27 members from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha. Its formation reflects the government’s commitment to engaging a wide spectrum of political voices in evaluating the feasibility and implications of implementing simultaneous elections. The meeting marked the beginning of the committee’s deliberations, which are expected to address the legal and logistical challenges associated with the proposed bills.
Post Your Comments