New Delhi: Amid disruptions, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Friday adopted a resolution to establish a 39-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to study two draft Bills on implementing simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary was initially named as chairperson of the committee. The decision to expand the committee’s strength from the originally proposed 31 members to 39 came after more parties expressed interest in joining. The JPC will have 27 members from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha.
The committee is mandated to examine the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, which aim to facilitate ‘One Nation, One Election’ — a key BJP proposal. It includes a cross-section of leaders, among them former Union ministers Anurag Thakur and Parshottam Rupala, as well as Congress MP Manish Tewari and first-term parliamentarians Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Bansuri Swaraj, and Sambit Patra.
Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the resolutions in both Houses amid Opposition protests related to Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju defended the larger JPC size, noting that previous committees had included even more members.
Among the JPC’s 39 members, 16 will be from the BJP and five from the Congress. Other parties represented include the SP, TMC, DMK, Shiv Sena factions, TD, JD(U), RLD, LJSP(RV), JSP, NCP-SP, CPM, AAP, BJD, and YSRC. The ruling NDA holds 22 seats on the committee, while 10 belong to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. The BJD and YSRC, not aligned with either camp, have yet to finalise their stance, though YSRC has indicated support for simultaneous polls.
The committee has been asked to submit its report by the first day of the last week of the next Parliament session, though extensions may be granted. The government will need a two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment, raising questions over the proposal’s feasibility.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticised the initiative as “anti-democratic and anti-federal,” arguing it violates the Constitution’s basic structure. He questioned whether the government, which struggled to ensure a full quorum at the Bills’ introduction, could secure the required two-thirds majority. “We will oppose ‘One Nation, One Election’ tooth and nail,” Ramesh said.