New Delhi [India], July 11 : The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the One Nation One Election Bill met here today and interacted with legal experts, including former Chief Justices of India (CJI) JS Khehar and DY Chandrachud. Chairman of the committee, PP Chaudhary, later stated that it is a golden opportunity for the committee to contribute to nation-building, and all members of the panel are focused on preparing good legislation.
"Today 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 told ANI.
He said members of the committee realised and the experts also agreed that it is a golden opportunity for the panel for nation-building. He said such an opportunity will not come again.
After hearing the views of former CJIs JS Khehar and DY Chandrachud, the panel also heard the views of former MP and former chairman of the parliamentary panel on Law and Justice, EMS Natchiappan.
The members who attended the meeting today included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Tewari, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Saket Gokhale, Shambhavi Choudhary and Bhartruhari Mahtab.
Answering a query, PP Chaudhary said that the panel is hearing views of judges as they are experts in the Constitution. He said they are not inclined towards any political party and are only concerned with the law and are unbiased.
PP Chaudhary, a BJP MP, said that the committee is keen to suggest amendments so that the bill can stand judicial scrutiny and the vision of One Nation One Election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be implemented.
The JPC chief also talked about the panel's visit to five states and a union territory and said they got valuable inputs.
He said that many political leaders, civil society members, and officials backed the proposal.
The JPC is examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which proposes simultaneous elections, aligning the election cycles of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
The Union Cabinet had in September 2024 accepted the recommendations of the High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections under the chairmanship of 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 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.