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The JD(U), an ally of the BJP, and Opposition parties were said to have raised questions Wednesday on the feasibility and implementation of ‘One Nation One Election’ during the first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee formed to study the Bill, introduced in the last session of Parliament, for simultaneous elections in the country.
While committee members from Opposition parties were said to have raised the issue of Constitutionality of the Bill and issues of federalism, BJP allies such as the JD (U) wanted to know how the Bill would cut poll expenses in case governments fall multiple times in a tenure.
The YSRCP had doubts over the use of EVMs and was said to be firming up a suggestion for reverting to the ballot paper.
Parliamentary committee proceedings are privileged and details of exchanges between members during meetings are not made public.
The committee, which has 39 members, is examining two Bills – a Constitution amendment Bill to sync the terms of Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, and a consequential Bill to amend the relevant Acts for Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi to enable simultaneous polls.
On Wednesday, the committee received relevant documents and representations from the Ministry of Law.
NDA members have defended the Bill, saying this was not new and had been in the process since 1957.
Officials of the Law Ministry were said to have briefed the members on the Bills and made a presentation on the background of the issue, the rationale and the proposal for simultaneous elections.
Each committee member was handed a copy in English and Hindi of the report of the High-Level Committee on One Nation One Election, chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, along with thousands of pages of annexures of the report packed in American Tourister luggage cases. The annexures include previous Law Commission and Parliamentary Standing Committee reports on the issue of simultaneous elections.
The JD (U) has questions regarding the logistics required for simultaneous polls.
The Congress and other Opposition parties are of the view that the concept of simultaneous polls goes against the Constitution and the federal structure of the country.
The TMC wants the committee to seek an extension of one year to submit its report given the exhaustive nature of the subject being examined by the panel.
It has also countered the government’s assertion that elections at different times result in “policy paralysis”, saying the Model Code of Conduct only impacts the states where elections are being held and not other states.
