Govt agrees to refer ‘One Nation, One Election’ bills to Joint Parliamentary Committee for wider consultations

The government has agreed to refer One Nation One Election (ONOE) bills to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for wider consultations. Union Home Minister Amit Shah told Lok Sabha that Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that the bill be sent to the JPC as there should be a detailed discussion over it at every level. Mr Shah’s statement came amid an uproar in the Lok Sabha as Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Law (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to enable simultaneous polls. 

Soon after the bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha, the opposition party leaders registered their objections. While introducing the bills in the lower house of Parliament, Mr Meghwal had said that the government is



ready to send ONOE to the JPC. He also termed the objection to ONE bill as political. The two bills are aimed at holding Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections simultaneously in the country.

The JPC is an ad hoc Committee set up by the Parliament to conduct a thorough examination of a specific subject or Bill. It consists of members from both Houses and the ruling and opposition parties. However, the number of members and composition of the JPC are not limited. The JPC is dissolved after the examination is completed. The JPC’s recommendations are advisory, and the government is not required to abide by its decision. The committee can also gather evidence from experts and consult public bodies, associations, individuals, and other interested parties.