New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) The Lok Sabha on Thursday approved an extension for the parliamentary committee tasked with examining the Bills proposing simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies.

Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Chairman P. P. Chaudhary moved the motion seeking to extend the tenure of the Joint Committee on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, until the first day of the last week of the 2026 Budget Session, and the House cleared it through a voice vote.

Since its formation last December, the committee has held deliberations with constitutional experts, economists, and Law Commission Chairman Dinesh Maheshwari, among others.

The panel met again on Wednesday under Chaudhary’s chairmanship, with BJP MPs Sambit Patra and Anurag Thakur, Congress MPs Manish Tewari and Sukhdeo Bhagat, and SP MP Dharmendra Yadav in attendance.

Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared before the committee to present his views on the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ framework.

He reportedly opposed synchronised polls, arguing that such a system would undermine the basic structure of the Constitution, weaken federal principles, and infringe upon the rights of states.

As parliamentary panel proceedings are confidential, details of the exchanges inside the meeting were not made public.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Chaudhary said Sibal “clarified various queries of the members about the One Nation One Election Bills”.

Calling the discussion “very good and constructive”, he confirmed that the next meeting of the committee will be held on December 17.

“We have to listen to all stakeholders as it is about One Nation One Election… it is a big election reform… Every member is working in the interest of the country,” he added.

The two Bills, introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in December 2024, were later referred to the parliamentary panel.

They seek to align Lok Sabha and Assembly elections by shortening the terms of state legislatures elected after a particular Lok Sabha so that their terms conclude together.

Once election cycles are synchronised, future Lok Sabha and Assembly polls would be conducted simultaneously.

The 23rd Law Commission recently affirmed that the proposed legislation does not violate the Constitution’s basic structure, including principles related to federalism and voter rights.

–IANS

sd/dpb