India's Joint Parliamentary Committee Seeks Views on Proposed 'One Nation, One Election' Bills

NEW DELHI: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the proposed “One Nation, One Election” (ONOE) Bills is seeking the views of Union ministries and departments through a questionnaire, it is learnt. The JPC has prepared questions on the role and functioning of ministries to assess how staggered elections affect their functioning and seek their views on simultaneous elections. The Lok Sabha Secretariat sought the response of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). In an office memorandum addressed to the Department of Capital Development under the ministry, the Secretariat said the exercise would seek assessment of administrative, financial, operational and policy implications of staggered polls and the benefits and challenges of simultaneous elections. The questionnaire, containing 27 queries, seeks an assessment of how staggered elections affect the ministry’s functioning, projects and public services. The Department has been asked to submit its views by September 15. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, known as the ONOE Bills, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17, 2024. They were subsequently referred to a Joint Committee of both Houses, headed by Lok Sabha MP P.P. Chaudhary, for wider consultation.