Panel on simultaneous polls unlikely to finalise report by Monsoon Session
The Parliamentary Joint Committee reviewing the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to introduce simultaneous elections, is unlikely to meet its deadline and submit
The Parliamentary Joint Committee reviewing the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to introduce simultaneous elections, is unlikely to meet its deadline and submit a report during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The panel, headed by Lok Sabha MP and senior BJP leader P. P. Chaudhary, is going to Uttar Pradesh on July 9 for consultations. Speaking to The Hindu,Mr. Chaudhary said, “We will be visiting more States and speaking to a wider base of stakeholders. This is going to be one of the defining reforms in our post-independent history.
We have some more work remaining.” In Uttar Pradesh, said Mr. Chaudhary, the panel will meet government representatives and Opposition leaders. The panel’s deadline has been fixed for the first day of the last week of the upcoming Parliament session. It is likely to seek an extension again. The panel, formed in December 2024, has held 18 meetings in Delhi. So far, six former Chief Justices of India () have spoken to the panel. Among them, Justice U. U. Lalit and Justice Sanjiv Khanna have argued that the Bill runs afoul of the basic structure of the Constitution as protected by the Kesavananda Bharati judgment.
Justice Lalit had said that the legislation in its present form will not withstand a legal challenge in the Supreme Court. Justice Khanna said that it is open to question as “violating and offending the basic structure of the Constitution”. But four former CJIs, Justice B. R. Gavai, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, and Justice J. S. Khehar told the panel that the Bill does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution. All the former CJIs, however, have previously questioned the unrestricted power granted to the Election Commission in deciding the schedule of elections, especially for State Assemblies.
The panel has to address several tricky questions to enable synchronisation of the election cycles. It is considering a provision that would bar the introduction of a no-confidence motion against an incumbent government if only one year of its term remains.
The BriefWire