NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday extended the tenure of the parliamentary committee scrutinising the two bills for simultaneous elections till the first day of the last week of Parliament’s Monsoon session.Joint Committee of Parliament chairman P P Chaudhary moved the motion for the extension in the House, and it was passed by a voice vote. The Lok Sabha secretary general also informed the House that a new member from the upper house was being included in the panel. The 39-member committee had a vacancy following the resignation of YSR Congress MP V Vijayasai Reddy from the Rajya Sabha.The “One Nation One Election” (ONOE) committee was constituted in the last winter session and its term was to end on the first day of the last week of the ongoing session.As per the committee members, their work is likely to stretch for a long period of time as the seminal import of the proposed laws will require them to consult a wide range of stakeholders, including political parties and state governments.Meanwhile, at the Tuesday meeting of the JPC, Attorney General of India R Venkataramani and Justice DN Patel, the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court interacted with the members. On the extension of time for submission of the report, PP Chaudhary said that the members maintained that they should be given ample time to hold consultations with all the stakeholders.“All the members believed that all stakeholders should be given adequate opportunity very effectively and after listening to everyone, we should submit the report in a very transparent manner, that is why time should be sought and the Parliament extended the time,” he added.Former Delhi High Court chief justice A P Shah, who deposed before the panel in the last meeting, submitted a 12-page note asserting that the proposed legislation is anti constitutional, violative of democratic principles and federal structure.
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