Latest news with #129thAmendment)Bill
India Gazette
22-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
JPC Chairman PP Choudhary holds press conference over two-day meeting of key amendment bills
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], May 22 (ANI): Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Chairman PP Choudhary held a press conference in Dehradun on Wednesday. This comes in connection with the two-day meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territory Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, held from May 21-22. Earlier today, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in a dialogue program with the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the topic 'One Nation, One Election' at a hotel on Mussoorie Road. He welcomed and greeted the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, PP Chaudhary and all the committee members. The Chief Minister said that 'One Nation One Election' is an important initiative towards making our democracy more strong, effective and inclusive. CM Dhami said, 'Our election system has been effective and strong despite its diversity. However, because elections are held at different times, the code of conduct is imposed repeatedly, which is why all the work of the states comes to a standstill. Whenever elections come, many personnel must be removed from their original work and put on election duty.' The Chief Minister said, 'For the last three years, due to the code of conduct of the Assembly, Lok Sabha, and Municipal elections in the state, the administrative machinery of the state was deprived of the process of taking policy decisions for 175 days. For a small and limited resource state, these 175 days are important from the point of view of governance.' The Chief Minister said that the state government bears the entire expenditure burden of the assembly elections, and the central government bears the expenditure burden of the Lok Sabha elections. 'If both polls are held together, the expenditure burden on the state and the central government will be equally halved. By holding both the elections together, there will be a saving of about 30 to 35 per cent in the total expenditure. This can be used in many areas of the state, such as health, education, road, water, agriculture, and women's empowerment,' said CM Dhami. The Chief Minister said that in Uttarakhand, the period from June to September is the time of rain along with the Chardham Yatra; in such a situation, many problems must be faced due to the election program. He said, 'The election process should not be scheduled during the last quarter of the financial year, from January to March. Due to the high school and intermediate board examinations in February-March, administrative resources are under additional pressure.' He said that 'One Nation, One Election' is important in hilly and difficult geographical conditions, such as in states like Uttarakhand. The Chief Minister said that it is difficult to reach polling booths in remote areas of Uttarakhand, which is why the election process takes more time and resources. He also said that it is also challenging for voters in mountainous areas to participate in elections, due to frequent elections, people's inclination towards voting decreases, and the voting percentage also decreases. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
ONOE aims to alter basic principles of Constitution: Singhvi
New Delhi: Legal expert and Congress lawmaker Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday emphasised that the Constitution (129th) amendment bill proposing simultaneous elections in the country would need ratification by at least half of the state legislatures, noting that the legislation aims at altering the basic principles of the Constitution. The Rajya Sabha member, who was deposing before the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) examining the bills on one nation, one election (ONOE), made a detailed presentation on legal points and said the draft laws violate the 'will of the people' and principles of federalism. When Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is also part of the 31-member JPC, asked Singhvi if simultaneous polls lead to favourable verdict to the ruling party, the latter pointed to reports that suggest favourable results. The senior advocate told the JPC that changing the schedule for Lok Sabha and assembly elections to hold them simultaneously would amount to curtailing the mandate of the voters as some assemblies' five year-term would be reduced by a few years to sync the polls. He emphasised that the Constitution amendment bill will need approval from at least half of the state legislatures, noting that it seeks to alter the basic principles of the Constitution. He pointed to certain provisos of Article 368(2) (which empowers Parliament to amend the Constitution) to back his argument on the need of ratification by state legislatures. Singhvi maintained that federalism is most vital part of the basic structure and when it is interfered with or artificially curtailed, it tampers the basic structure. The committee headed by BJP lawmaker PP Chaudhary is mandated to examine the bills on simultaneous polls — the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill — and give its report on whether they are sound enough for the purpose or need changes. The panel is likely to submit its report in monsoon session in July. Several lawmakers, Chaudhary, Randeep Surjewala, Ghanshyam Tiwari and Sambit Patra, also asked questions to Singhvi. BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj attended the meeting with a bag carrying a message about the 'loot' in the National Herald case. Talking to reporters later, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said: '(Swaraj) was roaming around with some slogan. I enjoyed it. I even asked her about her bag but she just smiled…'
