Powers Of ECI Must Be Clearly Defined, AG Venkataramani Tells 'One Nation One Election' JPC
Two eminent people appeared before the committee in this meeting: former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court DN Patel and Attorney General of India R Venkataramani
The joint parliamentary committee (JPC) formed to examine the bill for the Narendra Modi government’s One Nation One Election plan met in Parliament on Tuesday, chaired by BJP lawmaker PP Chaudhary.
Two eminent people appeared before the committee in this meeting: former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court DN Patel and Attorney General of India R Venkataramani.
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While the former Chief Justice supported the bill and thought it would be good for the country, he also made several suggestions. This would help in significantly reducing election costs and may also improve the quality of governance. However, some of the major challenges could be the procurement of EVMs and logistical support for providing security and staffing, and that should be taken into consideration, Justice Patel told the panel.
He also went on to say that this would not disturb the basic structure of the Constitution of India, and neither would it be anti-federal, as is being speculated by some quarters. “However, One Nation One Election is a desirable subject to amendments and precautions," Patel is said to have told the committee.
Similarly, Attorney General of India R Venkataramani told the committee that the proposed amendments would lead to financial benefits and efficiency in governance. Just like other legal luminaries who have appeared before the panel in the past few meetings, including former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as well as UU Lalit, his argument is that this would bring about greater accountability from the executive towards the people who have elected them. He also feels that there is no interference with the federal system guaranteed by the Constitution of India. “The basic structure doctrine would not be violated by bringing in this constitutional amendment," the AG is said to have told the JPC.
He has also agreed that there is no threat to democracy or the right of people to vote, etc, which stands in violation when this legislation is implemented.
Many other members, especially in the opposition, had a concern about whether this legislation would give overarching powers to the Election Commission of India. “The powers of the Election Commission as envisaged under the proposed constitutional amendments need to be more clearly delineated," Venkataramani is said to have suggested in the meeting.
Sources also said that the AG did not substantiate the idea of substantial versus peripheral curtailment of the term of state legislative assemblies as envisaged by other experts.
Earlier in the day, chairman PP Chaudhary sought an extension for the committee to submit its report from Parliament. The panel now needs to submit its report by the first day of the last week of the upcoming monsoon session.
This JPC was announced during the last winter session of Parliament after the government said that it was keen on sending the bill for parliamentary scrutiny once its introduction happened in the Lok Sabha. Later, law minister Arjun Meghwal also read out the list of members who were part of the committee. Upon insistence by some opposition MPs, a day later, the number of members of the committee was increased to 39. Former minister and Lok Sabha lawmaker PP Chaudhary is the chairman of the panel. However, the Lok Sabha speaker added two members to the committee as special invitees.
Among the members of the committee from the opposition is Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The panel has several eminent lawyers who are also Members of Parliament, like Manish Tewari, P Wilson, and Kalyan Banerjee. Other opposition MPs who are part of the panel include Supriya Sule from the NCP-SP, Randeep Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik from the Congress, and Anil Desai from the Shiv Sena (UBT).
On the ruling side, MPs in the committee include former union minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Baijayant Panda, Bhartruhari Mahtab, and Anil Baluni from the BJP, Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena, and Harish Balayogi from the TDP, among others.
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