JPC clears ONOE, cites legal backing

Bill may be brought in Monsoon Session

In an apparent indication that a bill pertaining to simultaneous elections could be introduced in the forthcoming Monsoon Session, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Saturday said that the legal experts, including six former Chief Justices of India has conveyed that the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) framework conforms to the Constitution and does not violate federal structure or democratic principles.

Addressing a press conference at the end of the JPC’s two-day visit to Goa, senior BJP leader and JPC chairman PP Chaudhary said the committee examined concerns over whether simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections would undermine federalism or violate the Constitution’s basic structure.

The JPC travelled to several states, including Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat and Goa to gather views from chief ministers, Assembly Speakers, legislators, civil servants, industry representatives, civil society organisations and the media.

“The first question before us was whether simultaneous elections are against the Constitution, against federalism or against democracy. We sought the opinion of legal experts, including six former Chief Justices of India. All of them independently told the committee that simultaneous elections do not violate the federal structure, democracy or the basic structure of the Constitution,” he said.

Three Supreme Court judges, the chairman of the Law Commission and several constitutional experts also expressed similar views before the committee, Chaudhary added. “The consensus among constitutional experts is that simultaneous elections are fully in consonance with the Constitution and are not inconsistent with any constitutional provision,” he added.

The BJP leader said the committee also consulted economists to assess the financial implications of holding simultaneous elections.

Referring to the report of the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, he claimed that synchronised Lok Sabha and Assembly polls could add nearly Rs 7 lakh crore to the country’s economy by reducing election-related disruptions and improving governance.

Frequent elections adversely affect education, tourism and industrial production, Chaudhary said. “Teachers in Government schools are repeatedly deployed for election duties, affecting education. Tourist destinations such as Goa suffer losses because elections and the Model Code of Conduct disrupt tourism activity. Around five crore migrant workers move during election periods, affecting industrial production,” he said.

According to Chaudhary, industries also face financial stress due to election-related disruptions, impacting production, loan repayments and the banking sector.

Simultaneous elections would provide governments with an uninterrupted five-year governance cycle instead of keeping the country in “continuous election mode”, he said.

Tracing the history of simultaneous elections, Chaudhary said Lok Sabha and Assembly polls were held together between 1952 and 1967. The election cycle was disrupted later due to premature dissolution of Assemblies, changes in political leadership, the Emergency and repeated imposition of President’s Rule in several states. “Today, five to six Assembly elections are held every year, keeping the country in election mode almost throughout the year,” he said.

The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, the Election Commission in its 1983 report, the Law Commission and several expert committees had recommended simultaneous elections in the national interest, Chaudhary said.