Tenure of parliamentary panel on simultaneous polls extended

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday extended the tenure of the parliamentary committee examining Bills that seek to introduce simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies till the Monsoon session. PP Chaudhary, chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Bills seeking to introduce simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, moved a motion seeking extension of the tenure of the panel.

He sought an extension of the tenure of the Joint Committee on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, up to the first day of the last week of the 2026 monsoon session. The Lok Sabha adopted the motion by a voice vote.

The committee has met constitutional experts, economists, Law Commission members, several politicians, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, since it was constituted in December 2024. The Bills were introduced on December 17, 2024, in the Lok Sabha and sent to the joint committee for further scrutiny. The 39-member multi-party panel held its first meeting on January 8, 2025.

Former first deputy managing director of the IMF, Gita Gopinath, has also appeared before the panel. Former chief justices of India Sanjiv Khanna, U U Lalit, D Y Chandrachud and J S Khehar have also appeared before the panel.