The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on ‘One Nation, One Election’ is being held here on Tuesday under the Chairmanship of BJP MP PP Chaudhary. The JPC will visit all states, beginning from Maharashtra on May 17, followed by Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, and Punjab.

Ahead of the panel meeting, Chaudhary said that in today’s meeting, former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Hemant Gupta, along with Justice SN Jha, Dr BS Chauhan, and Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, will be there for the interaction.

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”Maharashtra will be covered first on May 17-18, then Uttarakhand between May 19 and 21. Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh (Punjab and Haryana) will be covered in June, according to different categories. Everyone will be heard, whether a celebrity, a sports person, or anyone else, to know the thoughts of the people of the country, and will this be beneficial for the country?” Chaudhary said.

BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj arrived at Parliament Annexe building to attend the meeting carrying a bag with ‘National Herald Ki Loot’ written on it.

NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule and BJP lawmaker Kamaljeet Sehrawat were among others who attended the meeting.

The JPC Chairman said the committee believes that it should visit all states and hear their opinions, which is why the tour is being organised.

On the website launch, Chaudhary said that there should be “transparency,” and the entire Committee has agreed on this.

“There is Democracy in the country, everyone has their opinion. There could be different opinions in the Committee too…One time will come when all the members will agree to it because all the leaders think for the nation and will agree over it for the nation’s interest,” Mr Chaudhary asserted.

In the first session, there will be an interaction with Justice Hemant Gupta, former judge of the Supreme Court. This will be followed by a session with Justice SN Jha, former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

The next session will include Dr Justice BS Chauhan, former Supreme Court judge and Chairman of the 21st Law Commission of India. The final session will be with Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Rajya Sabha Member and Senior Advocate.

On March 25, the JPC held an important meeting that lasted over five hours. Several MPs in the committee raised concerns about the practicality of holding Lok Sabha and state elections together.

The two Bills, called the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on December 17, 2024, and referred to the joint committee.

The joint committee of Parliament, looking into holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, referred to as ‘One Nation, One Election’, will go on four “study tours” in May and June to gather views on two Bills on the matter.