Amid din, Lok Sabha sends ONOE bills to joint committee of two Houses

NEW DELHI: Amid uproar over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks related to B R Ambedkar, the Lok Sabha on Friday referred the two bills on simultaneous polls to a joint committee of Parliament.

Opposition members were raising slogan haling Ambedkar and slamming Shah when the House met for the day.

Instead of taking up the Question Hour, Speaker Om Birla asked Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to move the resolution to refer the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 referred to Joint Committee of Parliament comprising 27 members from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha.

The resolution was adopted by a voice vote amid noisy scenes.

The Lok Sabha was then adjourned sine die (indefinitely), bringing to an end the Winter session which began on November 25.

The two 'one nation, one election' (ONOE) bills, including one requiring an amendment in the Constitution, lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections and were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday after a fiery debate.

BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab is being considered to head the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise the two bills proposing simultaneous elections, sources said on Thursday.

With the BJP set to get the position of the chair for the crucial panel, official sources said Mahtab's parliamentary experience may weigh in his favour.

The strength of the committee was increased from 31 MPs to 39, giving representation to more parties.

While the panel already includes BJP's P P Chaudhury and Anurag Thakur, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress is another prominent member on the committee.

Among the Lok Sabha members, 17 are from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, including 12 from the BJP.