The Congress has proposed the names of Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, Rajya Sabha MPs Manish Tewari and Randeep Surjewala, and Lohardaga MP Sukhdeo Bhagat for inclusion in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine the bills on simultaneous elections. Trinamul nominated its Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale.
Other members of the JPC include Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena, Sanjay Jha of the JD(U), and T.M. Selvaganapathi and P. Wilson from the DMK, as reported by PTI. The BJP is reportedly considering veteran MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nishikant Dubey as its nominees for the committee.
The two bills outlining the framework for conducting Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Following Opposition criticism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the One Nation One Poll Bill would be referred to a JPC for thorough examination and broader consultations.
The Lok Sabha must first pass a resolution to refer the bills to the JPC, after which the Speaker will officially constitute the panel. Other parties are in the process of finalizing their nominations to the proposed committee.
A JPC is a temporary committee formed for a specific purpose and duration, with Parliament determining its membership and scope. According to reports, the JPC on simultaneous polls will include up to 31 MPs (21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha) and operate for three months.
Historically, prominent JPCs in India have been formed to investigate matters such as the Bofors scandal, irregularities in securities and banking transactions, the Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh stock-market scams, pesticide residues in soft drinks (2003), the 2G spectrum allocation scam, and alleged bribery in VVIP chopper deals.
The Parliamentary Research Services notes that JPC recommendations carry persuasive value but are not binding on the government. The government must report its follow-up actions to Parliament, after which committees can submit “Action Taken Reports.” These reports may be discussed in Parliament, where the government can be questioned about its actions.
Some JPCs, such as the one in the Bofors case, witnessed boycotts by Opposition members. Recommendations from the stock-market scam JPCs were not implemented, while the soft drinks pesticide JPC saw partial acceptance of its suggestions. The 2G scam JPC, which had seven dissenting members, claimed that “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was misled by A. Raja.”
In recent years, the Opposition has demanded JPCs to investigate issues like the Rafale aircraft deal and allegations against Adani based on the Hindenburg report. However, these requests were denied during the Modi government.