political news: Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), Dec 20: Manas Ranjan Mangaraj, a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha and a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), has been appointed to the 39-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) tasked with reviewing the Constitution (129th) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to synchronize elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The JPC comprises 11 other Rajya Sabha MPs, including Ghanshyam Tiwari, Bhubaneswar Kalita, K. Laxman, Kavita Patidar, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik, Saket Gokhale, P. Wilson, Sanjay Singh, and V. Vijayasai Reddy.
Earlier in the week, 27 Lok Sabha members were nominated to the JPC, including notable figures such as former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Bansuri Swaraj, C. M. Ramesh, Anil Baluni, Bhartruhari Mahtab, and Sambit Patra.
Additionally, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recently forwarded two bills—the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024—to the JPC concerning simultaneous elections. The JPC is expected to prepare a report for submission to the House by the first day of the last week of the Budget Session. The bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, receiving 269 votes in favor and 196 against, before being referred to the JPC for broader consultation.
