One Nation One Election bill sent to joint parliamentary panel for further scrutiny

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday sent two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections to a joint parliamentary committee that consisted of 39 MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Constitution (129th Amendment) bill and the Union Territories Amendment bill were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on December 17, with the Opposition terming the move "dictatorial" and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.