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Sources said the education department told the parliamentary panel that government schools were impacted as teachers were put on poll duty, halting classes for a few days
The ONOE panel was announced during the last winter session of Parliament after the Centre said it was keen on sending the Bill for scrutiny after its introduction in the Lok Sabha. (Image: PTI/File)
Maharashtra’s education department deposed before the joint parliamentary committee formed on the crucial ‘One Nation One Election’ Bill, on how government-run schools are impacted due to frequent elections as teachers are sent away for poll duty.
The joint parliamentary committee (JPC), which is on a multi-city tour, was in Mumbai on the first day and examined multiple witnesses. Top officials of the Maharashtra government, including the chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), were among those who appeared before the panel.
The state government gave a detailed presentation on why this legislation will be beneficial for the focus to be on governance and not disrupted by back-to-back elections.
It has been learnt through sources that the education department deposed before the committee and spoke about the impact on government-run schools. They said multiple elections meant multiple deployments, especially in government schools as private schools were not affected during elections. Government schools, however, were impacted as teachers were put on poll duty, halting classes for a few days. Members from the ruling side spoke in support of One Nation One Election, which can benefit the education system.
It was further learnt that officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appeared before the JPC. The sources said the RBI deposed that due to the code of conduct and restrictions on cash transfers, it has a massive bearing on them. The RBI said there needs to be more in-depth study on the impact of the legislation, for which they have sought a time frame of six months to appear before the panel again, they said.
Leaders from different political parties, including former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, and regional party leaders appeared before the committee. While those from the BJP and the alliance partners spoke in support of the Bill, political parties like the Congress and NCP argued that this will curtail the right of the people to seek answers from their elected representatives. They also expressed concerns over the existence of regional parties in such a system.
After a break on Sunday (May 18), the JPC will resume its meeting on Monday (May 19). It has been learnt that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, will also appear before the committee. This is the first time that a chief minister will be appearing before it.
The panel was announced during the last winter session of Parliament after the Centre said it was keen on sending the Bill for parliamentary scrutiny after its introduction in the Lok Sabha. It is headed by former minister and Lok Sabha MP PP Chaudhary and has 39 members, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The panel has a number of eminent lawyers like MPs Manish Tewari, P Wilson and Kalyan Banerjee. Other opposition MPs, who are part of the panel are Supriya Sule from the NCP, Randeep Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik from the Congress, Anil Desai from Shiv Sena (UBT).
On the ruling side, members include former union minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Baijayant Panda, Bhartruhari Mahtab and Anil Baluni from the BJP. Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena and Harish Balayogi from the TDP among others are also part of the JPC.
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