Parliamentary Committee holds key consultations in Goa over simultaneous elections

Goa Khabar : As part of an ongoing study visit, a parliamentary joint committee held intensive stakeholder consultations in Goa on Friday to gather diverse feedback on the proposal for simultaneous elections across the country. The meetings were centered around the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty–Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Led by Chairperson P P Chaudhary, the panel actively engaged with multiple sectors to evaluate the administrative, economic, and legal implications of the proposed electoral reform.

The day began with a high-level meeting between the committee and Goa’s political executive, including Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and his cabinet colleagues. Following this, an informal session was conducted with senior state bureaucrats, police officials, and the Chief Electoral Officer. These discussions centered on infrastructure and logistics, with the committee requesting state departments to conduct a formal study comparing the practical impacts of staggered versus simultaneous elections.

Later in the day, the panel expanded its outreach to include representatives from both national and regional political parties, alongside academic and legal experts from major educational institutions and the Goa High Court Bar Association. The final stretch focused on the business community, featuring discussions with major industrial bodies like ASSOCHAM, FICCI, and CII to evaluate the governance and financial impact of the bills. All gathered viewpoints will inform the committee’s final report, with further deliberations scheduled with the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly on Saturday.