TMC names Kalyan Banerjee, Saket Gokhale for joint panel on simultaneous polls bills

Trinamool Congress has proposed the names of its Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee and his Rajya Sabha counterpart Saket Gokhale to the proposed joint committee of Parliament to be constituted to examine the bills on simultaneous elections. The two bills that lay down the mechanism for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections together were introduced in the Lower House on Tuesday.

The government had asserted that the bills would be referred to a joint committee for detailed examination and wider consultations. Lok Sabha has to first adopt a resolution to refer the draft laws to the joint panel following which it will be constituted by the Speaker.

Other parties are also in the process of naming their members on the proposed panel.