Giriraj Singh, Nitin Gadkari among 20 BJP leaders not present during introduction of 'One Nation, One Election' bill

New Delhi [India], December 17 (ANI): Union Ministers Giriraj Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Jyotiraditya Scindia and CR Patil were among nearly 20 BJP MPs absent during the division for the introduction of the 'One Nation, One Election' bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, according to the sources.
Sources said Shantanu Thakur, Jagdambika Pal, BY Raghavendra, Vijay Baghel, Udayraje Bhonsale, Jagannath Sarkar, Jayant Kumar Roy, V Somanna, Chintamani Maharaj were also among those not present in the House.
The sources said it is not clear yet if those not present had informed the party about their absence due to prior engagement or any other reason.
The sources said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to issue notices to the MPs who were "absent" when 'One Nation, One Election' bill was being introduced in the Lok Sabha. Opposition parties pressed for division before the bill was introduced.
The party BJP had issued a three-line whip for the presence of its MPs stating that some important legislative agenda is on the agenda.
Opposition members opposed the introduction of the bill. In the division, 269 members voted in favour of the introduction of the bill and 196 voted against it.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024' and 'The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024', which propose simultaneous elections for both Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was introduced in the lower house today. The bills were introduced in Lok Sabha by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The bills will now be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further deliberations.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that when One Nation, One Election Bill was taken up in the cabinet for approval, PM Modi had said that it should be sent to the JPC for detailed discussion. (ANI)