Anti – Defection Law.

• Recently, eight of the 11 Congress MLAs in the Goa Assembly defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Anti-defection Law

Origin:

• Aaya Ram Gaya Ram was a phrase that became popular in Indian politics after a Haryana MLA Gaya Lalchanged his party thrice within the same day in 1967.
• The anti-defection law was a response to the similar toppling of multiple state governments by party-hopping MLAs.
• Parliament added it to the Constitution in 1985.

Constitutional Basis:

• The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution by the 52nd Amendment Act.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection.

Applicable to:

• The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Deciding authority:

• The Presiding Officers of the Legislature (Speaker, Chairman) are the deciding authorities in such cases.
• The Supreme Court has held legislators can challenge their decisions before the higher judiciary.

Views of Committees on Anti-Defection Law

Dinesh Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms (1990)

• Disqualification should be limited to cases where (a) a member voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, (b) a member abstains from voting, or votes contrary to the party whip in a motion of vote of confidence or motion of no-confidence.
• The issue of disqualification should be decided by the President/ Governor on the advice of the Election Commission.

Law Commission (170th Report, 1999)

• Provisions which exempt splits and mergers from disqualification to be deleted.
• Pre-poll electoral fronts should be treated as political parties under anti-defection law.
• Political parties should limit issuance of whips to instances only when the government is in danger.

Election Commission

• Decisions under the Tenth Schedule should be made by the President/ Governor on the binding advice of the Election Commission.

Constitution Review Commission (2002)

• Defectors should be barred from holding public office or any remunerative political post for the duration of the remaining term.
• The vote cast by a defector to topple a government should be treated as invalid.