Introduction –
For the last few days, we get to see a lot of discussion about the anti-defection law through the media, in which the most recent topic is the political crisis of Maharashtra in which the rebellion by the MLAs in the Shiv Sena party, due to which this topic has come in more discussion. Therefore, through this article, we will try to know the complete information about the defection law in simple language. So that we will see what the anti-defection law is and how it was made.
The party was changed thrice a day in the 70s by an MLA in Haryana, Gaya Lal, which led to a phrase in the politics of India called “Aaya Ram and Gaya Ram”. As long as the Congress was run by Pandit Nehru, there has been an umbrella dominance of the Congress in India, but after his death, many regional parties started coming out of the Congress, which became a cause of headache for the Congress. Therefore, after Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister, many times a law should be made for this, this initiative was taken.
Yashwantrao Chavan had been the Home Minister under his leadership, a report was prepared about the anti-defection law by making a commission, but to make this law had to wait for the government of Rajiv Gandhi, who had elected the maximum number of MPs from 404 seats. Earlier attempts were made by all the governments to enact anti-defection laws, but the matter used to get stuck in the Rajya Sabha. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1985, Rajiv Gandhi’s government was formed, which was formed with the maximum number of MPs and there was no problem to make this law in the Rajya Sabha also.
What is anti-defection law? –
- Who is the defection law for?
- member of political party
- independent member
- Rajya Sabha/Assembly Member
In 1985, the anti-defection law was enacted in the Parliament by the Rajiv Gandhi government, under which this law was made banning the MPs and MLAs of the states to change the party. Under this law, MPs and MLAs of the states have to change parties after winning elections within a party, which has become a matter of headache for a party like Congress. Therefore, this law was added to the defection law in the 10th list of the constitution.
The main objective of the anti-defection law has been to bring stability while running the government, due to the growth of regional parties, many MPs and MLAs of Congress parties started joining other parties after winning elections on the party’s symbol, which this law was made to stop. . The role of the party for any law through the party opposition in the Parliament and the Legislative Assembly, it will be binding on the members, it was decided through this law. Through this law, the right to take action against such members of the party for taking a role in opposition to the party outside the Parliament and Vidhan Sabha was also given through this law.
This provision was made that the membership of members can be saved if 1/3 MP or MLA splits the party and 2/3 MPs / MLAs can save membership after merging in another party, such provisions were made. In 2003, by amending it by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the rule of 1/3 was abolished and a provision was made for 2/3 members to merge with another party to save membership. From time to time this law has been misused by the parties in what is called “horse trading”.
Important Provisions of Anti-Defection Law –
- When are MPs and MLAs declared ineligible/disqualified? (10th Schedule)
Voluntarily resigning the membership of the party. - Voting in Parliament/Assembly against the opposition of the party.
- Do not cast your vote on any law despite the opposition of the party.
- If a member has not taken part in any voting process 15 days before with the consent of the party, it shall be treated as an exception and the membership shall remain uninterrupted.
- The opposition MP or MLA becomes a member of a party after the election.
- If members of Rajya Sabha or Legislative Council become members of any party within 6 months.
Exception provision for disqualification - MP / MLA cannot be ineligible when his party merges with another party (2/3 members decide to merge with another party)
- Who has the right to be declared ineligible / ineligible?
The Speaker/Speaker of Parliament/Assembly has the right to declare MPs and MLAs ineligible.
If the Speaker or Speaker of the House is to be declared ineligible, then this process is completed by the members of that House.
History of Anti Defection Law –
In 1969, by setting up a commission under the chairmanship of Yashwantrao Chavan, what should be the purpose for making the anti-defection law, and the regional parties to be formed in different states of India have been due to this law. In a study of 210 MLAs of this commission, it was seen that 116 MLAs changed their party and sat on the cabinet of another party, due to which it was said that there is a need for anti-defection law in the country. To understand how to read the defection law, we have to understand these legal principles “Due Process of Law” and Procedure Established by Law, so that we will understand how to read the law. By the way, in India, this principle is used procedure established by law. Is.
Several attempts were made by Indira Gandhi’s government to make this law, but due to lack of majority in the Rajya Sabha, it had to be stopped till 1985 to make this law. It was added to the 10th list of the constitution and this law was implemented in March 1985, whose main objective is to prevent the defection of parties. In this law, mainly MPs and MLAs were kept and the parties were given the right to suspend the members for the work done in opposition to the opposition of the party and for anti-party activities.
This was further revised in 2003 when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government under which the security of 1/3 members of the rebellion was revoked. Earlier this section did not see any difference in the security of the party so in this law it was repealed and the membership was kept on the revolt of 2/3 of the members to merge with the other party. Nevertheless, till today we see that after finding out the flaw of this law, it is misused by all the parties for horse trading, it looks like this.
Object of Anti-Defection Law –
It has been the main objective of making this law to provide stability in the central government and state government in India. This rule was made to cancel the membership of such members under discipline for anti-party activities by the members of any party. When any MP or MLA wins the election on the symbol of his party and votes against the ideology of the party and against the policy in Parliament and Vidhan Sabha, his membership is canceled.
Before the introduction of this law, elections were contested within one party by MPs and schools, the party was left in the greed of the office of profit in another party and this evidence was increasing. Therefore, questions were being raised on the existence of the largest party of the country like Congress. Today there are major parties like BJP and Congress in the center and there are some parties at the state level, whose members this law was made to stop the rebellion, so that there will be stability while running the government in the country.
Legislators or MPs cannot speak against the party’s policy on any law placed in the Parliament and the Legislative Assembly and work on the party line. This reason was also kept in Parliament and Vidhan Sabha not to do any talk or activities/work in opposition to the party. This law has not been made in Britain and America, that on any law, the members of the government have the right to speak in protest. Therefore, this law seems to be inconsistent with this fundamental right to freedom of speech.
Features of Anti Defection Law –
- The Purpose was made for this law in 1969 by forming a commission under the chairmanship of Yashwantrao Chavan, which was given the form of law by Rajiv Gandhi’s government in 1985.
- The 10th Schedule of the Constitution is known as the Defection Law, which was the 52nd Amendment Act of the Constitution under which restrictions were imposed for MPs and MLAs to defect.
- Under the Defection Act of 1985, the defection of 1/3 of the members was considered a merger and their membership remained intact.
- All the powers of defection rest with the Speaker/Speaker in Parliament and Speaker/Speaker in the Legislative Assembly.
- The Speaker has all the powers of defection, but no time limit has been prescribed in this law for its judicial process.
- Under the 91st Constitutional Amendment of 2004, the merger of 2/3 members with another party has been recognized under this law, canceling the division of 1/3 members.
- In the 1970s, Ayaram was an MLA who changed the party thrice in a single day, raising questions about the instability of the government, and the phrase “Aayaram and Gayaram” became popular among the defection members.
- Despite being a defection law, in view of its flaws, even today, taking advantage of it, there is horse-trading of MLAs and MPs, which is called horse trading.
- The Supreme Court has suggested that defection cases should be resolved expeditiously by setting up a separate tribunal headed by a retired judge.
- Defection laws strengthen the political parties, but the MPs and MLAs who come after electing from their constituency do not have respect for their personal freedom and vote, which is inconsistent with the fundamental rights.
- In Britain, the Speaker of Parliament renounces the membership of his political party before assuming his office, but in India it remains so, showing partiality in the decisions made by the speaker in the judicial process.
Senate members in America have the right to speak against their party and no such law takes away their membership. - In Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, there was an attempt to topple the government by taking the resignations of the members, while in Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was brought to a minority by revolting from their party by 2/3 members, which is the flaw of the anti-defection law.
Political Crisis of Maharashtra Government –
In Maharashtra, the matter of 39 Shiv Sena MLAs rebelling and forming an alliance with the BJP is the most discussed in the media. We get to see the discussion of defection law through this topic. The Karnataka case and the Rajasthan case are very different from the political issue of Maharashtra. Membership was resigned by legislators in Karnataka and Rajasthan but not done by rebel MLAs in Maharashtra.
Keeping in mind the anti-defection law, the Eknath Shinde faction formed the government in alliance with the BJP by separating 2/3 members from Shiv Sena. When this rebellion took place, Eknath Shinde was Shiv Sena’s faction leader in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, so he had the right of opposition, but Uddhav Thackeray’s membership was canceled by Shiv Sena when he was a rebel. The expulsion notice was sent by the Deputy Speaker of Maharashtra, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court by Eknath Shinde.
It is going to be heard on July 11, in which the most important issue is who has the right to expel him in the assembly, because he was the leader of Shiv Sena and he has not resigned yet. The opposition of Shiv Sena outside the assembly is a different matter, but the opposition in the assembly belongs to the leader of the group. That’s why we get to see this legal trick through the anti-defection law, which is different from the rest of the case where the rebel MLAs have not resigned. We are going to see the fight of who has control over Shiv Sena, in which the role of anti-defection law is going to be important.
How does a political party run? –
It is very important for us to understand how the political party is run because in the political crisis that started in Maharashtra, 39 MLAs revolted and brought down the Mahavikas Aghadi government. The 16 rebel MLAs expelled by Uddhav Thackeray were challenged in the Supreme Court by the Eknath Shinde faction as illegal. That’s why we have to first understand how the party is run, so that we will understand who is wrong and who is right.
Under the Representation of the People Act 1951, this law gives recognition to any political party through the Election Commission. No one person can run any Indian political party, its process is democratic and its constitution cannot be inconsistent with the constitution of India. In this also, there is a separate group of any political party in the Legislative Assembly, which runs the VIP which is the elected representatives. In which there would be a group leader and he is the head to running the proceedings in the party’s assembly, who, with the help of Pratod, runs all the party activities according to the party’s purpose.
In the Eknath Shinde case as long as he is the MLA of Shiv Sena party in the state assembly, he is a valid member of the Legislative Assembly and in that too, he himself was elected as the leader of the group in 2019, which document is in the assembly office in 2019 as evidence. Therefore, only Eknath Shinde, the rebel members of Shiv Sena, can exercise their authority through the VIP in the Vidhan Sabha. We have to understand that the opposition of the party outside the assembly will be the party of Uddhav Thackeray, and in the Lok Sabha it will be that of the leader of the Shiv Sena. Therefore, any political party is separate in the Legislative Assembly, in the Lok Sabha or in the local self-government institution and thinks it to be separate outside.
Anti defection Law & Constitutional Contradictions –
In developed countries like America and Britain, this law has not been made, through this law the elected MLA and MP in India have to work in opposition to the party. Even if the MP or MLA is elected on the symbol of the party, but he is the representative of his voter’s union in the democratic system and he cannot agree on all the votes of the party. Under the anti-defection law, all members have to abide by the opposition issued by the party in Parliament and the Assembly.
Therefore, if an MLA or MP is opposed to any law, he cannot give any reaction even after he is opposed to it, this law says. Therefore, this law violates the fundamental rights given by the constitution. All citizens have the right to express their opinion, but this law cancels their membership by expelling such members. Therefore, even though the purpose of this law is to give a stable government, but to give a stable government is not the only aim of democracy.
Such laws have not been made in the developed countries of Europe and America, but then we have to see political stability. In India BJP and Congress are the two main parties at the central level which pass their policy across the country. No MP has the right to vote against it through this Vip or the membership of that MP and MLA ends. The opposition MLAs and MPs do not have to be a member of any party, but this does not lead to a proper discussion on any important law, due to which the right laws are not passed and due to which such legislation gets protest at the ground level.
Critical Analysis of Anti Defection Law –
Through the anti-defection law, political parties get a chance to secure their party, but the MP or MLA who comes to choose from the constituency is accountable for that constituency. Democracy says so, there is accountability for the people of that area, but when the party makes a law by issuing a whip, which is against those people, then with what mouth that MLA and MP should go to their constituency again, this question is created.
It seems that the personal rights of MPs and MLAs and the right to express their views have been abolished through this law. The ideology and discipline of the party is fine, but it is also the duty of every Parliament and MLA to have individual freedom and accountability to the voter. There is this law on this, so this law has been made only for the protection of political parties. After making this law, powerful governments, which are mainly the central government, misuse it to bring down the governments of the states, it looks like.
This law was brought in 1985, but till date all the parties have misused it for horse-trading of MPs and MLAs, it looks like this. Therefore, whichever government is powerful at the center, it has been seen to misuse this law to keep the governments of the states under their control. Therefore, while recognizing the judicial review of this law by the Supreme Court, it is necessary to control this law, in which the Supreme Court believes that the Speaker of Parliament and the Legislative Assembly belongs to a political party and the orders given by them are biased most of the times. The court has to intervene in this.
Conclusion –
In this way, we have tried to know about the anti-defection law through this article, which was passed by the 400-seat government of Rajiv Gandhi. The main objective of bringing this law was that any government at that time was struggling to get an absolute majority. The influence of local political parties was increasing in the states. Many members used to contest elections from one party and then immediately join another party. Due to which a stable party like Congress always feared that their symbol would be misused.
Therefore, in Indira Gandhi’s government, when the Congress was divided into two parts, since then Indira Gandhi has tried to bring the law of defection. So that the members of the political party should be kept under control, but it had to wait till 1985 to do this due to the number of Rajya Sabha. In the sympathy of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi got more than 400 seats and he passed this law by amending the constitution. It was felt that from this onwards stable governments would be established in India. But till date, the loopholes of this law are used to topple the governments of many states.
In Karnataka, Goa, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the misuse of the loopholes of this law has been seen, through the resignation of the members, the governments are brought down. Talking about Maharashtra, under a new strategy, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has been brought down by separating 2/3 Shiv Sena members without resigning. It is not that this law is misused by any one party, whichever political party becomes powerful wants to misuse it. Therefore, this law is forced to act inconsistent with the responsibility of the members towards their constituency. Such observation is available through this medium.