Why in the News?
Recent political events make one doubt the perceived need and utility of India’s Anti-defection law.
Context:
- Political Defections prevalent across India:
- In Bihar, MLAs from Congress and RJD shifted to BJP, leading to disqualifications under the anti-defection law. Similar incidents occurred in Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
- A recent adjudicatory development in Maharashtra raised doubts on the necessity of India’s anti-defection law, where factions within NCP were not disqualified based on intra-party dissent.
- Need for better inner-party democracy: The Speaker highlighted the challenges in applying the anti-defection law effectively, emphasizing the need for better inner-party democracy reforms to address political defections and ensure legislative stability.
Transgressions that pass muster /Challenges with Anti-defection law:
- Intra-party dissent and Anti-defection law: The Speaker’s decision in the NCP split case highlights the complexity of applying the anti-defection law to intra-party dissent. The intra-party dissent cannot be subject to the punitive provisions of the Tenth Schedule due legislative majority.
- Mergers and Anti-defection law: Under the current anti-defection law, a faction that splits from its original party cannot claim exemption from disqualification, as the “split” exception was deleted from the Tenth Schedule in 2003.
- The only exemption available now is that of mergers, which mandatorily require a minimum of two-third members to separate from their political party and merge with another.
- The Speaker’s observations: The Speaker’s concern for preservation of inner-party dissent is laudable, but the observation that it is in the nature of politics for leaders to form new alliances and break into new forms raises concern about the effectiveness of the anti-defection law.
The issue of inner-party democracy:
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Way Forward:
- Need for Robust democratic structures: The 255th Report of the Law Commission of India proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which could mandate that besides having a constitution, political parties elect an executive committee (for the party), select candidates who are to contest elections to Parliament or State Assemblies, and conduct regular elections within the party at every level.
- Need for Statutory regulation: The Law Commission also proposed granting the Election Commission of India the powers to impose monetary penalties or withdraw the registration of a political party in case it failed to comply.
BACK2BASICS
About Anti-Defection Law in India:
- The Anti-Defection Law in India, introduced in 1985 through the Tenth Schedule of the 52nd Amendment to the Constitution, aims to limit political defections and ensure democratic stability by curbing unethical practices.
- This law prohibits elected representatives from defecting to another party after being elected, thereby promoting party discipline and preventing opportunistic defections that can destabilize governments.
- Despite its significance, there have been calls for reforming the anti-defection law to address challenges and ensure its effectiveness in maintaining the integrity of the political system.
| Mains:
1) “The Indian party system is passing through a phase of transition which looks to be full of contradictions and paradoxes.” Discuss. [UPSC CSE 2016] Prelims: 1) Which one of the following Schedules of the Constitution of India contains provisions regarding anti-defection? [UPSC CSE 2014] a) Second Schedule b) Fifth Schedule c) Eighth Schedule d) Tenth Schedule |
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