Anti Defection Law in India

- Rangisetti Naga Sumalika

Introduction:

Defection is defined as a person quitting their political party, their commitment to their party, or their leader because they no longer trust them. Horse-trading was the popular term for the act of switching political allegiances in order to gain office. The political leaders and political parties engaged in extensive horse trading and debasing with MLAs switched political affiliations. The Rajiv Gandhi Government introduced the Anti-Defection statute into the Indian Constitution in 1985 with a stated aim to monitor such training and the consequences. These were laid forth in the process for the 52nd Constitutional Amendment, which inserted the Tenth Schedule, also known as the Anti-Defection Law, into the Constitution.

The Tenth Schedule introduced the anti-defection law in India by stating that lawmakers who voluntarily resign from their party affiliation and lawmakers who disobey the party's voting whipline will be disqualified. A defecting member's reasons for expulsion from his former political party are listed in the schedule. The goal of this law is to maintain political stability and stop lawmakers from defecting and engaging in floor crossing after being bought off. Political parties are becoming more prominent as additional constitutional powers as a result of the shrinking individual identity of legislators.

India was prompted to enact this rule as a result of witnessing the number of defections in one year as it had in the four Lok Sabhas that came before it. By outlawing floor crossing, the amendment aimed to stabilize political party structures and improve parliamentary procedure. Thus, Schedule X was viewed as a strategy to control the situation. The significance of this constitutional provision was that it prohibited a member of Parliament from later choosing to join or defect from the political party under which they had been elected. On the other hand, independent members of Parliament would be accountable if they joined the ranks of a political party after the election.

Origin of the Act:

The 1967 elections in India were a turning point in electoral history because they addressed the issue of defection and the urgent need to do something to end it. A considerable number of defections were observed in 1962, when over 142 MPs and 1900 MLAs left their parties. This event also contributed to the creation of the extremely well-known expression "Aaya Ram Gaya Ram," which alludes to Haryana MLA Gaya Lal, who switched parties three times in one day in 1967. In order to address this menace, the government decided to take action in 1967 and subsequently passed a resolution.

Articles like 101, 102, 190, and 191 served to include the procedure for disqualifying parliamentarians in the event that they committed defection. It was crucial to stop members from switching parties frequently since it was threatening the political system's stability. The Rajiv Gandhi Government undertook this crucial action, and it was noted in the justifications for the modification that "the evil of political defections has been a cause of national concern." If it is left unchecked, our democracy and the values that support it are likely to be undermined.

The paragraph 2(1)(b) of the Tenth Schedule mentions to prevent a member of the house from serving if he or she votes against any directive issued by his or her political party. This clause prevents floor crossing from being the exclusive form of defection. In light of the aforementioned legal provisions, the latter have remained a source of debate on the grounds that they stifle the voice of legislators in particular, violating Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees everyone's right to freedom of speech and expression in a free and democratic nation like India. Hence the Supreme Court in the year 1992 in the case of Kihota Hollohon vs Zachilhu clarified that the Anti-Defection Law in 10 th Schedule is constitutionally valid as it doesn’t infringe on the Article 19 of freedom of speech and expression of members, subject to the review of the Presiding Officer decision.

Clickbait reasons for causing Defection:

Elections are a universal adult franchise, one of democracy's key components. However, if these voters start to defect, it will be a serious blow to democracy. But in instances when the defectors find himself to serve from better position, responsibilities, one tends to consider to joining another party. When one finds in strife situations over ideological differences of their existing party and over abyss of receiving inadequate importance. The majority (ruling) party may occasionally become the minority (opposition) party in a state once the government is overthrown. Therefore, a party that has an electoral majority and the people's support to establish the government may nonetheless fail to do so if any of its members leave the party. On the plus side, the law seeks to stabilize the government by disciplining participants if their allegiance to one party or another changes. Additionally, anti-defection rules aim to increase party loyalty among participants. This is what it seeks to accomplish by making sure that the members chosen in the party's name, with its backing and according to its platform, remain committed to the political party of which he is a member and its policies.

On the other end, anti-defection laws frequently impede members' rights to free speech and expression by forbidding them from voicing any disagreement with party positions. Nevertheless, it has been determined in numerous rulings that the freedom of speech guaranteed by Articles 105 and 194 is not unqualified. It is bound by the Constitution's provisions, one of which is the Tenth Schedule. The law's inability to allow political party members to switch affiliations diminishes the government's accountability to the Parliament and the general public, which is another flaw.

How far has the Anti-Defection Law implemented has been successful?

The very recent case of appointment of Eknath Shinde as the CM of Maharashtra has thrown a spotlight on the defection law. Under the direction of Uddhav Thackeray, Sonia Gandhi, and Sharad Pawar, the Maha Vikas Aghadi/Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition was formed in 2019. It consists of the Shiv Sena, Indian National Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Prahar Janshakti Party, and several independent MLAs. Following the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, the MVA was established. The Shiv Sena currently has two factions inside the MVA coalition, one led by Thackeray and the other by Eknath Shinde. As a result of a rebellion from Eknath Shinde's group, the MVA administration in Maharashtra has been experiencing a political crisis. In this case, 30 Shiv Sena MLAs has supported Eknath Shinde in the floor test, forcing Uddhav Thackeray to resign from the position of CM.

Suggestions and Conclusion:

Numerous changes to the law have also been proposed throughout the years to improve various areas of it. For instance, ensuring the stability of the administration was one of the primary goals for the law's enactment. Therefore, a number of organizations have suggested that the law's application be limited to votes that have an impact on the stability of government, such as votes on money bills and motions of no confidence. It only applies to saving governments from motions of no confidence.

Additionally, the Supreme Court ruled last year that Parliament should create an independent tribunal to decide defection cases quickly and fairly. The tribunal would be led by a retired judge from the higher judiciary. The Representation of Peoples Act must be changed to prohibit a resigning Member from being elected during the by-election that immediately follows their resignation or defection. By ensuring that defecting members cannot be re-elected during the By-Election immediately after resignation, the cause can be satisfied to some extent. A more rationalized form of anti-defection laws is required in order to assist construct a truly representative democracy, even though the political instability brought on by the legislators' frequent and ungodly switching of allegiance has been greatly reduced as a result of anti-defection laws.