Political Diary
New Delhi, 30 July
2019
Gaddi And Gaddari
SINS OF DEFECTION
By Poonam I Kaushish
In
the monsoon season it is raining Party splitting. One doesn’t know who is
sleeping with whom and who is jumping from one bed to another, as friends and
enemies are all rolled into one. After all, attracting and accepting elected legislators
seems to be the easiest and fastest strategy to come to power. Worse, in these
artificially made alignments, we are persuaded to believe that ends justify
means. Undeniably, defections are the new normal.
Last week, India
stood testimony to brazen horse-trading of
15 Congress-JD(S) MLAs in Karnataka resulting in the downfall of the Kumaraswamy
Government and installation of Yediruppa’s BJP Sarkar. It’s another matter that the Assembly Speaker took nearly a
week to decide on disqualifying 14 MLAs. This bars the MLAs from from
contesting or holding office for the remaining term of the Assembly. Now they
have to approach the Supreme Court.
Shocked? Not at all.
In the last one month we witnessed 4 TDP Rajya Sabha MPs out of 6 attaching
themselves to the BJP and 10 of 15 Congress MLAs jumping ship to the BJP in Goa
Soon enough, three of the defectors were sworn as Ministers. And this was all
legal since it met the Anti- Defection Law’s two-thirds limit.
Both classic
instances of a deep flaw in the Tenth Schedule which allows one-third members
of the Legislative Party to split without inviting the disqualification tag.
Think, the parent Congress and TDP has not split, neither has its Legislature
wing nor its Parliamentary Party or Lok Sabha MPs so how do 10 MLAs and 4 MPs
constitute a merger?
The TDP Parliamentary
Party consists of 9 MPs, 3 in the Lok Sabha and 6 in the Rajya Sabha, thus 6
MPs constitute two-third to avoid disqualification. So if only 4 have defected
they should be disqualified and not accepted as a merger. The BJP came to power
in Arunachal after Chief Minister Khandu switched loyalties in 2017.
A similar strain runs
across India from Manipur, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Maharashtra
whereby with various types of chameleons crossing Party floors the colour of
politics is changing. In West Bengal 2 Trinamool MLAs and 60 Councillors joined
the BJP end May but early June some did a ghar
wapsi. Predictably, Mamata yelled blue murder forgetting she too had done
the same to the CPM earlier.
Another new tactic is
for the Speaker to simply delay decisions in the case of defections. In
Telangana, 12 of 18 Congress TDP defected to the TRS of whom two were appointed
Ministers as the Speaker carefully plods through their defection cases. The
distribution of Ministerial posts is commonplace aspect of ‘defection’ politics.
Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh,
23 legislators defected from the YSRCP to the TDP between 2014-2019, but none
of them were disqualified. Rather than curb corruption, it simply kick it
upstairs, making Party bosses the ones pulling the strings rather than a legislator.
In fact, all Parties
are culprits and love to poach on the “available and willing” MPs and MLAs. Of
course, depending on the price. An example: Fugitive Vijay Mallaya was a
favourite with the BJP, Congress and JD(S) who helped him enter the Rajya Sabha
as an “Independent” from Karnataka. In 2002 it was the Congress-JD(S) and in
2010 the BJP-JD(S).
Questionably, is
defection a Constitutional sin? Yes, averred the Supreme Court in the ex-Uttarakhand
Chief Minister Rawat’s case in 2017. Whereby, it underscored that “unholy
treacheries are masked as tacit mergers or wholesale defections.” Adding,
woefully they are Constitutionally accepted. So what if it has nothing to do
with ideology, morality, ethics etc.
Certainly, the
Constitution prohibits defections but political compulsions, politics of
convenience and opportunism facilitates them. A favoutite ruse is threats,
money and muscle power, coercion and enticements. Till yesterday what was a
pre-poll phenomenon has become a political strategy of connivance.
Sadly, Speakers are
falling prey to their political bias which is casting a long shadow on their
Constitution office. Specially, inaction or delay in hearing complaints which
go against the interest of the Speakers Party. The Anti Defection law has no
provision for Speaker’s delay and inaction. Also, the penalty for defection
comes into play after the defecting legislators have destabilized a Government.
Raising a moot point:
Is it a deliberate conspiracy to create defects in the law to facilitate
defection based manipulations and strategies? Given that the courts can only intervene after
the Speaker has given his decision. There have been many cases where the Courts
have expressed concern over the inordinate delay in deciding defection
petitions, at times till the end of term.
Consequently, in a
milieu where Parties multiply like amoeba, splits have become the rule whereby it
is easier to ‘buy’ a legislator than fight polls and where paper tigers sell
their political soul to the highest bidder taking giant strides as king makers
in the political nautanki. The time
has come to combat the scourge and plug the glaring loopholes in the Anti
Defection Law as it undermines the very foundations of our democracy.
Namely,
set a time limit for the Speaker to decide on an MP/MLA’s resignation, change
the Tenth Schedule and elucidate defections in the parent Party or its
legislative wing and which constitutes a split? The requirement of a preceding
split in the organizational Party could prove an effective deterrent. Clarify
what is a candidate’s status if he ditches his Party pre-election and joins the
rival can he be liable for disqualification if elected?
True, the law does
not prohibit defection but not only should a legislator stand disqualified but
also not be allowed to contest polls for at least 10 years as by defecting he
has subverted the peoples mandate. Presently, even if a defector is denied
ministerial and remunerative posts, he can be rewarded in cash and kind for his
support.
Besides,
Independents are out of its purview. True, there are not many independent
legislators at the Centre. Nor do they play a significant role in tilting the
balance of power. But at the State level many rebels denied Party tickets have
fought elections as independents and won. By and large given the mushrooming of
regional Parties the margin between a majority and minority Party are slim.
Independents, thus play a crucial role in titling the scales for a particular Party.
This should also be banned. When an Independent allies with a Party, he goes
against his and the peoples’mandate.
Undoubtedly,
changing Parties is a part of politics. But we must distinguish between
politics of principles and politics without principles. Clearly, the present
law has not been able to control defections and reduce the impact of money and
lure of office. Hence, of all legislative reforms tightening and cleaning up
the Anti-Defection Law is the most urgent as it only tends to the health of the
world’s largest democracy. Notwithstanding, it tantamount to implementing a
legal solution to solve a political problem.
In
the ultimate, defections and splits need to be effectively tackled. Specially
as we Indians have an infamous genius for driving a coach and six through any
law. Gaddi and Ghaddari must not go
together. Can we look forward to politics of principles and an end to political
harlotry? --INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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