POLITICAL DRAMA CONTINUES FROM THE PAST……..
Defection in politics predates Gaya Lal - the Haryana MLA who switched parties thrice in a day in 1967. After finally securing his loyalty, senior Congress leader Rao Birender Singh famously told a press conference in Chandigarh ," Gaya ram ab Aaya Ram hai ".Little did Singh know that phrase will turn into a clinch in Indian politics with some changes in word orders. About 18 yrs later in 1985, in a bid to curb defection, the Rajiv Gandhi government brought the anti-defection law through the 52nd amendment act of 1985. This amendment is known as anti-defection law.
An anti-defection law calls for disqualification of elected representatives if they switch political parties on the lure of executive office or other gains. The aim is to bring political stability and demand accountability from the legislatures.
Under the anti-defection law, members of a political party can be disqualified and removed from the membership of the house if they voluntarily resign from the party being elected or defy the direction or whip of the party leadership in the House.
But, the whip of a political party forces lawmakers to toe the party line and undermines their judgment on important issues. This essentially kills inner-party democracy. Given numerous loopholes, experts have urged the government to revisit and reform the anti-defection law.
