While the majesty of the courts needs to be accepted and respected at all points of time, because the courts only interpret the law, the decision of the High Court of Bombay at Goa to legitimise the merger of 10 Congress MLAs and the two MGP MLAs into the BJP, even though their principal parties played no hand in the merger, will have political fallout not be in the spirit of democracy and people’s will.
While the Courts can in no way be questioned because they have only interpreted the existing law laid down by parliament, elected politicians and political parties will interpret this judgment as a license for mass defections as long as the limits of defection (two-thirds of the legislature party) are not crossed.
Goa will witness unprincipled defections
No political party will be free of this. And there will be MLAs and not parties which will take their own decisions and get into talks with other parties to defect. While the Court relied on the letter of the law to underline the legality, our politicians will bend the legality to their advantage and the disadvantage of the people.
That is a sad and shocking reality. And Goa does not deserve this.
While the Constitution lays down limits on legislative decency, the people have laid down the rules of political decency
The High Court in its judgment dismissing the petition for disqualification of the 12 MLAs from the Congress and MGP who ‘merged’ into the BJP emphasised that there was a need to provide for ‘floor-crossing’ on the basis of honest dissent’. It noted that it is for the Parliament to lay down such standards of morality.
But the 10 Congress MLAs and 2 MGP joined BJP for power and not honest dissent
Yes, there is scope for honest dissent in a democracy, but can any Goan say that the mass defections were due to any disagreement that had with their parties? They went for power as can be seen from the fact that each one of them either became ministers or chairpersons of corporations.
Moreover, if there is any honest dissent of any MLA against his party, then that must be conveyed and discussed with their people. Before elections leaders always say they need to talk to their supporters, but after elections, they need to talk not just to voters but everyone in the constituency because an MLA represents all. This is never done when MLAs decide to defect. That is why there was so much resentment among people, so much so that Congress decided not to give tickets to a single defector. They either had to contest as independents or on other party tickets.
This will further give rise to a separation of candidates from the parties
For parties from which MLAs are likely to defect, there will be little control because the actions of MLAs individually and collectively will be deemed as actions of the parties, which the parties will not agree to, but they have no choice.
With no party likely to get a full majority, similar situations will happen
If defectors become members of another political party or, of a new political party formed by such merger or have opted to function as a separate group, they will not be disqualified as long the numbers are two-thirds of the elected MLAs of the original party, even if the original party does not accept the merger.
The High Court said it is for the legislature to lay down the threshold of political morality. But sadly the politicians who misuse the anti-defection law may be on a legal footing but on at all on any moral footing.
