Constant defections have changed the geometry of Goan politics. Exactly two years ago 10 Congress MLAs defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and earlier in the term three Congress MLAs had resigned their seats and contested on BJP tickets and won. What is the reason for such defections? Though they claimed that their switch over was for development of their respective constituency, obviously the greed for money and power seems to be the root cause for defections.
Nobody wants to remain an Opposition MLA and somehow by hook or crook such vested MLAs conspire and gang together to have ‘a share of the spoils’ by defecting to be part of the ruling formation of government.
Why defections take place
It is now open secret that candidates spend huge money to get themselves elected as legislators, often borrowing money to garner votes. Once such MLAs get elected they seize the first opportunity of defecting and wanting ministerial posts and portfolios or chairmanship of semi-government corporations that provide large “kickbacks” and commissions. We have seen how MLAs of alliance parties jostle over “lucrative” corporations, which are used to pacify MLAs who are denied Ministerial berths.
Democracy means power to the people and also means the citizens’ right to elect representatives who will deliver good governance. However, the tragedy is that before Assembly elections most of power hungry politicians swear by accountability and transparency but after getting elected, they are ready to join hands with another party or engineer split in their own party by resigning their seats or by changing sides or by withdrawal of support, etc, which has became common phenomena, especially with the coming of the coalition government era.
Both, the Congress and BJP are birds of the same feather and can never stay without power and use any means for a back door entry to grab power.
What is the remedy?
The defections have been perplexing and disappointing and there is an urgent need to cleanse the diseased political system which is wading through the dirty water of corruption. The existing Tenth Schedule of Constitution has failed to achieve the goal of checking defections especially in smaller States like Goa where it becomes easy for elected MLA to plot the downfall of his own government by first resigning his seat and then contesting and comfortably winning with support of vested groups and or a group of MLAs defecting under the garb of mergers of political parties with one-third of the members of the legislative party merging with another political party. Such toppling games are played successfully in Goa.
What legal luminaries say?
Says Congress general secretary Adv Yatish Naik, “Since the incorporation of the anti-defection law in our Constitutional scheme, we have encountered numerous circumstances and situations in which the said law has come into operation. If we carefully analyse these situations, we will undoubtedly realise that the time for strengthening the anti-defection law is long overdue if the real intent and objective of the law must triumph, being the complete prohibition of defection from one political party to another in whatsoever manner and nature by an elected representative.”
Adv Naik is of the opinion that the concept of merger itself must be discarded in its entirety from the body of law to ensure that once a person gets elected on a symbol of a particular political party, he/she must continue on that symbol for the rest of that term. The law must be made even more clear that defection in wholesale or retail is impermissible.
Defection is synonymous to the abandonment of ideology and betrayal of public mandate and hence it must invite strict consequences and repercussions to the elected persons resorting to the same, he said.
Pointing to the law allowing induction of non elected person in the cabinet at the State or Centre, provided that he or she must get elected within six months and become a member of the House, Adv Naik said that this general proposition of law must not give shade to an elected person who resigns as a member of the House belonging to one political party to join another political party mid-term.
“I feel that such an elected representative who tenders his resignation as a member of the House must not be allowed by law to continue in office as a Minister until he contests and wins an election on the new acquired symbol,” he said adding that severe measures are needed to be incorporated in the scheme of law to make the Anti-Defection Act in the perfect sense of the term.
Former State Information Commissioner and Adv Juino de Souza suggested that Anti-Defection Act be amended whereby any such elected representative who has contested on one particular political party symbol party and resigns his seat or defects then he should not be allowed to contest any election for a period of six years. The one-third merger clause should be abolished. With such stringent law the elected MLA will be bound by the political party that gave him his ticket and whose symbol he/she contested and won the election. Such law would eliminate inducement in politics or buying of MPs or MLAs and thereby toppling games would cease to exist.
Adv D’Souza said that if a political alliance is formed whether pre-poll or post poll, once a political party has extended support to another political party to form the alliance government, no volte-face and withdraw support for whatever reason should be allowed. This will prevent frequent extending and withdrawing support by alliance partners that cause instability and gives rise to horse trading. The anti-defection law should deal and address such matters of coalition politics that have come to stay and any subsequent withdrawal of support on flimsy grounds of incompatibility should invite action and all the MLAs from the party should be disqualified and debarred from contesting elections for six years.
Parliamentarians should seriously consider bringing an amendment in the anti- defection law so as to enable the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take over and decide on defection matters. Many will say that such changes in law are against the principles of democracy but then how to deal with unscrupulous politicians?” he asked.
Another eminent lawyer Rohit Bras de Sa from Panjim advocated the need for power to recall the elected representative by the electorate. Brining legislation to police the legislators will be an onerous task because many opportunists will not oppose it and also will not allow curbs on their freedom.
Adv de Sa said that there should be internal party democracy where candidates are chosen by the members of the political party thereby enabling best candidates to be chosen. He refused to accept the contention of MLA defecting because he was getting suffocated in the party.
“Suffocation is for their personal gain. Laws should be strengthened and there has to be mandatory long prison sentences for those found guilty of corruption and misappropriation of public funds, etc,” said Adv de Sa.
Former Advocate General Carlos Alvares Ferreira also favoured amendment to the Anti-Defection Act so as to stop “Aya Ram Gaya Ram” politics.
“Whenever any MLA defects from one party to another party there has to be a cooling period of two years for him/her for the given term so that he/she and spouses and their dependents be debarred from holding office of profit,” he said adding that this will go a long way to stamp out defection.
Adv Ferreira said that MLAs have been changing sides for their self-development and not for the development of their constituency and welfare of the people.
To curb evil of defection for lure of office, the Tenth Schedule was introduced in the Constitution of India. We have seen that despite the desire to curb defection, it has not instilled fear nor in any manner stopped the defections.
Having repeated by-elections is a burden of the State Exchequer. The general claim is that the legislator has defected for development. It ends by being a personal development whilst the electorate is left high and dry and feels cheated.
“We cannot make a person a slave in a company or in any employment and so even foreseeing a legislator for remaining in a party contrary to his/her conscience may also not be appropriate, especially when a defection is for ideological purposes.
“Hence whilst defection should be continued to be prohibited, the exception which allows defection to be legal, should incorporate a clause to debar such legislator, the spouse and their dependents from holding office of profit for a period of two years or until the term of the House ends.
The MLAs are free to join any political party but to curb the evil of defection for the lure of power there has to be a cooling period for defectors and their family members for two years even if they are re-elected.
