Goan
Fiasco: 17
September 2022
In Goa Since 2014, MLAs have been
purchased by a single political party and the latest being the defection
of 11 Congress MLAs in the Goa Assembly.
It is the total demolition of democratic principles by offering huge cash,
ministerial birth, and who knows even threatening.
It is a shameful exercise of power and
money by an authoritarian establishment. It seems their current target is INC
and they will take up all other opposition parties later. The turncoats include
long-time Congress leaders who are ex-CMs, ex-leader of the Opposition, as well
as many long-time Congress loyalists.
They have bought eight MLAs to make
two-thirds of the Congress legislative wing go with them which fulfills the
provision of the anti-defection law to ensure that the MLAs can continue to
enjoy all legislative benefits even after betraying their party and voters.
The defections by elected members
amount to a betrayal of the people's mandate. Isn’t it a mockery of democracy?
Insulting voters? Corrupting Politicians?
The luring or threats using government
machinery may be difficult to resist by many, but in my opinion, if their hands
are clean they should not succumb to the intimidation but fight. If they have
no guts to resist it is better to resign than defect. They can at least look at
the eyes of their voters without guilt.
There was an attempt to introduce a law
by former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for the "Right to
Recall" a legislator to ensure accountability and stop defection, but it
could not be passed.
Goan people should decide whether to
vote for such traitors who once belonged to a political party and fought on the
basis of their party’s manifesto and defeated the party they fought against and
now have shamelessly joined hands with the same opponent they fought against betraying
the trust of their voters.
The current anti-defection law says: "A party can merge with or form a new group if
at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of it. In such a scenario, neither the members who decide to merge nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.
The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution
(inserted by the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985) provides for the disqualification of
members of Parliament and State Legislatures on the ground of defection from
one political party to another. The foundations of disqualification are:
(A) If an elected member voluntarily
resigns from his position.
(B) If an elected member votes or
abstains from voting without his party's permission.
(C) When an independent member becomes
a political party member.
(D) If after six months in office, a
nominated member of a house joins a political party.
(E) If he criticizes the political
party that gave him the ticket.
(E) If an elected member joins a
political party other than the one for which he ran and was elected,
Anyway time and again it is proved that
this law has no desired effect.
It is high time that India enacted a
new stringent law for the right to recall a defecting Lok Sabha or Legislative
Assembly member to stop this menace.
This is the need of the hour to protect
our democratic ethos to stop unscrupulous money bags from purchasing our
elected MPs and MLAs and to protect the poor voters.
MVR Menon
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