Anti-defection panel may moot denying turncoats plum posts, final meet in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A committee of presiding officers reviewing the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) is likely to recommend denial of voting rights during a no-confidence motion to legislators who defect and also bar them from holding posts as ministers, chairpersons of boards and corporations, or any office of profit in the subsequent government.

Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday told reporters that the panel meant to strengthen the anti-defection laws, headed by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, will hold its final sitting in Karnataka in June before submitting its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Appointed in February this year to examine the anti-defection law, the committee, besides Khader, also includes Odisha Speaker Surama Padhy 
and Nagaland Speaker Sharingain Longkumer.

During the previous meetings held at Mumbai and Puri, the panel discussed many recommendations under consideration including the creation of a separate tribunal to decide which faction is the original party in the event of a split, reducing the burden on Speakers.

The committee is also seeking to resolve the hierarchy between the party whip and the Legislature Party’s chief whip in issuing binding directions to legislators.

No-confidence motion

Another key recommendation being examined is to deny voting rights to a defecting member during a no-confidence motion, aiming to prevent engineered majorities.

To address delays, the panel is considering a statutory time limit for deciding disqualification petitions against defected members.

“The process gets prolonged for years. We hope to fix it to three to six months,” said Khader.

A separate committee of presiding officers on ‘Rules and Procedures’, headed by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker, will meet in Mysuru on May 12 and 13 to evolve common rules across state legislatures.

The panel includes Speakers of Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Delhi.

“Every state has different rules and procedures, though 80% of the rules are the same. We will scrutinise the best practices and recommend common rules and procedures. A report will be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker within six months,” Khader said.