📘 Special Topic – Indian Polity (English)
Speaker & Anti-Defection Law (10th Schedule)
Page 1: Background, Constitutional Basis & Objectives
1. Background of Political Defections
Political defections have been a recurring challenge in Indian democracy, particularly during the late 1960s and 1970s. Frequent party switching by legislators led to instability, erosion of public trust, and collapse of elected governments.
The phenomenon famously described as “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram” highlighted the urgent need for a constitutional mechanism to curb unprincipled defections.
2. Introduction of the Anti-Defection Law
To address this problem, the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985 inserted the Tenth Schedule into the Indian Constitution.
- Provides grounds for disqualification of legislators
- Applies to both Parliament and State Legislatures
- Aims to ensure political stability
3. Constitutional Basis – The Tenth Schedule
The Tenth Schedule lays down the conditions under which a member of a legislature may be disqualified on the ground of defection.
- Voluntarily giving up membership of a political party
- Voting or abstaining contrary to party whip
- Joining another political party after election
4. Objectives of the Anti-Defection Law
- Prevent political corruption and opportunism
- Ensure stability of elected governments
- Strengthen party discipline
- Protect the mandate of the electorate
5. Role of the Speaker (Initial Design)
The Constitution vested the authority to decide disqualification cases under the Tenth Schedule in the Speaker or Chairman of the House.
This was based on the assumption that the Speaker would act as a neutral and impartial constitutional authority.
“The Anti-Defection Law seeks to balance political stability with democratic freedom, but its success depends largely on the neutrality of the Speaker.”
Continue to Page 2: Speaker’s Powers, Procedure & Supreme Court Guidelines
© Shaktimatha Learning | Polity Special Topics – English
No comments:
Post a Comment