Fear of Congress defections in LS prompts Gujral's reforms
The Uttar Pradesh imbroglio was a big jolt to the United Front government at the Centre.
Alarmed by rumours that similar defections may be engineered in the Congress in the Lok Sabha posing a threat to the Inder Kumar Gujral government, the United Front seems to be moving at breakneck speed to usher in electoral reforms, including an amendment to the anti-defection law.
Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral met with Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma on Monday to discuss these proposals.
Immediately after his 30-minute meeting with the prime minister, Sangma told the media that the government has called a meeting of senior Opposition leaders on November 10 in a bid to arrive at a consensus on contentious issues. The UF hopes to introduce these amendments during the winter session of Parliament, beginning November 19.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Srikant Jena, who was present during
the Gujral-Sangma meeting, said the government would make up its mind on the nature of the Bill to be brought forward based on the consensus reached with the Opposition leaders.
The widespread demand for disqualification of defected members will be discussed at the November 10 meeting.
Another major issue would be the demand that Parliament and the state legislatures have a fixed tenure despite fall of governments midway, said UF sources. This is perceived as an important electoral reform as the country is witnessing a trend towards hung legislatures.
The Front's steering committee meeting on November 5 is expected to finalise the broad framework of the government's stand on reforms.
The United Front government has held several rounds of
discussions with Opposition leaders since it assumed office 16 months back but consensus has eluded it on major issues like state funding. The government has succeeded only in reducing the campaign period for elections.
Meanwhile, as if to confirm the UF's fears, the Bharatiya Janata Party has made a startling revelation.
Party vice-president Krishan Lal Sharma on Tuesday did not rule out mass defections from the Congress and other parties to the BJP at anytime. ''Nothing can be ruled out,'' he said.
Defending Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh for
inducting into his cabinet all those who defected to the BJP, he
said it was not horse-trading.
Similar views were expressed by leader of the opposition in the
Lok Sabha, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Referring to the demand by various parties that the anti-defection law should be amended, he said, ''The sudden interest being evinced in the anti-defection law is obviously prompted by the developments in Uttar Pradesh where nearly all the Congress legislators have walked out of the parent party, as have their Janata Dal counterparts.''
If the conspiracy to dismiss the Kalyan Singh government succeeded and the Congress somehow managed to grab power, ''none of the worthies who are today so vocal in demanding amendments to the anti-defection law would have uttered a word'', he added.
He also rapped former prime minister V P Singh for favouring
amendments to the anti-defection law. He said Singh maintained
''silence'' when the BJP government in Gujarat was sacked.
Asserting that defections should not be seen in isolation,
the veteran BJP leader said, ''They have to be seen in the
overall context of parliamentary practices as they exist today....
We have to also bear in mind that the loyalty of legislators
cannot be taken for granted and the parliamentary democracy cannot
be expected to move along laid-down conventions and laws.''
Vajpayee said, ''Serious questions needed to be addressed before any changes are made to the existing anti-defection law.''
Raising a number of questions, he asked, ''Must a legislator
subordinate himself to the whims and fancies of his party bosses? Is
there any scope for conscientous objection in the face of party
bossism? Is it necessary that a legislator, while walking out of his
party, doing so only for the fishes and loaves of a promised
office? Can a legislator not feel morally repelled by hegemonistic
and/ or dynastic ambitions of his party bosses? Should a legislator
pursue a losing proposition merely because the law forbids him from
saying 'no' to party bosses?''
He said the country had borrowed parliamentary system from Britain, but had ignored the fact that a British MP did not stand
disqualified merely for violating a party whip or for switching
sides.
Suggesting amendments in the anti-defection law, Vajpayee said that a legislator quitting his party would be liable to lose his house membership. As for the provision of linking a party whip to a legislator's unseating from the house, he said, ''Its scope should be limited to voting on no-confidence motions or confidence motions and bills and motions that can bring down a government.''
Vajpayee said that blanket application of the anti-defection
law ''is contrary to the spirit of democracy and has not really
worked to anybody's advantage''.
The party welcomed the government move to convene an all-party meeting to discuss amendments in the anti-defection law.
UNI
EARLIER REPORT:
UF to attend anti-defection law
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