Bengaluru: A positive fallout of the sordid fortnight-long political drama that Karnataka witnessed is the debate it generated on the imperative to have a re-look at the anti-defection law.
Over a dozen members of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) ruling coalition resigned from the Legislative Assembly without giving up the memberships of their parties in a novel way to escape the penal provisions of the law.
Their action brought down H.D. Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in the state Tuesday.
Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, a legislator is considered a defector if he/she gives up the membership of the party on whose election symbol he/she has been elected to the House or disregards the whip issued by the legislature party. In such a case, he/she can stand to be disqualified from the membership of the assembly or Parliament.
The rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs were innovative. They did not resign from their respective legislature parties, but chose to give up membership of the assembly in a bid to escape disqualification. They now have the option of contesting by-election, which will have to be held within six months on the symbol of a different political party from the same constituency, and return to the House if they win.
Legal, but not ethical
This is perfectly legal, if not ethical. The Karnataka MLAs obviously did not have ethics on their mind. No one was in doubt that their motive was to see the back of the government they were part of, and cross over to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) side whenever the by-elections to the seats vacated by them are held.
Ethics were not a consideration for the BJP either or so it seemed going by their silence during the four-day debate on the confidence motion moved by Kumaraswamy.
The BJP members chose to not participate in it, impatient as they were for the division to take place. Since they had the numbers, the BJP thought why waste the time of the House even if it meant that the stinging attacks by the ruling coalition benches went undefended.
Legislators from the Congress-JD(S) coalition tore into the opposition, exposing the hand of the BJP in inducing their members to resign, spiriting them away to Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, and housing them in swanky hotels with bouncers to restrict any access to them, and chartering flights for them for their travels to and from Bengaluru.
It was bizarre that none from the BJP stood up to defend the party’s honour when transcripts of audio tapes of purported conversations between its leaders (including state party chief B.S. Yeddyurappa, the man slated to succeed Kumaraswamy now) and the rebel MLAs were read out. It was a rare sight to see an opposition that did not find it necessary to participate in something as important as the confidence motion.
Members of the treasury benches, however, spoke at length, quoting from the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings, to keep the focus on the crying need to protect democracy in letter and spirit.
Also read: Laws can’t stop Indian politicians from defecting. But there’s someone who can
SC intervention rendered party whips ineffective
The political crisis that gripped Karnataka for two weeks also threw up questions on the autonomy of the Speaker in taking decisions on resignations and disqualification of members, the powers of the Supreme Court to intervene when elected members feel aggrieved over their rights being curtailed, the sanctity of the whip, and the Governor’s powers vis-a-vis the legislature.
The whips given by the Congress and the JD(S) to its members were rendered ineffective after the apex court ruled that the MLAs, who had resigned, cannot be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the House. While issuing whips to its members is a clear right of a legislature party, the Supreme Court’s directive snatching away that right has invited criticism.
Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar did rule that the Congress and the JD(S) have every right to seek disqualification of its members for violating the whip. But, how will their disqualification matter now that the government has fallen?
But, theoretically at least, had the Supreme Court not intervened, the coalition may have been able to save their government by restraining the MLAs from making any move against its wishes.
It is another matter though that some of the truant MLAs had made up their mind — disqualification or no disqualification. The talk is that they would not contest the by-election themselves, but get their children to contest instead.
The crisis served to bring many of these issues to the fore with the chief minister and the Speaker being made parties before the Supreme Court in a petition filed by the rebel MLAs. The court has only given an interim order and is likely to consider these issues in detail in its final judgment.
A BJP govt may also be unstable
But, more than the Supreme Court, it is for political parties and Parliament to find a remedy to the scourge of defections, a “raging contagious disease” as Congress leader Siddaramaiah puts it.
The Congress-JD(S) coalition has fallen victim to a cynical exploitation of a loophole in the anti-defection law. Tomorrow, it could be the turn of the BJP.
Already, doubts are being voiced in the political circles about the stability of a BJP government, which is expected to succeed the Kumaraswamy dispensation.
The BJP is likely to stake claim to form the government, but given that it will have to rely on the Congress and the JD(S) renegades to keep itself afloat, the central leadership of the party is advising caution.
Keeping its own flock happy along with the new imports, who have reportedly been offered ministerial berths once they return to the assembly, will not be easy for the BJP.
The resignation trick will always be a threat for a government in a House where not much separates it from the opposition in terms of numbers. If Yeddyurappa returns as the chief minister, it will be a crown of thorns that will adorn his head.
Also read: What happens in Karnataka now? Speaker Ramesh Kumar’s actions, or inactions, will decide
It will be a brave legislator who takes liberties with the new government.