On September 4, 2024, the Himachal Pradesh Meeting enacted a pivotal legislative measure designed to restrict the monetary benefits granted to Members of the Legislative Meeting (MLAs) who swap allegiance from their respective events. The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Meeting (Allowances and Pension of Members) Modification Invoice 2024, proposed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, establishes that any MLA disqualified beneath the anti-defection regulation will forfeit their entitlement to pension advantages.
The newly enacted laws clearly articulates that “An individual shall not be entitled to a pension beneath the Act if they’ve been disqualified at any level beneath the tenth schedule of the Structure,” which addresses the anti-defection regulation. This legislative modification goals to discourage party-switching and foster loyalty amongst elected representatives.
This invoice was launched following the disqualification of six Congress MLAs earlier this yr, who confronted penalties for disregarding a celebration directive throughout important price range discussions. The disqualified MLAs, Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar, additionally endorsed a BJP candidate in the course of the Rajya Sabha elections, exacerbating current tensions inside the state’s political area. Whereas Sharma and Lakhanpal efficiently reclaimed their positions by means of by-elections, the remaining 4 had been unable to return to the meeting.
The introduction and enactment of this invoice illustrate the persistent political turmoil in Himachal Pradesh, notably regarding get together self-discipline and the monetary penalties of defection. The first goal of the invoice is to uphold democratic rules by safeguarding the voters’s mandate and stopping breaches of the structure.
The assertion of objects and causes accompanying the modification emphasizes the need for such laws, mentioning deficiencies within the current provisions of the 1971 Act, which haven’t successfully deterred defections. By eliminating pension advantages for disqualified MLAs, the federal government goals to strengthen the importance of get together loyalty and discourage opportunistic political actions.
This legislative initiative has elicited blended responses from numerous political factions. Supporters contend that it’s a vital measure to protect integrity inside the political framework, whereas detractors could understand it as a punitive motion that might suppress dissent inside political events. The passage of this invoice represents a proactive technique by the Congress-led authorities in Himachal Pradesh to confront the problems arising from political defections and to strengthen get together self-discipline.
