The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution is back in focus, this time in the Lok Sabha. Earlier this week, it was reported that around twenty Members of Parliament belonging to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) may break ties with the party and seek recognition as a separate bloc while extending support to the ruling National Democratic Alliance.
If successful, the development is likely to be challenged for violating the anti-defection law, particularly because the Constitution abolished protection for splits in political parties more than two decades ago and today only recognises the merger exception. Further, such conduct may also raise questions regarding whether the MPs have "voluntarily given up" their membership of their political party, an independent ground for disqualification in itself.
This is the second recent instance of the anti-defection law being discussed in Parliament. Only a few months ago, a group of Rajya Sabha MPs belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party, avoiding disqualification through the protection of the merger exception, a move promptly accepted by the Chairperson.
Both episodes bring the anti-defection provisions into focus and also provide an opportunity to revisit a broader question: forty years after its enactment, is the anti-defection law still serving the purpose for which it was introduced?