What does Tenth Schedule provide on party mergers?, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• Twenty rebel Trinamool Congress MPs announced their decision to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), raising questions about the Tenth Schedule.
• The Tenth Schedule, introduced by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1985, addresses disqualification of legislators on grounds of defection.
• It originally allowed for exceptions in cases of splits (one-third members) and mergers (two-thirds of the legislature party).
• Paragraph 3, which allowed for splits, was omitted by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003.

Detailed Insights:

• The Anti-defection Law was enacted to curb political instability caused by frequent defections by legislators.
• A 'political party' refers to the entire organization, while a 'legislature party' comprises its members in a legislative house.
• The current law allows for a merger of a political party with another if approved by two-thirds of its legislature party, without attracting disqualification.
• There have been instances where two-thirds of a legislature party have merged with another party, claiming immunity from defection, as seen in Rajasthan (2019) and Goa (2022).
• The Supreme Court, in the K. M. Singh case (2020), recommended amending the Constitution to vest disqualification powers in an independent tribunal.
• The authority to decide on disqualification rests with the Speaker or Chairman, whose impartiality has often been questioned.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Tenth Schedule: Constitutional provision outlining the anti-defection law for disqualification of legislators.
• Anti-defection Law: Legislation to prevent political defections by elected representatives from their parties.
• Legislature Party: The group of members belonging to a political party within a legislative body.
• Political Party: The broader organizational structure of a party, distinct from its legislative wing.