Can 7 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs be disqualified for defection
What's the story
Seven Rajya Sabha MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The MPs are Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal, and Vikramjit Sahney. This leaves the AAP with only three members in the Upper House. The question now is whether these members will be disqualified under anti-defection laws.
Legal perspective
MPs unlikely to be disqualified
Chakshu Roy of PRS Legislative Research told The Indian Express that the seven MPs are unlikely to be disqualified. He cited a precedent when former Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu allowed a merger of two-thirds of TDP with the BJP. However, former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achary disagreed. He pointed out that AAP has members in different legislatures, not just the Rajya Sabha.
Constitutional amendment
Achary explains reason for possible disqualification
Achary referred to paragraph 4 of the 10th Schedule, inserted by the 52nd and strengthened by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Acts. He argued that it requires Arvind Kejriwal to merge with the BJP for the disqualification proceedings against defecting MPs. According to Achary, any member can file a disqualification petition with the Rajya Sabha Chairman, who will decide whether this is a merger or not.
Symbol allocation
Defecting MPs will remain AAP members until Chairman's ruling
Achary also noted that when Shiv Sena and NCP members joined the NDA, the Election Commission allotted original party symbols to breakaway factions based on legislative majority. He argued that this goes against paragraph 4 of the 10th Schedule. Until the Chairman's ruling, defecting MPs will officially remain AAP members. However, if they support NDA on legislative issues before a decision is made, their votes will be counted with the BJP's tally of 106.
Vote count
What does this mean for NDA?
This would increase NDA's effective vote tally to 148. If the Chairman rules this is a merger, the BJP's seat tally would rise to 113. Achary said AAP can issue a whip to defecting MPs who could keep violating it until the Chairman decides on the disqualification petition. The anti-defection law was enacted to curb large-scale defections seen in the 1960s and 1970s, with Haryana MLA Gaya Lal changing parties thrice in one day in 1967.