Shimla, Sept 4,
In a significant move aimed at curbing defection among legislative members, the Himachal Pradesh Government introduced new legislation in the state assembly on Tuesday. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presented an amendment to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Act, 1971, designed to deter defection under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Addressing the assembly, Chief Minister Sukhu highlighted the absence of provisions in the existing Act to discourage legislative members from defecting. “To protect the mandate given by the people, preserve democratic values, and deter this constitutional sin, it has become necessary to amend the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Act, 1971,” said Sukhu.
The amendment introduces a new section, 6-B, to the Act. Subsection 6-B(2A) explicitly states that any person disqualified under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution shall not be entitled to receive a pension under the Act. Furthermore, if a person is disqualified and already receiving a pension, the amount drawn will be recovered as prescribed.
The legislation comes in the wake of the defection of six Congress MLAs to the BJP during the Rajya Sabha poll and the Budget session on February 27, 2024. Among those affected by the new legislation are former MLAs Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti), Devinder Bhutto (Kotkhelur), and Chatanya Sharma (Gagret). However, Sudhir Sharma and Inderdutt Lakhan Pal, who were elected on BJP tickets after defecting from Congress, may not fall under the new provisions.
The Vidhan Sabha is expected to discuss the proposed legislation further on Wednesday.
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