A Massive Shock For The Party
This was the biggest revolt in Aam Aadmi Party’s short political career. Seven of the ten members they had in the Rajya Sabha suddenly defected. They joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. The walkout came as a big shock to the party’s leadership just ahead of the assembly elections. No one had expected such a large-scale rebellion from the upper echelons
The Magnificent Seven Rebel
Raghav Chadha, oddly enough, became the face of this high profile political rebellion in the parliament. He led a walk out with the likes of heavyweights Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Swati Maliwal and former Mumbai cricketer, Harbhajan Singh. Others followed. Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Rajinder Gupta also defected to the rebel group over the weekend, widening the rift. They left their official resignations with the chairman of the Upper House
Taking The Fight To The Chairman
Sanjay Singh immediately took over as the crisis management unit of the beleaguered political party. He acted fast. He immediately filed a petition with the Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan on Sunday afternoon. The veteran leader is in a hurry to have these seven “guilty” members expelled from parliament. In particular, he pointed out gross violations of the constitutional provisions regulating the actual process by which elected representatives can change sides
https://tehelka.com/aap-seeks-disqualification-of-7-rebel-mps-after-defection-to-bjp
What The Tenth Schedule Says
The heart of this entire dispute is the anti-defection law, as contained in the Tenth Schedule. Parliament first drafted these rules in 1985. The law’s intent was to prevent the parliament from becoming a huge stock exchange. Members of parliament tend to lose their cherished seats if they choose to resign from their original political party. It is this very law that is used for party discipline and whipping votes.
The Two Thirds Loophole Explained
The rebel group hotly claims they are immune from any sort of disqualification. They have the math. They have a clear majority of two-thirds – seven out of ten members. The law does give the breakaway group a way out, if they can meet this mathematical formula. Chadha assuredly said they complied with all the procedural niceties before joining the other side.
Merging The Original Party
The legal rebuttal from the deserting group is about the term merger. Numbers aren’t everything. Sanjay Singh reiterates that having a majority in the House is “meaningless”. The political party’s original organisation has to approve a merger with the opposition. Because the main organisation has not given consent to a merger, the defections are not legal.
The Security Cover Downgrade
The consequences for the abrupt turnaround were visited on the defectors almost as soon as they left the parliament house. The Punjab Police immediately called off the heavy guard provided to former cricket player Harbhajan Singh. It happened fast. He lost his almost ten-member security detail, provided by the state police, just days after joining his new team. But he soon had central forces to protect his home as protests grew.
Fear And Central Agencies
Whispers and theories are afoot about why these particular politicians have chosen to defect now. Loyalists have no hesitation in saying that the ruling party had unleashed central investigating agencies. They suspect foul play. They continually cite recent money searches at places owned by Ashok Mittal. The abandoned camp is convinced extreme pressure from the government utterly demoralised their former peers.
The Core Ideology Debate
The rebels have a very different recollection of their controversial walkout of the Senate. Chadha declared that his party had lost its way. He felt betrayed. He said he was filled to the brim with disgust and disillusionment with the leadership. The rebels say they were just fed up with the hostile work environment.
Legal Threats On The Horizon
The two sides are now busily gearing up for a months-long legal battle. Bigwigs are brazenly threatening to take the whole can to the Supreme Court. They won’t back down. They want the judiciary to set down how the anti-defection law operates in this particular mathematical situation. The lawyers are already dusting off old constitutional precedents for both sides of the argument.
The Punjab Political Math
The political tsunami has dire consequences for the northern Indian states’ assembly elections. The seven defectors are from the politically volatile state of Punjab. The stakes are huge. The local chief minister, according to media reports, is attempting to get an emergency appointment with the President. He is planning to take a squad of local MPs to lodge a formal protest against the poaching of their colleagues.
Changing Numbers In The Upper House
The numbers in the Rajya Sabha have changed radically on the back of this weekend’s events. The government suddenly boosted its numbers to 113. That changes everything. And the beleaguered opposition party is left with just three despondent souls in the 245-member house. It makes it easier for the government’s floor managers to get controversial bills through the house.
Moving Towards The Courts
The party leadership is not accepting the parliamentary secretariat’s move to update the seats. They believe the chairman was too hasty. He confirmed the merger on Monday on the morning. The legal cell is currently drafting a high court challenge. They are convinced that the recent and speedy acceptance of the letters completely undermines democratic principles.
Accusations From The Ruling Party
Opposition politicians are making the best of the meltdown of the ruling party. The national general secretaries are ridiculing the totalitarianism of the abandoning leaders. They love the drama. They say these highly educated members suddenly listened to their conscience. The opposition is relentlessly drawing a link between the abrupt split and widespread corruption.
The Waiting Game Begins
The Rajya Sabha chairman now has to decide on the official disqualifications. He has to scrutinise the long petitions of the crisis management team. It takes time. Constitutional scholars are eagerly awaiting his coverage of the stringent merger tests under the Tenth Schedule. Certainly, the outcome will have a huge bearing on future rebellions.
