Manipur Political Crisis – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

Importance of the issue

• Question on Anti defection Law In Prelims
• Analysis / example in Mains GS2 Paper.

Manipur Legislative Assembly Elections 2017

• On 15 March 2017,  Biren Singhof BJP was sworn as the Chief Minister
• Bjp formed a coalition with
• National People’s Party
• Naga People’s Front
• Lok Janshakti Party
• Trinamool Congress
• Independent

The Revolving door politics

• Later, 8 Congress MLAs joined BJP, taking the government’s tally to 40 members.
• CM N.Biren Singh himself had joined BJP just before the 2017 elections

1. Joykumar of NPP

• March – One Congress MLA, who had defected to the BJP, was disqualified by the Speaker following an order of the Supreme Court, reducing the house strength to 59 members.
• June 8 – High Court of Manipur restrained the seven Congress MLAs, who defected to the BJP, from entering the assembly till Speaker Y. Khemchand Singh finally disposed of the pending anti-defection cases against them.

What happened in June 2020?

• Right before the Rajya sabha elections , on 17 June, many MLAs switched support from the BJP govt.
• 4 NPP
• 1 TMC
• 1 independent
• 3 BJP MLAs tendered resignation from the House and joined Congress
• 4 out of 7 who had left Congress, went back to Congress again.
• House strength – 56
• Congress + = 30
• Okram Ibobi singh staked claim to form a govt.

The Speaker’s Decision

• Just before the elections, the Speaker :-
• disqualified the 4 BJP (Congress*) MLAs who had returned to Congress.
• While allowing the other three, still with BJP, to vote in the Rajya Sabha election.
• His decision brought down the Congress tally to 26, at par with BJP, in a house now reduced to 52 members

RS election

• BJP candidate Leishemba Sanajaoba won the Rajya Sabha election getting 28 votes while his Congress rival got 24
• 2 Congress votes – ???

Anti Defection Law

• 10^th Schedule of the Constitution , added via the 52^nd Amendment Act, 1985.
• An elected member of the house shall be disqualified from being a member if they win the election as a candidate of one party and then join another.
• The power for this disqualification is vested in the Speaker, who is usually a nominee of the ruling party.
• Grounds for disqualification
• If an elected member gives up his membership of a political party voluntarily.
• If he votes or abstains from voting in the House, contrary to any direction issued by his political party.
• If any member who is independently elected joins any party.
• If any nominated member joins any political party after the end of 6 months.

The Speaker

• The decision on disqualification questions on the ground of defection is referred to the Speaker or the Chairman of the House, and his/her decision is final*.
• Originally, the Act provided that the presiding officer’s decision was final and could not be questioned in any court of law.
• In Kihoto Hollohan case (1993), the Supreme Court declared this provision as unconstitutional on the ground that it seeks to take away the jurisdiction of the SC and the high courts.
• Presiding officer should function as a tribunal

The Problem

• Time taken for speaker’s decision??
• Whether a High Court can direct a Speaker to decide a disqualification petition within a certain timeframe is pending before a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.
  (2016 SA Sampath Kumar vs Kale Yadaiah )
• January 2020 – Speakers of assemblies and the Parliament must decide disqualification pleas within a period of three months except in extraordinary circumstances.

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