Shimla: Defections have been the bane of Indian politics for several years.
In a significant and unique move, the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday passed a new Bill to stop pensions of MLAs disqualified under the anti-defection law.
The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-helmed Congress government had moved the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Amendment Bill 2024 a day earlier to deter and discourage defections by denying them pension benefits.
“A person shall not be entitled to a pension under the Act if he has been disqualified at any point of time under the tenth schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law),” the Bill states.
It also includes provisions for recovery of pension drawn by legislators who are disentitled under this amendment.
Under Section 6B of the Act, every legislator who has served for up to five years is entitled to a pension of Rs 36,000 per month. For every year served in excess of the period of first term, every legislator will receive an additional pension of Rs 1,000 per month, as per Section 6(e).
The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, popularly referred to as ‘Anti-Defection Law’, was passed by the Parliament in 1985.
In February 2024, 6 Congress MLAs — Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar — were disqualified under the anti-defection law for defying a party whip and abstaining from the house during the passing of the budget for 2024-25 and discussions on a cut motion.