Crooked party politics

Tamil Nadu today presents the most confused party politics and utterly complicated political situations challenging law and conventions. Changes happen on an hourly basis making it difficult for people to keep track of them and it is a puzzle for decision-making authorities to handle them from an impartial and legally sound stand.

Pertinently, political developments since Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s demise are as much a portrayal of the extent of manipulations possible in our political system and functioning as the capabilities and readiness of institutions and functionaries to make the utmost use of situations. This result is the emergence of several political lessons worth learning.

Events reached an important stage when 18 MLAs of ruling Party AIADMK were disqualified by the Speaker under Schedule 10 of the Constitution. They had submitted separate letters personally to the Tamil Nadu Governor withdrawing support to the Chief Minister. Interestingly, they seemed to have carefully distinguished their party affiliation, support to the government and support to the incumbent Chief Minister.

The disqualified legislators filed a petition in the Madras High Court against what they termed as “illegal” disqualification and urged the court to quash the Speaker’s order. The court extended the stay of a floor test from 20th September till 4th October to determine a majority in the Assembly but refused to stay the disqualification of the 18 MLAs.

This interim order pending final disposal of the case restrains the Election Commission from declaring the 18 seats as vacant or issuing notification for conducting election to these seats. The disqualified MLAs neither got nor were denied all that they wanted. Consequently, the order bestowed them with hope and despair while they await the final verdict.

The case manifests yet another type of party politics which is moving farther and farther away from public interest, popular opinion and political ethics. Undoubtedly, the 32-years-old Anti-Defection Law incorporated in the Constitution by the 52nd amendment once welcomed as a deterrent for “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” politics” has now entered a new phase thanks to professional politicians refining its use and abuse in State politics.

Veritably crooked politics in every instance of defection brings forth new possibilities of dodging the Anti-Defection Law along-with fresh interpretations of situations warranting the application of the law! Notably, the disqualification of 18 MLAs has reduced the strength of the Assembly from 233 to 215 and lowered the majority line from 117 to 108. This can help the State government’s survival in the event of a confidence or no-confidence motion.

Therefore, a test at this point defeats the purpose of the defectors and disappoints the principal Opposition Party DMK which is not far from a majority. While the court’s final verdict is awaited anxiously by the political actors the nation would like to know how the judiciary can save the country from unethical politics.

Under the Anti-Defection Law, the Speaker is the final authority to decide on disqualification. For a Speaker elevated to the post with the support of his party often after long years of service to fully tear away from his party roots and act as a neutral judge is not difficult to imagine. This is a difficult though not impossible task.

The Supreme Court in a recent order stated that the ruling of the Speaker’s decision is not final, but subject to judicial review. In some cases as in Karnataka in 2011, disqualification of dissident members by the Speaker was annulled by the Court.

In the ultimate, the Anti-Defection law has been made for protecting proprieties of politics and personal conduct. Clearly our polity has to fulfill the nation’s expectations. (Writer is a former Director of Indian Council of Social Science Research-ICSSR)

By Dr S Saraswathi