Shimla, Sep 4 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension) Amendment Bill, 2024 was passed in the Assembly on Wednesday amid a heated debate. It aims to deprive MLAs disqualified under the anti-defection law of pension benefits.
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu praised Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania for taking decisive action against the MLAs who defected in the Assembly. He said, “This bill upholds the high traditions of democracy and seeks to curb corrupt practices in our system.”
“The act of the six members betraying their party is a clear case of betrayal not only against their own party but also against the principles of democracy,” the Chief Minister said.
He said the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha elections had blatantly violated the party whip. He referred to other incidents including the chaos in the Assembly on February 28 when the defectors tried to disrupt proceedings.
“There was an open display of hooliganism inside the Assembly,” the chief minister said, stressing that such actions needed to be responded to strongly to protect democratic norms.
Opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur objected to the bill, saying it could have an adverse effect on the reputation of legislators. “Members may make mistakes, but depriving them of pension is too harsh.”
“The decision to join another party was taken much later, and the disqualification should not have a retrospective effect on his rights,” Thakur said.
Let us tell you that this bill will mainly affect two former Congress MLAs, Devinder Bhutto and Chaitanya Sharma, who won for the first time in the 2022 assembly elections but were removed from the post after violating the party whip and being absent during the passage of the budget.
According to the statement and objectives for the Bill introduced in the House by the Chief Minister on Tuesday, there is no provision in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative (Allowances and Pension) Act, 1971 under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India to discourage defection by MLAs.
The Bill says, “It is necessary to make this amendment in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension) Act, 1971 to protect the mandate given by the people of the State, to preserve democratic values and to prevent this constitutional sin.”
–IANS
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