CJP backs Sibal's anti-defection proposal, seeks 20-yr ban on defectors
Party says legislators who switch sides for money or under pressure should be barred from contesting polls and holding office
The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Monday, 14 September backed senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal's proposal to bar elected representatives who defect from one political party to another from holding public office, saying stricter penalties were needed to curb horse-trading and the destabilisation of elected governments.
The endorsement comes amid the ongoing controversy over the alleged defection of Trinamool Congress MPs and the reported invocation of the merger provision under the anti-defection law. The episode has renewed questions about the scope of the law and the safeguards against legislators switching political allegiance.
In an X post, CJP co-convener Sourav Das said Sibal had proposed a 10-year ban on MPs and MLAs who switch parties for money or under pressure.
Das said the CJP's first demand charter, released by its founder Abhijeet Dipke, had sought an even stricter measure — a 20-year ban on defectors from contesting elections or holding any public office.
'Breaking political parties, bribing MPs with 50-100 crores, toppling governments is a fraud committed on the country. Such fraud should never happen. The Anti-Defection law is outdated,' Das said in his post.
He alleged that the ruling party had ensured the misuse of the anti-defection law in its pursuit of 'eternal power', and said the younger generation would bring about change.
Sibal, who is an independent Rajya Sabha member, had on Sunday called for a complete overhaul of the anti-defection law during a talk on 'Horse-Trade and Democracy' organised by the All India Lawyers Union in Kochi.
He suggested scrapping the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and replacing it with a provision under which any legislator who changed parties mid-term would be disqualified from holding public office or any constitutional position for 10 years. Sibal also argued that resignation or merger should not provide an exemption from such disqualification.
The Tenth Schedule, introduced into the Constitution in 1985, provides for the disqualification of legislators who defect from their political parties. However, Paragraph 4 allows protection from disqualification when a merger takes place and at least two-thirds of the members of a legislature party agree to it.
Sibal has challenged the interpretation of this provision before the Supreme Court, arguing that a merger should involve the original political party and not merely its legislature wing. The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre on his plea in July and tagged it with a similar matter concerning defections in Goa.
Sibal has argued that the existing interpretation allows legislators to alter electoral mandates by invoking the merger provision, potentially turning a legislative minority into a majority without fresh elections.
The CJP's proposed 20-year ban goes beyond Sibal's suggested 10-year disqualification and seeks to bar defectors from both contesting elections and holding public office for a substantially longer period.