MP speaker terms circumvention of anti-defection law as 'jugaad'

The speaker, represented by senior advocate A M Singhvi, told a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud that a new kind of 'jugaad' of ensuring resignations of ruling party MLAs has been invented to circumvent the anti-defection law.

New Delhi:Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker N P Prajapati Wednesday told the Supreme Court that a new kind of 'jugaad' of ensuring resignations of ruling party MLAs has been invented to circumvent the anti-defection law and ensure fall of an elected government.

The speaker, represented by senior advocate A M Singhvi, told a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud that the anti-defection law was framed by the Rajiv Gandhi government to ensure that lawmakers do not negate the popular mandate by changing side.

He said that initially it was provided that one third of lawmakers of a party will have to break away to save it from the law and later, the proportion of lawmakers was raised to two-third of the strength of the legislature party.

Terming the new trend of tendering resignations by lawmakers to ensure the fall of a majority government as a 'jugad', Singhvi said: "The object in all this is that there should not be an immediate by-election and to bring the strength of the assembly down, MLAs resign and the party which was in minority gains majority and becomes the ruling party.

"These MLAs after resignation will become ministers or chairpersons of some state bodies without facing the electorate."

Singhvi referred to Article 212 of the Constitution and said that it barred courts from taking cognizance of the actions that take place inside the House

"One most important point ignored is that it is a running assembly and not a fresh or a new assembly. And this court will never interfere with the Speaker's discretion in a running assembly and direct it hold floor test," he said.

"It is a kind of 'jugaad' that they are trying to do. In a running assembly, you bring a no confidence motion but not some indirect plea for a floor test can be entertained," he said.

Read:MP Politics: Governor writes letter to Assembly speaker NP Prajapati

He said that the Governor cannot interfere with the Speaker's powers without paying heed to the rules of the assembly.

"The resignation of an MLA has to be accepted by the Speaker and it cannot be said to be accepted because the Governor saw something on TV, this is a new...jurisprudence," he said. He said that three writers have written all the resignations of MLAs.

Seeking a direction to the Speaker to conduct the floor test was like asking the court to commit a "constitutional sin".

"You postponed the Budget sessions on March 16. How will a state function when you do not even pass the budget. And it is not that you did not meet that day. The assembly was called on that day and then adjourned," the bench asked.

Singhvi said that various assemblies have been adjourned due to the outbreak of coronavirus and moreover, it is reopening on March 26. He said the plea of the BJP leader Shiv Raj Singh Chouhan is a "camouflage petition" and "they want to shirt circuit the Speaker's discretion".

"Will you decide their resignation if they appear before you tomorrow," the bench asked.

Before Singhvi's answer, senior advocate Maninder Singg, appearing for rebel MLAs, said, "We do not want to appear before the Speaker. It is a question of our safety."

"I do not want the Speaker's discretion to be curtailed. I can inform about it tomorrow morning," Singhvi replied. (PTI report)