Rebels are abusing 10th Schedule: Abhishek Manu Singhvi on defection politics - India Today
A discussion on the normalisation of defection politics highlights the vulnerabilities of elected representatives switching sides. The conversation points to an unequal playing field, alleging that immense monetary resources and the threat of investigative agencies are used to encourage defections. The debate emphasises that the current anti-defection law, specifically the Tenth Schedule, is being bypassed. It is argued that the requirement for both a legislative and political party merger is ignored, and partisan speakers delay decisions while court interventions take years. To resolve this, a proposal is made to repeal the existing anti-defection law and replace it with a strict rule requiring any elected official who changes party affiliation to resign immediately and seek re-election. The discussion also dismisses comparisons to past political eras, stating that the current scale of resource use and agency pressure is unprecedented and distorts the democratic process.