SHILLONG, Oct 18: The defection of two former UDP members to the BJP has brought the absence of an anti-defection law in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) into sharp focus.
Langrin MDC Pius Marwein and Sohiong MDC Synshar Kupar Roy Lyngdoh Thabah, both also MLAs, joined the BJP along with six other former UDP legislators recently, triggering renewed debate over party affiliation in the autonomous district councils (ADCs).
The issue came to the fore during the recently concluded winter session of the KHADC when Marwein took on Chairman Strong Pillar Kharjana and Chief Executive Member (CEM) Winston Tony Lyngdoh over remarks questioning his political allegiance.
The controversy erupted after Lyngdoh referred to Marwein as a “BJP MLA and at the same time a UDP MDC”. Kharjana asked why Marwein had not informed the council whether he was a UDP or a BJP MDC.
Rejecting the suggestion that he was required to declare his party affiliation to the council leadership, Marwein argued that there was no anti-defection law in the KHADC to restrict MDCs from switching parties or disqualify them for doing so.
“Till today, there is no Tenth Schedule in the district council. There is no anti-defection law, meaning we can go to any party. If he wants that there should be, then such a law should be legislated first, and then we will inform them,” Marwein said.
“I have joined the BJP. I am an elected MLA and MDC, so I am BJP, and I continue to be BJP in the council as well,” he added.
Marwein also cited past instances of MDCs switching political parties several times during a single five-year term, arguing that such changes had taken place without an anti-defection mechanism in the council.
The exchange was triggered by a supplementary question raised by Marwein on the non-functioning of revenue collection gates at Bakli and Borsora, despite payments having been made. He alleged that the situation reflected mismanagement by the KHADC Executive Committee.
Responding to the issue, Lyngdoh said those operating the gates should report any difficulties in collecting revenue so that the matter could be addressed, adding that no such complaint had been received.
It was in this context that the CEM referred to Marwein as a BJP legislator and a UDP MDC, prompting the latter to question the basis for the distinction.
The legal position surrounding party-switching in the district council has also come under scrutiny. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which provides for disqualification on grounds of defection in Parliament and state legislatures, does not apply to the KHADC in the same manner.
The Gauhati High Court struck down past attempts to introduce anti-defection provisions in the council, including the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council Prevention of Defection Act, 2003.
The absence of an applicable, legally enforceable anti-defection mechanism means that a change of party does not, by itself, attract disqualification under the Tenth Schedule. Nor does the Schedule require an MDC to formally notify the Chairman merely for joining another political party.
Marwein maintained that neither law nor convention required an MDC to report a change in political allegiance to the Chairman, insisting that any move to impose such a requirement needs a valid legal framework.