Bill Seeking Amendment to Tenth Schedule Introduced in Lok Sabha

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• A private member’s bill titled “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (Amendment of the Tenth Schedule)” has been introduced in Lok Sabha.

Major Highlights of the Bill

• The Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, popularly known as the Anti-Defection Law, was added to the Constitution by the Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985.
• The Bill prescribes that a member will lose their seat only if they vote, or abstain from voting, in violation of their party’s direction on a Confidence Motion, No-confidence Motion, Adjournment Motion, Money Bill, or other financial matters — and not for any other type of vote.
• It allows parliamentarians to take an independent line in voting on bills and motions.

What is Whip?

• A whip refers to an order to members of a party in the House to abide by a certain direction of the party.
• Political parties issue whips to their MPs to either vote for or against the bill, depending on their party line.
  • Once the whip is issued, the MPs from each party will necessarily have to obey the whip or else risk losing their seat in Parliament.
• The term is derived from the old British practice of “whipping in” lawmakers to follow the party line.
• It is not mentioned in the constitution but is considered a parliamentary convention.
• Parties appoint a senior member from among their House contingents to issue whips — this member is called a chief whip, and he/ she is assisted by additional whips.

Types of Whip

• There are three kinds. 
  • A one-line whip just informs members about a vote but permits them to abstain. 
  • A two-line whip asks them to be present but does not tell them how to vote. 
  • The three-line whip, largely the norm these days, directs members to be present and vote as per the party line.

Importance of a whip 

• The whip maintains discipline, secure attendance of, and gives necessary information to, members of the party.
• It is a channel of communication between the political party and the members of the party in the legislature. 
• They also serve the function of gauging the opinion of the members, and communicating it to party leaders. 

Anti Defection Law

• The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, also known as the anti-defection law, was added to prevent political defections.
• Disqualification on ground of defection: A legislator belonging to a political party will be disqualified if he/she:
  • voluntarily gives up his party membership, or 
  • votes/abstains to vote in the House contrary to the direction issued by his political party. 
  • Independent members will be disqualified if they join a political party after getting elected to the House. 
  • Nominated members will be disqualified if they join any political party six months after getting nominated.
  • A member is not disqualified if he has taken prior permission of his party, or if the voting or abstention is condoned by the party within 15 days. 
• Exemptions in cases of merger: Members are exempted from such disqualification when at least two thirds of the original political party merges with another political party.
  • the members must have become members of the party they have merged with/into, 
  • or they should have not accepted the merger and choose to function as a separate group.
• Decision making authority: The decision to disqualify a member from the House rests with the Chairman/Speaker of the House.

Source: TH