Overview
- The Congress MP introduced the private member’s bill in the Lok Sabha during the winter session, presenting detailed amendments to the Tenth Schedule.
- Under the proposal, defying a party direction would attract loss of membership only on confidence, no-confidence, adjournment, money bills or other specified financial matters.
- The bill requires the Speaker or Chairman to publicly announce such party directions and to warn members that defiance would trigger automatic cessation of membership.
- Members would gain a right to appeal within 15 days, with a mandatory disposal window of 60 days, and defection disputes would shift to judicial tribunals headed by higher courts.
- This is Tewari’s third attempt after 2010 and 2021, and though private member’s bills rarely pass, he frames the effort as restoring legislative choice while preserving government stability.