Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Jul 25: The members of parliament, who have earned the wrath of their parent parties for violating the party whips perhaps, need not worry about losing their Lok Sabha memberships at present. Several developments which are a fall out of  the trust vote process, might save them the embarrassment of having to exit before the completion of their terms, till the term of the current parliament comes to an end.

To be able to save themselves from the ignonimity of expulsion from the parliament, at least one third of the sitting members need to defect to other parties or violate the party whip. In case of local bodies, the court of the respective deputy commissioner decides on the continuance or otherwise of a member charged with various provisions of anti-defection law. In the case of Lok Sabha and state legislatures, the speakers have to conduct inquiries and deliver verdicts there upon. Like in the court cases, here too verdicts get delayed for long periods for various reasons including political interests, as observed in various cases in the past.

BJP and several other parties have expelled their members who revolted against them by violating the whip. Remaining neutral is also considered a violation of the whip, as the whips issued by these parties had directed the members to vote against the union government. The next course available to these parties, is to write to the speaker, asking him disqualify these members. The speaker has to pass an order only after holding an inquiry and there is no time frame for him to decide on the issue.

As Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee himself has been expelled by the CPI (M) party, it is expected that he would be sympathetic to the plight of others who are facing a similar situation. There are various reasons for postponing a decision on the issue, as waving of currency note bundles in the Lok Sabha by a few members and providing of a cassette containing the alleged deal to the speaker thereof, might attract various provisions of law. Possibility of an inquiry by a house committee and by the income tax department into the issues involved cannot be ruled out altogether.

The tainted members might decide not to resign on their own, like Udupi MP Madhwaraj, as this might result in loss of various facilities including pension, health care benefits etc., There is no urgency for them to resign for saving their faces now, as the issues mentioned above are sure to provide them reprieve for several months, before a verdict against them is announced. By then the term of the current parliament too might come to an end, reducing the entire fracas into a non-issue at the end.