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The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has taken a crucial decision on party defections. Pension will be stopped for MLAs who have changed parties.
The state legislature approved the amendment bill in this regard on Wednesday. The new rule will apply to MLAs who have faced disqualification under the Anti-Defection Act.
The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Members’ Pensions and Allowances) Amendment Bill – 2024 was introduced in the Assembly on Tuesday by state Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to curb defections. After a long discussion on this, the legislature passed this bill by holding a vote on Wednesday. “Legislators who have at any time faced disqualification under the Anti-defection Act will no longer have the option of pension,” the bill said.
According to the laws of Himachal Pradesh, a pension of Rs.36 thousand per month is given to legislators (MLAs) who have served as MLAs for a period of five years. An additional pension of Rs.1000 per year is being given to the MLAs whose tenure is more than five years.
Meanwhile, during the Rajya Sabha elections held in February this year, six Congress MLAs voted in favor of the BJP candidate. After that, they did not attend the meetings even during the budget meetings as party whips. As a result, they were disqualified under the Party Defection Act. In the subsequent by-elections, two of them won again and entered the House. The other four were defeated.
